Saudi chip design startup Rimal raises bridge round
Fabless model and Saudi-owned IP target defence, power grid and data centre markets
#SaudiArabia #funding – Riyadh-based fabless semiconductor design startup Rimal Semiconductors, has secured a bridge funding round from Saudi investment firm Keheilan Asset Management (KAM) and an undisclosed regional investor to expand its chip design operations and global partnerships. Founded in 2025 by Houssam Salem, Rimal designs high-performance power chips while outsourcing manufacturing to international foundries across Taiwan, South Korea and China, with discussions underway with US-based manufacturers. The company aims to leverage Saudi-owned intellectual property and a diversified manufacturing network to supply global markets across defence, power grid infrastructure and data centre sectors, with six contracts currently in the pipeline.
SO WHAT? – Rimal Semiconductors is notable on two levels. First, it provides progress towards Saudi Arabia’s ambition to develop a home-grown semiconductor design sector, following the launch of the National Semiconductor Hub and related initiatives in 2024. Second, its deliberately diversified, geopolitically neutral manufacturing model is a direct and pragmatic response to the US-China semiconductor supply chain fragmentation that is reshaping the global industry. By anchoring intellectual property in Saudi Arabia whilst distributing manufacturing across multiple geographies, Rimal is building in resilience into its business model.
Here are some key points about the new funding:
Saudi chip design startup Rimal Semiconductors has secured a bridge (Pre-Seed) funding round from Keheilan Asset Managemen (KAM) and an unnamed regional investor. The proceeds will support the expansion of its chip design operations and the development of global manufacturing and distribution partnerships. The value of the Pre-Seed round remains undisclosed.
Founded in 2025 by Houssam Salem, Rimal describes itself as Saudi Arabia’s first fabless semiconductor design company, operating a model that focuses on chip design and Saudi-owned intellectual property whilst outsourcing fabrication to established international foundries.
Rimal’s chip design focus centres on high-performance power chips for energy, mobility and industrial applications, sectors that are experiencing accelerating demand for specialised semiconductor solutions as electrification, AI infrastructure and smart grid investment intensify globally.
The company’s manufacturing network currently spans Taiwan, South Korea and China. The startup also has discussions underway with US-based foundries to further diversify its production geography and reduce exposure to supply chain disruption driven by US-China geopolitical tensions.
Rimal’s distributed manufacturing strategy is explicitly designed to navigate semiconductor supply chain fragmentation. By spreading manufacturing across diverse global semiconductor centres, the company to supply chip designs to global customers regardless of manufacturing location, by maintaining neutral, multi-geography production partnerships.
The startup has six contracts in the pipeline across defence systems, power grid infrastructure and data centre technologies, including one with a major Egyptian conglomerate, reflecting early commercial traction across strategically important and high-demand sectors.
Rimal is currently negotiating a regional distribution agreement covering Turkey, Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia and the UAE to allow it to scale quickly. Local engineering teams will provide on-the-ground technical support to clients in each market.
The company combines global engineering expertise with a deliberate investment in local talent development, offering hands-on training, technical partnerships and knowledge transfer programmes designed to cultivate a new generation of Saudi chip designers aligned with the Kingdom’s strategic industrial priorities.
ZOOM OUT – Rimal Semiconductors' expansion aligns with Saudi Arabia's deliberate and well-funded strategy to build a domestic semiconductor design industry from the ground up. In June 2024, Saudi Arabia launched its National Semiconductor Hub, with an ambition to establish at least 50 semiconductor design companies in the Kingdom by 2030. The initiative is backed by a deep tech venture capital fund exceeding SR1 billion ($266 million), SR150 million in support products from the National Technology Development Program, and a target to train 5,000 engineers in semiconductor design by 2030, The hub is supported by Public Investment Fund subsidiary Alat Semiconductors, King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology and research university KAUST.
[Written and edited with the assistance of AI]