Saudi AI Startup Omq Secures $1.2M to Propel Local AI Solutions Forward

Malaz Madani

Last updated 4-08-2025

3 min

Saudi AI startup Omq secured SAR 4,5 million in pre-seed funding from local investors.

Funds will develop AI solutions aimed at helping government agencies streamline costs and efficiency.

Their "alPlatformai" offers institutions secure, regulated access to various AI models.

The team combines tech and business expertise, critical for success in the AI sector.

Omq aims to foster local AI innovation for competitive advantage in Saudi Arabia.

Every now and then in the MENA startup landscape, you spot a young company trying to bite off a daring chunk of the future. This week, Saudi-based AI startup Omq (that’s “عُمق” for the Arabic speakers) caught my eye after securing a SAR 4.5 million pre-seed funding round—not small change for a business at this stage. Backing came from Tam Development Company and the Raed Ventures fund, both fairly active players in the region’s tech scene.

The fresh investment is earmarked for building custom artificial intelligence solutions, especially those that help government bodies streamline costs and work more efficiently. Omq is pretty upfront about their vision: roll out locally developed, advanced AI tech and not just for the sake of showing off. Their aim is to get Saudi enterprises (both public and private) using AI in ways that are practical rather than a bit of a faff.

They’ve already unveiled their first offering, “alPlatformai”—a managed gateway that gives institutions secure, regulated access to a suite of AI models. This isn’t just about fiddling with GPTs behind the scenes; the platform promises strong safety standards and a commitment to privacy, which is bang on if you’re an organisation worried about data leakage or compliance headaches.

What stood out to me was how Omq assembled a team blending tech expertise and business acumen. Their line-up includes Mazen Mleibari, Mohammad Daqas, Mazen Al-Otaibi, Ahmed Al-Suhaim, Fatima Al-Saeed, and Ahmed Al-Rashidi. Each name comes with previous experience in either technical or operational roles—always a positive sign in a sector where pure tech wizardry on its own won’t pay the bills.

I have to admit, as someone who tries to keep startups energised (a big Arageek goal!), it’s honestly great to see platforms being developed on home turf. There’s been plenty of chatter about importing tech or relying on solutions cobbled together from overseas—hardly a recipe for local resilience. I reckon Saudi is waking up to the idea that homegrown AI could be a real competitive lever if tackled right.

That said, I’m not a massive fan when companies overhype “game-changing” tools before there’s much market adoption. The acid test will be whether “alPlatformai” actually makes life easier for Saudi organisations—saving them time, cutting costs rather than just sounding modern. Still, closing a pre-seed round of this size is no mean feat, and I’m chuffed to bits for the founding team. With increasing numbers of Saudi startups putting down roots and building up a proper ecosystem, I wouldn’t be surprised if we see more big headlines coming out of Riyadh soon. Time will tell if Omq can turn their promising start into something that truly moves the needle.

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