Graphiant, a US-based Network-as-a-Service (NaaS) provider, raised US$19 million in an extension round co-led by Wa’ed Ventures and Tali Ventures.

This adds to its earlier US$102 million series B round with investors including Sequoia Capital and Two Bear Capital.

As part of the deal, Graphiant will open a regional headquarters in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, supporting Wa’ed Ventures’ goal to boost local digital infrastructure and AI technology in the Kingdom.

Founded by Khalid Raza, Graphiant develops secure and scalable enterprise networks used by companies like Sony Pictures and Valmont. 

Graphiant’s expansion to Saudi Arabia highlights growing interest in cloud-based networking to support digital transformation and AI adoption in the Middle East.

🔗 Source: Graphiant

🧠 Food for thought

1️⃣ Saudi Arabia’s strategic tech investments align with its economic diversification plan

The Graphiant investment represents a continuing pattern of Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth funds making strategic technology investments globally.

Saudi Arabia has been diversifying its economy beyond oil through technology investments, with the Public Investment Fund (PIF) committing $45 billion to SoftBank’s Vision Fund, making it one of the largest tech investors globally 1.

This strategy extends beyond just financial returns. The requirement for Graphiant to establish a Riyadh headquarters follows Saudi Arabia’s approach of using investments to transfer technology expertise to the Kingdom.

Similar to previous investments in companies like Uber ($3.5 billion) and Lucid Motors ($1+ billion), the Graphiant deal demonstrates Saudi Arabia’s focus on attracting advanced technology companies to establish local operations 2.

This investment pattern directly supports Vision 2030, Saudi Arabia’s economic diversification initiative, by building local technology capabilities while securing financial stakes in promising growth sectors.

2️⃣ NaaS market growth is being accelerated by AI’s infrastructure demands

Graphiant’s focus on AI-ready network infrastructure aligns with explosive growth projections for the NaaS market, with estimates ranging from $162 billion to $215 billion by 2032 3.

The company’s timing is strategic, as AI workloads are fundamentally reshaping enterprise networks. AI traffic is expected to double from 39 exabytes to 79 exabytes between 2024 and 2025 alone 4.