GulfBoost Secures $1.33M Pre-Seed to Democratise Geospatial Data in MENA

Editorial Team

Last updated 21-01-2026

2 min

GulfBoost raised $1,33 million pre-seed backing from Al Zamil’s investment arm and angel investors.

Founded in 2024, it targets geospatial data made usable beyond traditional technical specialists.

Its Penta-KSA platform offers “no-code” tools lowering barriers for enterprises handling location-based data.

Penta-Labs develops geospatial AI and digital twins for Saudi smart cities and mega-projects.

Fresh funding will expand teams, infrastructure, and new AI-driven products.

Saudi-based GulfBoost has quietly closed a pre-seed funding round worth $1.33 million, marking an early but important milestone for the young company. The round saw participation from Abdulaziz bin Abdullah Al Zamil & Sons Investment Company, alongside a group of angel investors, according to information shared online.

The company, formally known as GulfBoost for Communications and Information Technology (GBT), is carving out its space in the geospatial data world — not exactly light dinner-table chat, but increasingly vital for big projects across the region. Founded in 2024 and led by Yousef AlNafjan, the startup is betting that location-based intelligence shouldn’t be reserved only for specialists.

That thinking sits behind Penta-KSA, one of GulfBoost’s early launches. It offers no-code software packages designed to make geospatial data usable for non-experts. From what we’ve seen in the MENA startup scene, tools that lower the barrier to entry tend to hit a nerve, especially with enterprises that don’t want the whole thing to turn into a bit of a faff.

Alongside this, GulfBoost has also rolled out Penta-Labs, its innovation arm focused on deep tech. The unit is working on geospatial AI and digital twin technologies aimed at smart cities and large-scale developments — the kind of projects Saudi Arabia has no shortage of. And believe it or not, this is where things start to get really intresting, at least in my view.

The company plans to use the fresh capital to strengthen its infrastructure, expand the team, and push forward new geospatial AI products. That said, scaling deep-tech solutions is never a walk in the park. I reckon execution will matter more than ambition here, though the direction feels spot on.

At Arageek, we’ve followed many early-stage founders who started with a similar mix of technical depth and big regional goals. Some stumble, some fly. On the flip side, GulfBoost’s focus on practical, no-code tools alongside heavy AI research could give it an edge — and it’s easy to be chuffed to bits seeing another Saudi startup step confidently into a complex, global-facing arena.

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