RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s focus on artificial intelligence is starting to take shape after local firm Halo AI secured $6 million in seed funding.
The funding round, led by Saudi-based Raed Ventures and UAE’s Shorooq Partners, also garnered interest from former C-level executives from Snapchat, as well as leaders from Microsoft, Airbnb, Amazon, and investors behind gaming unicorns, according to a press release.
This investment aligns with the Kingdom’s efforts in AI as it pursues its ambitious initiatives to position Saudi Arabia as a global leader in the field.
The National Strategy for Data and Artificial Intelligence, launched in 2020, is a cornerstone of these efforts, seeking to attract $20 billion in investments by 2030 and cultivate a workforce of 20,000 AI and data specialists.
Halo AI, which specializes in using the tech to enhance collaborations between brands and creators, is gearing up to move beyond its successful launch in the Kingdom to new markets, including Dubai and Kuwait, with further expansion across the Middle East and North Africa, and into Europe as well as North America.
“After decades of building ad products at Meta and Snapchat, we recognized that traditional approaches couldn’t solve the fundamental inefficiencies in creator marketing,” said Vito Strokov, co-founder and CEO of Halo AI.
“Our agentic AI operates as an intelligent partner in the collaboration process, making autonomous decisions about creator-brand matches, optimizing campaign performance in real-time, and consistently delivering breakthrough results,” Strokov added, stating that the platform reduces manual work by 85 percent while delivering performance metrics that exceed industry standards.
The investment, announced during the 1 Billion Pitches competition at the 1 Billion Followers Summit in UAE, will support Halo AI’s global expansion plans.
The creative economy is a sector set to be significantly impacted by AI. According to Halo, its technology is designed to automate and optimize creator-brand partnerships, claiming to achieve a 97 percent campaign completion rate compared to the industry average of 65 percent.
Additionally, campaigns can be launched within 48 hours, while creators are guaranteed payment within 72 hours — claims that underscore Halo AI’s potential to develop the market.
The company claims it has already secured partnerships with brands such as Kitopi, ToYou, 1/2M, and Syarah.
Tina Daher, principal at Shorooq Partners, highlighted the platform’s impact on the creator economy.
“Halo AI’s pioneering technology is a game-changer, bringing unmatched precision, scalability, and efficiency to this space. At Shorooq, we’re excited to support Halo AI’s vision to redefine how brands and creators connect, enabling them to unlock unprecedented value and impact across the region and globally,” Daher said.
Raed Ventures also underscored the company’s significance in a rapidly growing sector.
“The creator economy is booming, and brands are seeking authentic connections with their audiences,” said Wael Nafee, general partner at Raed Ventures.
“Halo AI’s innovative AI-powered platform is transforming how creator-brand partnerships are formed and executed. We’re proud to lead their fundraising round and confident Halo AI will become a definitive platform in this rapidly growing market,” he added.
