LONDON: Saudi fintech and private credit firm Seha Invest has signed a $500 million partnership with Boston-based Y-Innovations to support biotechnology and healthcare development in the Kingdom.
The agreement was announced on the sidelines of the BMG Forum at the London Stock Exchange.
Seha Invest co-founder Dr. Ibrahim Alnajashi said the partnership marks a milestone for Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 and National Biotechnology Strategy.
“We hope this will result in many products that can be utilized in hospitals and patients, and also create new high-quality jobs for Saudi local talents and upscale the R&D ecosystem in the Kingdom,” he said at the event.
In a statement, Alnajashi said the partnership aims to combine international innovation with local investment and execution capabilities to accelerate technology transfer, create economic value and position Saudi Arabia as a regional and global biotechnology hub.
The two companies have established a dedicated investment platform focused on helping build the foundation for global biotechnology companies in Saudi Arabia.
The partnership is aligned with Saudi Vision 2030 and the Kingdom’s National Biotechnology Strategy, and is intended to accelerate innovation in biotechnology and healthcare.
Over the next five years, it will seek to facilitate technology transfer, attract international biotech firms, strengthen local research and development capabilities, create skilled jobs and expand access to new healthcare solutions.
It will also support efforts to localize vaccine development and manufacturing within the Kingdom.
Dr. Megan Yung, group CEO of Y-Innovations, said the partnership will focus on bringing companies into the Middle East, particularly those developing technologies suited to the region.
“It’s also about helping build the local workforce and training them in these highly specialized fields,” she told Arab News.
Speaking during a panel before the announcement, Alnajashi described Saudi Arabia as “the most exciting healthcare market” for investors because of the scale of reform, data integration, AI adoption and nationwide procurement.
“The biggest transformation is the way that we’re looking at healthcare,” he said, adding: “Ten years ago, we used to look at healthcare as a public service, where the main concern was how to increase infrastructure, capacity and access. But today we look at healthcare as a cornerstone of economic diversification and development.”
Seha Invest, which focuses on building and scaling healthcare and technology ventures, said it is one of the largest healthcare private credit funds in the MENA region, after closing at SR2 billion ($533 million) in 2025.
