Silicon Valley’s Plug and Play hopes to accelerate 100 Saudi startups in 2022

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Updated 31 March 2022
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Silicon Valley’s Plug and Play hopes to accelerate 100 Saudi startups in 2022

RIYADH: CEO and co-founder of Silicon Valley investment firm Plug and Play Tech Center plans to establish a venture capital fund in Saudi Arabia and hopes to boost 100 start-ups.

Saeed Amidi, one of the early investors in PayPal and Google, described the qualities of Saudi startups as “fantastic” during an interview on the sidelines of Global Entrepreneurship Congress in Riyadh.

He said: “If all goes well, we would accelerate a hundred startups in 2022 in Saudi Arabia and invest in about 20 of them.”

“We have discussed that we will have a small fund here, which is about $25 million and from the fund we would do about $5 to $7 million a year for three years, for a total of around $25 million,” Amidi said.

He revealed that of the 20 startups appearing at an earlier event hosted by the Misk Foundation, his firm would be investing in four of them.

Plug and Play Tech Center also recently had an event with the Saudi Authority for Data and Artificial Intelligence that hosted 12 startups.

“We accelerated 12 startups. Six from Saudi Arabia and six from the wider region. So out of the 12, we are expected to invest in three of them. And that is actually better than the ratio that we do in California or internationally,” Amidi stated.

The firm is seeking to support the rising startup ecosystem in Saudi Arabia, and is hiring 20 people for its office in the Kingdom.

“But we hope that the success we have had in Silicon Valley for the last 16 years and in Europe for the last 10 years to bring it to Saudi Arabia this year,” Amidi said.

Amidi also said that Plug and Play has been working with Aramco, Riyadh Bank, and SABIC for three to four years, to improve their digital transformation.

Previous investments by Plug and Play Tech Center include Dropbox when it was just a team of two people, seeing financial rewards up to $35 million from just investing $150,000 in the startup.


Saudi Maaden reports 156% profit surge to $2bn on strong commodity prices, record production

Updated 05 March 2026
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Saudi Maaden reports 156% profit surge to $2bn on strong commodity prices, record production

RIYADH: Saudi mining and metals company Maaden has reported a 156 percent jump in its net profit attributable to shareholders for 2025, driven by higher commodity prices, record production volumes, and a one-off bargain purchase gain.

The state-backed giant posted a net profit of SR7.35 billion ($1.95 billion) for the full year 2025, an increase from SR2.87 billion in the previous year. The firm’s revenue surged by 19 percent to SR38.58 billion, up from SR32.55 billion in 2024.

This comes as Saudi Arabia steps up efforts to expand its mining sector as a pillar of economic diversification, encouraging international participation and private investment to unlock the Kingdom’s estimated $2.5 trillion in untapped mineral resources under Vision 2030.    

In a statement on Tadawul, the company said: “Performance was led by record phosphate production, near record aluminum production, an increase in all three of Maaden’s main output commodity prices.”

The performance was also fueled by a 60 percent increase in gross profit, which reached SR14.79 billion. In its annual results announcement, Maaden attributed the top-line growth to “higher commodity market prices for phosphate, aluminum and gold business units,” as well as increased sales volumes in its phosphate and aluminum segments. This was partially offset by slightly lower sales volume in the gold unit.

Maaden’s CEO, Bob Wilt, hailed 2025 as a transformative year for the company, marked by strategic growth and operational excellence. “This was a great year for Maaden’s strategic growth. We delivered strong financial results and sustained operational excellence across the business,” he said in a statement.

“This was driven by growth in production across all businesses, including record-breaking DAP (di-ammonium phosphatevolumes), disciplined cost control across and a clear commitment to our role as a cornerstone of the Saudi economy,” Wilt added.

Profitability was further bolstered by an increased share of net profit from joint ventures and an associate. This included a one-off bargain purchase gain of SR768 million related to Maaden’s investment in Aluminium Bahrain B.S.C. The company also benefited from lower finance costs.

The fourth quarter of 2025 was strong, with Maaden swinging to a net profit of SR1.67 billion, compared to a loss of SR106 million in the same period of the prior year. Quarterly revenue rose 7 percent to SR10.64 billion.

The firm achieved record production of di-ammonium phosphate, reaching 6.72 million tonnes for the year, a 9 percent increase. Aluminum production remained near-record levels, while the company added a net 7.8 million ounces to its reportable gold mineral resources through discovery and resource development.

The phosphate division saw sales jump 17 percent to SR20.77 billion, with the earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization margin expanding to 47 percent. The aluminum business reported a 9 percent increase in sales to SR10.99 billion, with EBITDA more than doubling in the fourth quarter.

Looking ahead, Wilt emphasized that the pace of growth will accelerate as the company advances key initiatives, including the Phosphate 3 Phase 1 and Ar Rjum projects, which remain on budget and schedule. Maaden has also secured a gas supply for its future Phosphate 4 project.

“This pace of growth will only accelerate. Not only as we advance projects and increase the scale of our exploration program, but as we continue to grow production and implement technology that will further modernize, streamline and unlock value,” Wilt added.

Earnings per share for the year rose sharply to SR1.91, up from SR0.78 in 2024. Total shareholders’ equity increased by 18.7 percent to SR61.59 billion.