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Saudi Aramco’s venture capital arm Wa’ed Ventures has invested for the second time in Tenderd, a startup backed by billionaire investor Peter Thiel and specializes in artificial intelligence technologies.

The company’s platform offers AI-generated insights to help clients increase efficiency and lower carbon emissions in heavy industries such as construction and logistics.

The latest investment from Wa’ed Ventures, which wasn’t disclosed in the June 11 announcement, is part of Tenderd’s $30 million raise in a Series A funding round. It was led by A.P. Moller Holding, the investment company owned by Denmark’s wealthy Maersk family.

The round also saw participation from Quadri Ventures, Nakhla Ventures, Soma Capital, Liquid 2 Ventures, and Saurya Prakash Sinha.

Wa’ed Ventures first invested in Tenderd in July last year, but the value of the deal was not disclosed. 

According to Bloomberg, the Saudi venture capital arm’s latest move signals Aramco’s intentions to use Tenderd’s AI-generated insights.

“We are in the process of engaging with Aramco and we have plans in the works,” Tenderd CEO Arjun Mohan told the outlet.

While the $500 million venture arm of Aramco didn’t reveal the amount it invested in the Tenderd, Mohan disclosed that A.P. Moller invested around $20 million.

In 2019, billionaire tech investor Thiel backed a $5.8 million seed funding round for Tenderd. Besides him, the firm is backed by other top investors, including Y Combinator, Beco Capital, and Dynamo Ventures.

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Saudi Arabia’s bets on AI startups

Saudi Arabia’s leadership has before declared the kingdom’s ambitions to be a frontrunner in the AI industry. As such, Saudi venture capital firms have increasingly made huge bets on startups developing the revolutionary technology.

Last month, Prosperity7 Ventures, a subsidiary of Aramco Ventures, reportedly participated in the $400 million raise for Zhipu AI, one of China’s best-funded AI startups. The move marked the first known high-profile foreign investment in a Chinese generative AI initiative.

People familiar with the deal told the Financial Times that the Saudi fund’s involvement shows the kingdom’s willingness to support an ecosystem that could guard against United States AI dominance.

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