KSU's Riyadh Valley & SparkLabs Launch Saudi Accelerator

King Saud University's investment arm has partnered with SparkLabs to establish a venture fund and four-month accelerator program launching in April. The move marks a significant shift in how major Gulf research institutions approach commercialization of academic research and represents a direct challenge to private venture firms dominating early-stage funding in Saudi Arabia.

Riyadh Valley Company, the investment arm of King Saud University, announced a strategic partnership with SparkLabs Group to establish an on-campus venture accelerator and seed fund targeting early-stage founders across Saudi Arabia. The four-month program, which opens applications through March 10, represents a departure from how Gulf universities have traditionally operated, shifting from passive intellectual property holders to active venture capital participants. The accelerator will provide participating founders with office space, capital from an attached venture fund, and mentorship from SparkLabs' global network of advisors and investors.

Unlike traditional university incubators that primarily support student projects, the program will accept founders from across Saudi Arabia, leveraging KSU's research infrastructure and faculty expertise while maintaining an open application process. SparkLabs, a South Korean early-stage venture capital firm that has invested in over 500 companies globally and backed OpenAI's early financing rounds, will manage the program's operations and investment decisions. The partnership addresses a persistent gap in Saudi Arabia's innovation ecosystem where researchers and faculty with commercially viable projects lacked access to capital and business infrastructure necessary for company formation.

Dr. Khalid Al-Saleh, CEO of Riyadh Valley Company, previously directed KSU's intellectual property and technology licensing office before leading the investment arm since 2013. By embedding venture operations directly within the university, RVC creates a mechanism to convert academic research into scalable businesses without requiring founders to abandon institutional resources. The strategic implications extend beyond KSU's campus. Riyadh Valley Company has previously deployed capital as a limited partner in venture funds managed by BECO Capital, Flat6Labs, and others, maintaining a passive investment posture. The university accelerator reverses this approach, giving RVC direct access to founder pipelines before market-wide deal competition begins.

For SparkLabs, the partnership represents expansion into a university partnership model previously unexplored in the region, potentially creating a template for replication across Saudi Arabia's dozen major research institutions. The timing reflects broader momentum in Saudi Arabia's venture capital market. In the first half of 2025, Saudi Arabia achieved record venture capital deployment of $860 million, a 116 percent increase compared to the same period in 2024, and surpassed total VC funding for all of 2024. The Kingdom accounted for 56 percent of total capital deployed across the MENA region and achieved a record 114 VC deals in H1 2025. While funding volumes have grown substantially, infrastructure gaps remain. Most major Gulf research universities, including KAUST and others, maintain world-class research facilities in energy, materials science, and biotechnology but lack mechanisms to commercialize findings. If the KSU accelerator successfully graduates funded companies, competing institutions will face pressure to establish comparable programs.

Apply here: https://sparklabssaudi.com

The first cohort begins in April. Registration closes March 10.