Key Takeaways:
Sew raised up $25 million in its Collection A spherical led by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), the primary enterprise to put money into Sew in Saudi ArabiaIn response to stories, Sew has processed greater than $5 billion value of transactions on its platform over the previous six months, which noticed income improve by 20 instances within the 12 months 2025The corporate is engaged on the API-based infrastructure to allow the launch of tokenized, and AI-ready, monetary merchandise quicker for banks and fintech
World enterprise capitalists are probing how a lot deeper crypto-centric infrastructure funding can go within the Center East in the hunt for the following large monetary rail. Enquiry buyers in Banking, Cryptocurrency, Blockchain, and Metals sector has elevated and the buyers demand for blockchain appropriate banking techniques which can be linked to actual world monetary exercise has been rising.
a16z Makes First Saudi Arabia Wager With Sew
Riyadh-based fintech Sew introduced a $25 million Collection A led by Andreessen Horowitz, bringing the corporate’s complete funding to $35 million. Current backers together with Arbor Ventures, COTU Ventures, Raed Ventures, and SVC additionally joined the spherical.
Sew raised a $25M Collection A, led by @a16z, with continued backing from Arbor, COTU, Raed, and SVC.
Grateful to our clients, who belief us with the techniques that run their enterprise.
Monetary establishments nonetheless run on infrastructure that ought to have been left behind 20 years… pic.twitter.com/XgvVqdNKK6
— Mohamed Oueida (@MoOueida) Might 14, 2026
The deal stands out as a result of it marks a16z’s first funding within the GCC area. The enterprise large mentioned Sew represents a brand new era of economic infrastructure constructed for digital belongings, AI integration, and programmable finance.
In response to a16z, greater than $5 billion has already been transacted by way of Sew’s platform within the final six months alone. The agency additionally claimed buyer development elevated 10x in 2025, whereas income climbed 20x throughout the identical interval.
Sew is now energetic in areas of the GCC, Africa and Southeast Asia. It has a shopper base of economic establishments and fee corporations like LuLu Change, Raya Financing, Noqodi, and Foodics.
Learn Extra: a16z Makes Daring Asia Push: Opens Seoul Workplace as It Targets the World’s No.2 Crypto Market
Sew Pushes API Infrastructure for Trendy Finance
The corporate is growing an “OS for FI’s. It has an infrastructure stack that features fee, card, lending, and ledger capabilities, together with workflow automation through modular APIs.
AI and Tokenization Are Driving Demand
Most of the banks are nonetheless on legacy techniques that have been carried out many years in the past and thus hindered by the adoption of AI, mentioned Mohamed Oueida, Founder CEO of the undertaking. He contended that to actually incorporate using AI instruments, monetary corporations should start by enhancements of their elementary layers of framework.
The story line is turning into extra prevalent all through the crypto and fintech house. The necessity for quicker settlement techniques and programmable monetary structure that works throughout jurisdictions throughout all tokenization platforms, stablecoin issuers and digital asset corporations is barely a part of the story.
Sew’s cloud-based mannequin gives an incremental strategy for establishments to modernize as a substitute of an all-or-nothing situation with the intention to change a complete banking system. It might resonate with innovators at banks which can be venturing into stablecoins, tokenization and settlement networks on the blockchain.
Center East Crypto Infrastructure Race Accelerates
The fundraise additionally sheds mild on the rising prominence of the Center East within the digital asset infrastructure sphere. Each Saudi Arabia and UAE have taken measures to enchantment to fintech and blockchain corporations through regulatory measures and institutional partnerships.
Monetary establishments internationally are grappling with “infrastructure debt,” which means adoption and innovation with AI is slowing, a16z Common Companion Alex Rampell mentioned. He added that trendy system-of-record platforms like Sew might turn into vital for the following section of economic expertise.
Learn Extra: Ripple Groups Up With Saudi Financial institution’s Jeel to Check Quicker Blockchain Funds in Regulated Sandbox
