RIYADH: Wa’ed Ventures, the $500 million venture capital arm of Saudi Aramco, has announced a strategic investment in California-based Resemble AI, a company specializing in artificial intelligence voice generation and real-time multimodal deepfake detection.
The move follows Resemble AI’s $13 million strategic funding round closed in December, which included backing from Google’s AI Future Fund, Sony Innovation Fund, Javelin, and Ubiquity.
The investment comes as concerns over AI-generated fraud intensify globally, with deepfake-related scams causing more than $25 billion in losses in 2024 and projected to reach $40 billion by 2027.
Saudi Arabia has been advancing regulatory measures to counter such risks, including its Anti-Cybercrime Law, which criminalizes the spread of misinformation that threatens public security or national interests.
“At Wa’ed Ventures, our role goes beyond funding – we work closely with founders to help them scale technologies that can compete globally while being rooted in Saudi Arabia’s priorities,” said Anas Al-Gahtani, CEO of Wa’ed Ventures.
“As the Kingdom strengthens AI governance, digital trust, and content authenticity regulations, solutions like Resemble AI’s deepfake detection and synthetic media safeguards directly support efforts to ensure secure, ethical AI adoption across public and private sectors,” he added.
Wa’ed Ventures has built a diversified portfolio spanning AI, fintech, and deep technology, with investments in companies such as Cognite, Foodics, and Lean Technologies, as well as Rebellions, aiXplain, Pasqal, Terra Drone, and Zid.
The fund has backed both international firms expanding into the Kingdom and local startups, reflecting its focus on scaling advanced technologies and strengthening the nation’s innovation ecosystem.
Resemble AI highlighted a sharp regional rise in AI-driven threats. “The Middle East is facing an unprecedented surge in AI-generated fraud – deepfake incidents in Saudi Arabia alone increased 600 percent last year,” said Zohaib Ahmed, CEO and co-founder of Resemble AI.
“Organizations across the Gulf need detection capabilities they can deploy on their own infrastructure, with the speed and accuracy to catch threats in real time. Wa’ed understands this urgency, and their backing accelerates our ability to bring that protection to the region,” Ahmed added.
The company’s platform supports both cloud and on-premise deployment, allowing government and regulated sectors to process sensitive audio data without relying on external servers.
