VC React Podcast (E42): Saudi’s New Unicorn, Startups Turn Corporations, Global Games, AI Talent War

VC React Podcast
Written By Ahmad Takatkah
 
 

VC React Podcast:

Every week, we bring you insights and reactions from top VCs, LPs, and Angel Investors, reacting to the latest news on MENA startups, VCs, and investment rounds. Stay tuned for: expert analysis, independent opinions, and maybe some heated conversations!

Hosts:

Available on:

Guests:

1. Abe Seksek, Angel Investor and Host of the ABEZ Show
- LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/abeseksek/
- Website: https://www.abezshow.com/

2. Atheer AlKhalifa, Angel Investor with Oqal Angel Group
- LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/atheerak/
- VC Firm Website: https://oqal.org/

In Today's Episode:

News of the week brought to you by FWDstart:

  • Ninja becomes Saudi Arabia’s latest tech unicorn with $250M raise ahead of 2027 IPO
    Summary: Ninja, the Saudi-based quick commerce startup founded by HungerStation’s Ebrahim Al-Jassim, has raised around $250 million in new funding from Riyad Capital and local investors, reaching a reported valuation of $1.5 billion and becoming one of the Kingdom’s newest tech unicorns. Founded in 2022 by Al-Jassim, Saud Al Qahtani, and Canberk Donmez, Ninja began as a grocery delivery platform and has since expanded to include food delivery. It operates across Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, and Kuwait, and claims to be the country’s largest grocery delivery service by GMV, generating hundreds of millions of dollars in annual volume. The company is reportedly targeting a public listing by 2027.

  • PetroApp raises $50M to expand digital fuel platform, targets 2028 IPO
    Summary: Jadwa Investment has committed $45 million to PetroApp, a Saudi digital fuel payment and fleet management platform, as part of a $50 million round that also included Abu Dhabi-based Bunat Ventures. Founded in 2018 Abdulaziz Alsenan, PetroApp offers digital fuel payment and fleet management solutions that eliminate cash transactions, reduce fraud, and improve cost control for corporate and government fleets. Beyond fuel payments, the platform provides services such as car washes, oil changes, and tire and battery replacements. It now manages more than 500,000 vehicles for over 10,000 corporate clients, operating across 5,000 fuel stations in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Thailand, and Nigeria.

  • Impact46 backs Spekter Games in $5M seed round to expand global gaming footprint
    Summary: Spekter Games has raised $5 million in seed funding to build crypto-integrated games for social platforms, with the round led by a16z Speedrun and participation from Impact46, London Bay Venture Partners, BRV Capital Management, Chamaeleon, Accelerator Ventures, and Alumni Ventures. Founded in 2024 by Taehoon Kim, Spekter Games is building web3-hybrid games that integrate blockchain elements without sacrificing gameplay. Its first title, Spekter Agency, is live on Telegram, offering social gameplay with crypto-native incentives built in. The raise comes as a growing number of gaming startups experiment with new monetisation layers on messaging platforms, aiming to lower onboarding friction while embedding ownership into game loops. For Impact46, the investment follows the launch of its $40 million gaming fund earlier this year, marking a continued push into global interactive entertainment and infrastructure.

  • OpenAI Loses 4 Key Researchers to Meta
    Summary: Four senior researchers—Shengjia Zhao, Shuchao Bi, Jiahui Yu and Hongyu Ren—have quit OpenAI and moved to Meta’s newly announced super-intelligence team, where they will work under Alexandr Wang (now Meta’s chief AI officer) and Nat Friedman. Their OpenAI Slack accounts are already disabled, and insiders describe the defections as a serious blow to the company’s research strategy, since the quartet helped shape models such as GPT-4o, GPT-4.1, o3 and o4-mini. The departures come amid an escalating talent war: Sam Altman recently complained that Meta has been dangling compensation packages of $100 million or more to lure OpenAI staff, an overture Mark Zuckerberg effectively confirmed in a memo this week announcing the new lab. OpenAI’s chief research officer Mark Chen, in a weekend note to employees, said the poaching “feels as if someone has broken into our home and stolen something,” but insisted the company is responding. The exits follow three other OpenAI researchers in Zurich who also left for Meta, underscoring how aggressively Zuckerberg is recruiting to catch up with OpenAI, Anthropic and Google in the race to build artificial general intelligence.


--- (أحمد طقاطقه) ---

Ahmad Takatkah
Next

VC React Podcast (E41): Amazon Buys Into ValU, Careem Exits Pakistan, & OpenAI Takes On Microsoft.