STOCKHOLM: Swedish truckmaker AB Volvo's first commercial autonomous truck deal shows how it is bundling services to generate revenue from a technology that is years away from wide deployment.
Driverless transportation has been hailed as a transformative revenue opportunity, with the Boston Consulting Group expecting connected high-tech vehicles to generate about $150 billion of new profits for the auto sector by 2035.
But regulatory, technological and infrastructure roadblocks stand in the way of deploying fully autonomous vehicles on public roads and the journey is proving long and costly.
Volvo, the world's second biggest truckmaker behind Daimler, has decided for now to only deploy driverless trucks in pilots for customers, aiming to perform specific jobs on a limited, repetitive and controlled route, often on enclosed customer sites.
"There's a lot of uncertainties and that's why we believe the right way to develop autonomous is with commercial pilots where we partner up with customers, go for real implementations and learn from that," Sasko Cuklev, Volvo Trucks' autonomous solutions director, told Reuters in an interview.
The truck maker said last month that its first commercial autonomous transport package will involve seven trucks transporting limestone for Norway's Broennoey Kalk AS from a mine to a nearby port starting this winter.
"We are in the early stages when it comes to implementing autonomous solutions, so we're trying to learn and we're open to different setups. But in general it is more and more talk about services and solutions that is coming into play," Cuklev said.
The deal with Broennoey bundles together the provision of the autonomous trucks with a virtual driver, control tower system, maintenance, repair and insurance, with Volvo paid per tonne transported.
"We see autonomous as more of a complement to today's business and limited to dedicated specific applications where it really makes sense," Cuklev said.
He said Volvo was targeting autonomous vehicles for mining operations and hub-to-hub transport on a highway road or regional hauling over shorter distances such as between ports and warehouses using its cabinless truck Vera.
Volvo's Vera and some other commercial vehicles from rivals are experimenting with using self-driving trucks on public roads, often limiting speeds, picking less busy industrial roads or having people in the cabin in case the technology fails.
Nvidia-backed startup TuSimple said in May that it would deploy its self-driving trucks to haul mail between U.S. Postal Service facilities in Phoenix and Dallas in the southwestern United States.
Sweden's Einride is testing its cabinless trucks to haul freight between a warehouse and a terminal on public roads in Sweden.
TEAMING UP
Carmakers BMW and Daimler this month teamed up to spread the costs of developing automated driving technology as cooperation within the industry becomes more widespread.
Volkswagen and Ford are in the final stage of talks on a strategic alliance to jointly develop self-driving and electric cars, while Renault and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles attempted and failed to merge.
Automakers' investment in autonomous transportation comes as traditional sales are dented by the economic uncertainty caused by the U.S.-China trade war, with analysts worried that truck cycles might have peaked and margins might fall.
Volvo has forecast lower demand in China and Europe this year and its trucks order intake has fallen for two consecutive quarters this year, missing forecasts.
Volvo, which produces trucks under the Mack, Renault and UD Trucks brands, is facing a push to cooperate with others from China's Geely, which became a top shareholder in both Volvo and its main rival Daimler last year.
Cuklev declined to comment on the subject, but highlighted the example of Volvo's recent tie-up with Nvidia to develop artificial intelligence for self-driving trucks as the type of cooperation that Volvo was keen on.
"When it comes to automation we're open to looking into different partnerships in the entire autonomous area," Cuklev said.
Volvo solves autonomous revenue riddle with package deals
Volvo solves autonomous revenue riddle with package deals
- Volvo has decided for now to only deploy driverless trucks in pilots for customers
Capital concentrates as MENA startups close deals
- Fresh funding flows in even as broader market data points to a slowdown
RIYADH: Startup funding activity across the Middle East and North Africa delivered a mixed picture over the past week, with fresh capital flowing into gaming, fintech, deep tech, and travel, even as broader market data pointed to a slowdown in overall investment momentum.
Saudi Arabia’s Impact46 led a $1 million investment round in Hypemasters, an international game development studio focused on competitive strategy experiences for mobile. The round included participation from GEM Capital.
Hypemasters develops strategy titles designed for competitive depth and precise game mechanics and has attracted more than 7 million players globally.
The studio is currently advancing several new projects, including a title in soft launch, as it looks to expand its reach in markets with sustained demand for strategy games.
“Strategy is one of the most demanding categories in game development, and Hypemasters approaches it with uncommon discipline. Their work shows a clear understanding of what committed players expect from this genre, and we believe their upcoming titles can serve a global audience with genuine depth,” said Basmah Al-Sinaidi, managing partner at Impact46.
“We are pleased to support a team that builds with intention and long-term ambition,” she added.
Boris Kalmykov, CEO and co-founder of Hypemasters, said: “We’re focused on deepening our presence across the region and pushing forward with the next generation of strategy games, including a major new title already in soft launch. Partnering with Impact46 marks an important step for Hypemasters.”
The CEO added that Impact46 shares his company’s long-term vision for building “world-class strategy games” from the MENA region, and the support reinforces his firm’s commitment to expanding its portfolio with high-quality releases.
The investment reflects Impact46’s continued interest in game development and interactive entertainment and aligns with its broader strategy of backing studios building globally oriented titles.
Premialab raises $220m
UAE-headquartered Premialab, a provider of data, analytics, and risk management solutions for quantitative investing, has raised $220 million in a growth investment led by KKR, with participation from existing investor Balderton.
Founded in Hong Kong in 2016 by Adrien Geliot and Pierre Trecourt, Premialab operates a global platform serving the $800 billion quantitative investment strategies market.
Counterfeits don’t just impact economies; they erase identity, creativity and truth. Along with our investors, we’re building a movement to make the world’s stories verifiable again.
Walid Tarabih, founder and CEO of Relik
The company provides benchmarking, performance analysis, and risk analytics tools for institutional investors.
The funding will be used to support global expansion, strengthen core operational systems, and scale Premialab’s execution product, which was developed in partnership with Eurex, to broaden access to quantitative investment strategies.
“Quantitative investment strategies have grown rapidly in scale and importance, yet the market has lacked a truly independent standard for data, analytics and risk. Premialab was built to fill that gap,” said Adrien Geliot, CEO of Premialab.
Relik closes seed round
UAE-based Relik has closed a seed funding round with participation from KBW Ventures, Naatt Holding, Fort Holding, and Ayman Sejiny.
Founded in 2023 by Walid Tarabih and later joined by John Tsioris, Relik is an artificial intelligence-powered authentication platform designed to help collectors, brands, and marketplaces.
The company plans to use the funding to roll out additional products and expand across sectors including sports, luxury, and heritage markets.
“We are ensuring authenticity in a fakeable world,” said Walid Tarabih, founder and CEO of Relik, adding: “Counterfeits don’t just impact economies; they erase identity, creativity and truth. Along with our investors, we’re building a movement to make the world’s stories verifiable again.”
Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed bin Talal Al-Saud, founder and CEO of KBW Ventures, said: “Relik is creating a new global standard for truth and trust. At a time when counterfeiting and AI-generated content are rising, Relik’s mission to protect authenticity carries both cultural and commercial value.”
Nawah raises $23m
Egypt-based deep tech startup Nawah Scientific has raised $23 million in a series A round comprising a mix of equity and debt, marking a decade since the company’s founding.
The round was led by Life Ventures Holding, with participation from Den Ventures, Empire M, AfricInvest, Elsewedy, as well as banks and angel investors.
Founded in 2015 by Omar Saqr, Nawah operates a cloud laboratory model that enables remote access to advanced testing services. Its operations span four business units covering life sciences, food and agriculture, pharmaceuticals, and certified reference materials.
The company plans to use the funding to build a global research and development center in Rwanda, double laboratory capacity in Egypt and Saudi Arabia, and expand into North Africa and Europe.
Algeria’s VOLZ raises $5m
Algeria-based travel tech startup VOLZ has raised $5 million in a series A funding round led by a consortium of private investors under Tell Group, with participation from Groupe GIBA.
Founded in 2023 by Mohamed Abdelhadi and Hacene Seghier, VOLZ enables travelers to book flights in Algerian dinars using online payments or cash on delivery, while comparing multiple airlines through a single platform.
Announced at the African Startup Conference in December, the transaction is Algeria’s largest startup funding round in local currency and marks the first exit of the Algerian Startup Fund.
The capital will be used to launch new consumer and corporate travel products, strengthen VOLZ’s position in Algeria, and support expansion across North and West Africa.
MENA startup funding slows in November
Investment activity across the MENA startup ecosystem slowed sharply in November 2025, with 35 startups raising a combined $227.8 million, according to Wamda’s monthly report.
This marked a steep decline from the $784.9 million recorded in the previous month and a 12 percent drop compared to November 2024, pointing to a period of consolidation as investors moderated deployment toward the end of the year.
More than half of the capital raised during the month was driven by a single debt-backed transaction by erad, which propelled Saudi Arabia to the top of the regional rankings. Across 14 deals, the Kingdom attracted $176.3 million, accounting for more than three-quarters of all capital deployed in November.
Despite funding activity spanning 35 startups, capital was concentrated in just 5 markets. After Saudi Arabia’s dominant lead, the UAE followed with $49 million across 14 transactions.
Egypt recorded $1.12 million across 4 deals, while Morocco raised $1.1 million through 2 transactions. Oman saw 1 deal with an undisclosed value, with limited activity reported outside these markets.
Fintech emerged as the most funded sector in November, raising $142.9 million across 9 deals, largely influenced by the same debt-driven transaction.
E-commerce followed with $24.5 million across 6 rounds, while property tech, which topped the charts in October, slipped to 3rd with $18.9 million raised by 3 startups.
Debt financing dominated the month, accounting for more than $125 million through a single transaction.
The remaining capital was largely channelled into early-stage startups, with no later-stage funding rounds recorded in November, underscoring continued investor caution.
From a business model perspective, B2B startups captured the majority of capital, with 20 companies raising $197.1 million.
B2C startups lagged, with 9 companies raising a combined $22.2 million, while the remainder was split across hybrid models.
The gender funding gap showed no signs of narrowing, with male-led startups absorbing 97 percent of the capital raised during the month. Female-led and mixed-gender founding teams accounted for the remaining share.
