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This week on VC React, Impact46 drops $53 million into Kammelna, the Saudi studio behind Baloot and Jackaroo. Is this the moment regional gaming IP graduates from casual apps into Marvel-style franchises? With 6M downloads and 1M MAUs, is the bet on monetisation of a hit card game—or on exporting Saudi culture through code via events, merch, and publishing?
We then turn to Gathern’s $72 million Series B, which puts the Saudi short-term rental platform at a $266M valuation. With 72,000 properties and a 44% share of alternative lodging, is this the first proof that domestic tourism under Vision 2030 can carry a homegrown player to IPO? And how far can local platforms push the advantage against global incumbents like Airbnb and Booking?
Next up is Holo’s $22 million round to digitise the mortgage journey. From qualification to closing, the platform is reimagining how homeowners access finance in the Gulf. Is this the playbook for scaling proptech – starting with aggregation, then embedding deeper into financial stacks and government housing programs?
Finally, Saudi steps firmly into the AI race with Alam 34B and Humane Chat, built on one of the largest Arabic datasets ever assembled. With native support for Arabic dialects and compliance baked in, can this foundation model give the region its first global AI edge, or even shape how sovereign compute and policy intersect with frontier tech?
This week’s guests
Ahmed AlThukair, Active Angel (30+ investments, 5 exits)
Samer Shaaban, Opportunity Committee Member, OQAL Angel Network
