Muscat, Oman — Oman’s state-backed ITHCA Group has invested $20 million in Movandi, a California-based semiconductor and wireless systems company, as the Sultanate looks to fast-track its ambitions to become a regional tech and semiconductor hub.
The round, totaling $40 million, will help Movandi scale its next-generation 5G, satellite, and fixed wireless access (FWA) technologies. ITHCA led the funding with the goal of bringing some of that innovation back home — through local R&D, knowledge transfer, and AI-powered connectivity projects based in Muscat.
“This partnership positions Oman as a contributor to the global semiconductor supply chain, not just a consumer of it,” said Eng. Said Al-Mandhari, CEO of ITHCA. “We’re building capabilities that align with Vision 2040’s digital transformation roadmap.”
Movandi, founded by Iranian-American engineers Maryam and Bahram Rofougaran, has become one of the few independent players designing RF chipsets and beamforming systems that power 5G and smart-antenna networks. The company’s new Muscat office will serve as a regional R&D base, focusing on AI-driven wireless systems for telecom and smart-city applications.
“Partnering with ITHCA is more than capital — it’s a bridge between Silicon Valley innovation and Oman’s long-term vision for sovereign tech development,” said Maryam Rofougaran, Movandi’s co-founder and CEO.
The investment marks a broader push by Oman to localize advanced tech sectors, from cloud infrastructure to semiconductors. ITHCA — previously known for stakes in regional AI, mobility, and fintech startups — is now positioning itself as the country’s anchor investor for deep-tech partnerships that build domestic capability rather than import it.
If the plan works, Muscat could soon host one of the first R&D hubs in the Gulf focused on wireless chip design, giving Oman a strategic foothold in the next wave of global communications tech.
Oman’s ITHCA invests $20M in U.S. chipmaker Movandi