- Saudi Arabia-based geospatial data company Gulf Business Technologies (GBT) has closed a $1.3 million (SAR 5 million) pre-seed round to support its expansion across Saudi Arabia’s telecoms and IT sectors.
- The round was led by Abdulaziz bin Abdullah Al-Zamil & Sons Investment Company, with participation from angel investors and investment firms, and was managed by SHORE Advisory Services.
- Founded in 2014 by Yousef AlNafjan, GBT operates in the geospatial data (GIS) space through its subsidiaries Penta-KSA and Penta-Labs.
- The funding will be used to strengthen infrastructure, expand the team, and launch a new generation of GeoAI products tailored to Saudi market needs.
Press release:
Gulf Business Technologies (GBT) has announced the successful closing of a SAR 5 million pre-seed funding round, marking a key milestone in the company’s growth within Saudi Arabia’s telecommunications and information technology sectors.
The round was led by Abdulaziz bin Abdullah Al-Zamil & Sons Investment Company, with participation from a group of angel investors and investment firms. The transaction was managed by SHORE Advisory Services.
Founded to advance the use of spatial intelligence in decision-making, GBT operates across the geospatial data (GIS) value chain through its subsidiaries Penta-KSA and Penta-Labs. Penta-KSA provides no-code GIS software solutions that enable non-specialists to access, analyse, and act on spatial data, helping organisations break down data silos and improve operational efficiency. Penta-Labs serves as the group’s deep-tech innovation arm, developing advanced GeoAI and digital twin solutions for smart cities and large-scale digital transformation initiatives.
Commenting on the funding, Yousef AlNafjan, Founder and President of Gulf Business Technologies, said the investment reflects growing confidence in the company’s vision and execution. He noted that the round will accelerate GBT’s growth trajectory and support its mission to transform complex spatial data into practical, user-friendly solutions for decision-makers involved in national digital transformation projects.
Walid Nassar, Managing Director at SHORE Advisory Services, said GBT addresses a clear gap in the deep-tech and spatial data market, a sector that is becoming increasingly critical to Saudi Arabia’s digital economy. He added that the company’s business model and market positioning make it well placed to scale as demand for advanced geospatial analytics continues to grow.
The newly raised capital will be used to strengthen GBT’s infrastructure, expand its team, and accelerate the development and launch of a new generation of GeoAI products through Penta-Labs. These solutions are designed to deliver more proactive, data-driven insights aligned with the evolving needs of the Saudi market.
Saudi Arabia’s geospatial analytics market is experiencing rapid growth, driven by Vision 2030 initiatives, smart city programmes, and government-led digital transformation. The market is estimated to be worth approximately $1.5 billion in 2025 and is projected to reach $2.5 billion by 2030, supported by large-scale developments such as NEOM, Qiddiya, and the Red Sea Project, all of which require advanced spatial analytics and digital twin capabilities.
