Saudi fintech barq becomes the Kingdom's newest unicorn

Saudi fintech barq has closed a Series A funding round worth USD 329.5 million, or SAR 1.24 billion, at a valuation of USD 1.85 billion, making it the Kingdom's newest billion-dollar technology company. The round drew participation from Noon Investments, Sohar International Bank and M20 Fund, and was announced during Money20/20 Middle East in Riyadh. The scale of the raise is unusual for a round still labelled Series A, and the growth behind it explains why. Founded in 2023 by Ahmed Alenazi, the company has surpassed 15 million users within two years, drawn from more than 210 nationalities, while the value of funds processed through its platform has exceeded SAR 440 billion. An earlier milestone had it past 10 million users with 9.5 million cards issued and more than 940 million transactions completed. barq operates through Buraq Financial Company, a licensed closed joint-stock company regulated by the Saudi Central Bank, offering account opening, money transfers, card issuance, electronic payment solutions and e-commerce services within a single app. Its product range has widened from accounts, cards and payments into international transfers and business-facing products. That figure of 210 nationalities is the most telling number in the announcement. Saudi Arabia hosts one of the world's largest migrant workforces, and for years a substantial share of that population sat outside the formal banking system, relying on cash wages and exchange house counters to send money home. Traditional account opening was slow, document-heavy and often out of reach. A digital wallet that onboards quickly and handles remittances natively does not have to persuade anyone to change habits, it simply removes friction from something millions of residents already do every month. Reaching 15 million users in a country of roughly 35 million becomes far more legible once that is understood. The capital is earmarked for strengthening operational efficiency, accelerating product development, investing in new financial and technology solutions, and expanding into additional regional and international markets. The last of those is the harder part, since barq's growth has been built on a single market with an unusually favourable demographic and regulatory setup, neither of which transfers automatically across a border. Context helps too. The previous Saudi startup to reach unicorn status was quick-commerce company Ninja, which hit a USD 1.5 billion valuation in July 2025, and the Kingdom's expanding roster of billion-dollar companies has been supported by regulatory backing and sustained investor interest across fintech, artificial intelligence, e-commerce and logistics. At USD 1.85 billion, barq is priced for continued rapid expansion rather than current performance, and revenue figures remain undisclosed. The next twelve months, and specifically which markets it enters first, will say more about the valuation than the headline number does.