Saudi FlyAkeed secures $25.15 million to scale enterprise travel platform
FlyAkeed فلاي أكيدCompany- SanabilInvestor
Artal CapitalInvestor- AljaziracapitalInvestor
FlyAkeed, a Saudi corporate travel‑tech SaaS, closed a SAR 94.3 million ($25.15 million) growth round on Sept. 3, 2026. The financing, a mix of equity and Murabaha sukuk, was led by Sanabil Investments with participation from Artal Capital, Tali Ventures and Aljazira Capital. The capital is earmarked to roll out an embedded deferred‑payment product for large enterprises, positioning the company for deeper penetration in a fast‑growing regional travel spend market.
FlyAkeed secured $25.15 million in growth funding to accelerate its enterprise travel‑management platform, announcing the round at LEAP 2026 in Riyadh. The financing package combines an equity tranche and a Sharia‑compliant Murabaha sukuk, bringing together a PIF‑backed lead investor and several strategic corporate backers.
Deal Terms
The equity component was led by Sanabil Investments, the sovereign‑wealth‑fund‑owned arm of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, with co‑investors Artal Capital, stc Group’s corporate venture arm Tali Ventures, and Aljazira Capital. Artal Capital also structured and led the Murabaha sukuk financing, providing a non‑interest‑bearing bridge that aligns with regional compliance requirements. The total commitment amounts to SAR 94.3 million (US$25.15 million); valuation multiples were not disclosed.
Strategic Rationale
Founded in 2015, FlyAkeed offers a unified dashboard for booking flights, hotels, ground transport, policy approvals and spend tracking. The fresh capital will fund the launch of an embedded deferred‑payment offering, allowing large corporate clients to settle travel invoices on extended terms while keeping the transaction within FlyAkeed’s SaaS environment. This move blends travel‑tech with fintech, creating a sticky revenue stream that can boost expansion revenue and improve net‑revenue‑retention (NRR) for the company.
Saudi Arabia’s corporate travel spend topped $10 billion in 2024 and is projected to roughly double by 2033. FlyAkeed already serves more than 150 enterprises, including the Public Investment Fund, Maaden, Golf Saudi and the National Housing Company. By adding flexible financing, the platform aims to capture a larger share of the market’s high‑value accounts, where payment‑term flexibility is a decisive procurement factor.
The participation of Sanabil and Artal signals confidence in FlyAkeed’s ability to scale a B2B SaaS model that couples operational efficiency with embedded finance. For investors, the round illustrates growing appetite for growth‑stage SaaS ventures that can leverage regional corporate demand while adhering to Sharia‑compliant financing structures.
Why It Matters
FlyAkeed’s new deferred‑payment product deepens its value proposition beyond itinerary management, turning the platform into a quasi‑banking layer for corporate travel spend. Existing rivals that rely solely on booking automation may need to accelerate their own embedded‑finance roadmaps to stay competitive in the GCC, where large enterprises prioritize cash‑flow flexibility. For FlyAkeed’s current client base, the offering reduces the friction of invoice settlement, likely improving renewal rates and expanding average contract value.
The involvement of Sanabil and Artal also gives FlyAkeed privileged access to the broader PIF ecosystem and stc Group’s corporate network, potentially unlocking cross‑sell opportunities with other Saudi enterprises. This strategic backing could accelerate FlyAkeed’s expansion into adjacent verticals such as expense‑management and broader procurement SaaS, reshaping the competitive dynamics among travel‑tech providers operating in the region.
Key Points
- FlyAkeed raised SAR 94.3 million ($25.15 million) in growth funding
- Equity was led by Sanabil Investments with Artal Capital, Tali Ventures and Aljazira Capital participating
- Artal Capital also led a Murabaha sukuk financing for the round
- Funding will be used to launch an embedded deferred‑payment offering for large enterprises
- FlyAkeed serves over 150 corporate clients, including PIF, Maaden, Golf Saudi and the National Housing Company
Analysis
The round underscores a broader shift in B2B SaaS where embedded finance becomes a core growth lever. While FlyAkeed’s valuation multiple was not disclosed, the blend of equity and Sharia‑compliant sukuk reflects investor appetite for structures that meet regional compliance while delivering upside on SaaS metrics such as ARR expansion and NRR improvement. The deferred‑payment product creates a recurring revenue component that can boost expansion revenue and raise the average contract value, a trend likely to attract other SaaS founders seeking to lock in enterprise spend.
For investors, the deal highlights the attractiveness of Saudi‑centric SaaS platforms that can tap a $10 billion corporate travel spend base projected to double by 2033. The participation of sovereign‑wealth‑linked investors signals confidence in the scalability of FlyAkeed’s model and may pave the way for follow‑on rounds at higher multiples as the company demonstrates traction on its new financing feature. Operators in adjacent verticals—expense management, procurement and broader travel‑tech—should watch FlyAkeed’s approach as a template for integrating fintech capabilities into SaaS offerings, potentially reshaping valuation benchmarks for growth‑stage companies in the GCC.