In July 2025, Ninja, Saudi Arabia’s leading quick-commerce startup, secured a $250 million funding round at a $1.5 billion valuation—officially joining the Kingdom’s unicorn ranks and becoming the fastest Saudi tech startup to reach unicorn status since its founding in 2022.

Powered by a network of 100 “dark stores” across 28 cities, Ninja delivers groceries, pharmacy items, cosmetics, and even telemedicine orders within 20 minutes. The company is already profitable in its core operations and projects to surpass $1 billion in revenue by the end of 2025. With ambitions for 200+ dark stores and an IPO by 2027, Ninja underscores the accelerating pace of Saudi Arabia’s startup ecosystem.

1. Ninja’s Unicorn Milestone: A Turning Point

Ninja’s stunning rise is emblematic of several forces shaping the Saudi startup landscape:

• Speed & Profitability: Launching in 2022, Ninja reached unicorn status in just three years. It's not merely growing—it’s already profitable, a feat increasingly rare among global tech startups.
• Platform Expansion: The company initially focused on grocery delivery but has since expanded its offerings to include pharmacies, cosmetics, and even telemedicine, leveraging its infrastructure to become a comprehensive, on-demand platform.
• VC Validation: Led by Riyad Capital and other Saudi institutional investors, the $250 million round validates domestic investor confidence in scale-ups targeting regional expansion and eventual IPOs.

The elevation of Ninja has broader significance: Saudi Arabia is emerging as a venture capital powerhouse in MENA, and its startup ecosystem is reaching critical mass.

2. Saudi Arabia's Unicorn Ecosystem: Playing Catch-Up with Global Trends

Since 2020, KSA has led MENA’s startup investment surge, securing 32% of the region’s $3.86 billion in funding between 2020 and 2024, with total deal count and ticket sizes increasing steadily. While many funds have focused on early-stage ventures, later-stage funding has grown rapidly, accounting for $1.26 billion in late-stage deals, representing 50% of MENA's late-stage volume.

Ninja joins a growing list of Saudi unicorns, including fintech giants like Tabby, Tamara, and Foodics, indicating a strategic shift from early-stage experimentation to scale-up maturity. The Kingdom is also increasing its pace of exits, including IPO preparations—Ninja and others are eyeing IPOs on Tadawul (the Saudi Exchange) by 2027.

3. The Surge & Drivers Behind Saudi Unicorns

Several macro factors explain this unicorn surge:

1. Vision 2030 & Government Support
   Initiatives like the National Technology Development Program (NTDP) and Saudi Venture Capital (SVC) have injected $3 billion extra GDP and supported hundreds of startups, building the pipeline from seed to unicorn-ring.
2. Institutional Greenlight
   Governments, sovereign wealth funds, and local VCs (e.g., Riyad Capital, STV) are backing later-stage rounds, offering both capital and validation.
3. Sector Convergence
   Success in areas like fintech, e-commerce, foodtech (like Ninja), logistics, mobility, and enterprise SaaS reflect a competitive, well-diversified ecosystem.
4. Investor Confidence
   Despite global caution, Saudi startups raised ~$400 million in Q1 2025 alone, demonstrating sustained depth and momentum.

4. The Next Wave: Who's Next to Join the Club?

Analysts suggest Saudi unicorn counts could reach 45+ across MENA by 2030, with KSA at the forefront. Possible next members of the “unicorn club” include:

• Nana – a Riyadh-based grocery q-commerce startup with $212 million in funding and millions of orders.
• Floward – a digital floral and gifting marketplace with $186 million in funding and a multi-country footprint.
• Salla – an e‑commerce SaaS provider that raised $130 million in a pre-IPO round, expanding into ad tech.
• Foodics – a restaurant tech platform with strategic acquisitions and AI investments through regional expansion.
• PieShip, LAHINT, Mush Social – fast-growing seed-stage ventures with strong digital propositions, now scaling in logistics, gov-tech, and social platforms.

Other deep-tech and AI-enabled sectors, such as enterprise software, fintech, and smart cities, are rapidly advancing through accelerators like Falak Investment Hub.

 5. What Lies Ahead for Unicorns in KSA

• IPO pipeline on Tadawul: With Ninja targeting 2027, and others like Foodics and Salla preparing, Saudi Arabia is committing to public capital markets.
• Regional outreach: Unicorns will drive scale across GCC, MENA, and beyond, bolstered by KSA’s economic diplomacy under Vision 2030.
• Sector evolution: The next wave will be deep-tech, enterprise SaaS, AI platforms, and climate/energy tech that add value at national scale.
• Regulatory maturity: Ongoing legal reforms—equity vesting, intellectual property, startup visas—will encourage bigger flows of global capital and talent.
• Loans and VC interoperability: Venture debt, angel coalitions, and private credit will provide flexible funding pathways between equity rounds.

To conclude, Ninja's elevation to unicorn status marks a pivotal moment for Saudi Arabia’s startup ecosystem. It demonstrates not only the flourishing of a single company but also signals a broader ecosystem resilient and capable enough to nurture high-performing, scalable ventures. With strong government support, institutional funding, and growing startup maturity, KSA stands poised to cultivate dozens more unicorns by 2030. Companies like Nana, Floward, Salla, and Foodics illustrate the pathway: regional scaling, sector leadership, and eventual IPOs.

As these unicorns mature, Saudi Arabia is transitioning from a “VC destination” into a constructed venture capital hub, generating homegrown champions. The next decade could reshape how the Kingdom is perceived globally: not just as an oil economy in transition, but as a regional epicenter of entrepreneurial innovation.