Saudi Arabian oil and gas giant Aramco’s venture arm, Wa’ed, has invested $500,000 in drone operator FalconViz, five years after first backing the company. The follow-on investment will help FalconViz expand its operations to Europe, the US and Africa.
The 24-employee strong FalconViz was founded in 2014 and is based out of Jeddah’s King Abdullah University of Science and Technology. The company offers a host of drone services including data visualization, 3D surveying and mapping, inspections, and monitoring construction. Its clients include Boston Consulting Group, HSBC, the Saudi Arabian culture ministry, Jeddah city and Neom.
Mohamed Shalaby, FalconViz’s co-founder and vice president of business development, said the Wa’ed investment was “a welcome injection of funds and confidence in our offerings and business strategy. This will enable us to keep investing in our people, growing our services, and expanding our global presence across different sectors.”
Salman T. Jaffrey, the chief investment officer of Wa’ed Ventures, the venture capital arm of Wa’ed, said: “It’s great to see FalconViz flying high. To me, it’s gratifying to see one of our earliest venture capital investments commercialize its research technologies and grow globally.”
Wassim Basrawi, managing director at Wa’ed, said: “FalconViz is a perfect example of a Saudi startup identifying and filling a market gap by delivering innovative services.”
In April, Wa’ed had signed a preliminary pact with the Falak Investment Hub to increase venture capital investment for early- and growth-stage Saudi startups. The alliance with Falak was the fifth since December last year following similar agreements with Oqal, Taiba Valley Companies, and Namaa Almunawara, among others.
Apart from FalconViz, Wa’ed’s other investments include Golden Scent, Ynmo, and GetMuv.
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