Saudi Arabia’s technology company Master Works secures $40m in funding

The Riyadh company aims to go public in the coming months

Master Works founders, from left, Bandar Al-Amri and Hani Al-Lehaibi, with Merak Capital partner Othman Alhokail. Photo: Master Works

Saudi Arabia’s technology company Master Works secured funding worth $40 million to accelerate its growth and help it prepare for an initial public offering in the kingdom in the coming months.

The company secured backing from Merak Capital, an investment company focused on technology companies and is licenced by the kingdom’s Capital Market Authority, Master Works said in a statement.

“This deal reflects the outstanding journey of our company over the past years, where we were able to develop our four product lines and services, as well as expand our customer base, while boosting our relationships with key players in the information technology sector, locally and globally,” said Hani Al-Lehaibi, founder of Master Works.

Founded in 2010 by Mr Al-Lehaibi and Bandar Al-Amri, Master Works offers products and services across technology fields such as data management, artificial intelligence, data strategy, API management, software development and robotic process automation. The company has its headquarters in Riyadh with offices in Egypt, UAE, Jordan and India.

It recently developed new software products such as Digital PMO (P+), Digital SMO (S+), Baseer and Diwan to help its business grow.

“Having Merak Capital as a partner reflects our absolute intention to meet the investors' aspirations, and it will play a key role in helping us achieve the growth journey we desire as we help more clients, and the kingdom, expedite this digital transformation,” Mr Al-Lehaibi said.

Saudi Arabia, the Arab world’s largest economy, is investing in technology as it tries to diversify away from hydrocarbons. In February, the kingdom unveiled more than $6.4 billion worth of investments in future technologies.

These include the official launch of Saudi Aramco Venture’s $1bn Prosperity7 fund and a $1bn investment from Neom Tech and Digital Company in future technologies and others, the recent announcement said.

“It was great to witness the amazing development that Master Works has achieved over the past decade and how it has succeeded in becoming one of Saudi’s leading technology companies in data and digital transformation,” said Othman Alhokail, partner at Merak Capital.

Merak Capital intends to support Master Works as it aims to go public in Saudi Arabia, the statement said.

Master Works served more than 140 clients across government and private sectors in the kingdom, with the support of more than 20 global technology providers.