Madinah launches global deep tech venture hub
Al-Madinah Municipality partners with DeepMinds for venture studio
#SaudiArabia #startups - Madinah Regional Municipality has partnered with decentralised venture studio DeepMinds to launch the Madinah Venture Studio, a pioneering initiative designed to transform the holy city into a global centre for purpose-driven ventures. The collaboration aims to build and scale companies across deep tech, artificial intelligence, HealthTech, sustainability and environmental, social and governance sectors, directly supporting Saudi Vision 2030's transformative objectives through technology and entrepreneurial ecosystem development.
SO WHAT? - Traditionally known for being the second holiest city in Islam and its destination for Muslim pilgrims, Madinah (Medina) has recently been taking steps to develop its startup ecosystem. In June, the Madinah Regional Municipality launched the Madinah Tech Accelerator and Sandbox, in partnership with entrepreneur led-fund Actual VC, Dubai-based venture capital fund 24SIX9, and mobility focused technology firm AHOY, With the launch of Madinah Venture Studio and the municipality’s partnership with DeepMinds, Madinah sends a clear signal to entrepreneurs that it has joined the global tech startup ecosystem.
Here are some key points about the Madinah Venture Studio:
Madinah Regional Municipality has partnered with decentralised venture studio DeepMinds (DeepMinds Holdings) to launch the Madinah Venture Studio, a pioneering initiative designed to transform the holy city into a global centre for purpose-driven ventures.
The signing ceremony in Madinah (Medina) was attended by Prince Abdulaziz bin Faisal bin Abdulmajid bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, establishing formal governmental backing for the initiative.
The new venture studio targets deep tech, AI, healthtech, sustainability, ESG and impact sectors, utilising DeepMinds' proprietary hybrid-agentic venture-building system to accelerate technology transfer and localisation within Saudi Arabia's innovation framework.
The initiative aims to transform Madinah into a global destination for innovators and entrepreneurs, connecting local talent with international networks whilst leveraging the city's millions of annual visitors as potential contributors to purposeful innovation.
DeepMinds brings comprehensive venture-building resources including deep tech scientists, AI engineers, industry experts, venture builders and serial entrepreneurs to support the creation of economically viable and socially impactful companies.
The studio will operate on a circular innovation cycle encompassing discovery, concept generation, business model validation, technology transfer, training, venture building, investment, scaling and reinvestment to ensure sustainable innovation ecosystem development.
The Madinah Venture Studio will address modern city challenges through advanced technology solutions, moving beyond traditional approaches to urban development and service delivery.
DeepMinds specialises in creating, assembling and scaling deep tech ventures across the MENA region, focusing on knowledge-driven economy development and global technological advancement across multiple sectors.
ZOOM OUT - DeepMinds launched in 2023 specifically targeting the underserved deep tech sector across MENA, addressing historical gaps in knowledge, investment and ecosystem support for regional deep tech ventures. The company's strategy focuses on developing deep tech clusters for key industrial sectors including healthcare, defence and shipbuilding. In June, DeepMinds launched a national programme with Algeria's government investment fund ASF and research centre CERIST to create over 1,000 technology ventures. The venture studio has developed a scalable approach to transforming research capabilities into market-ready companies whilst creating substantial innovation employment across the region.
[Written and edited with the assistance of AI]
Read more about DeepMinds:
New venture studio to create Algerian 1,000 startups (Middle East AI News)
Root4AI to fast-track autonomous systems (Middle East AI News)
DeepMinds to build deep tech clusters (Middle East AI News)