The Middle East’s giant sovereign wealth funds have poured money into dozens of U.S. private tech funds with the expectation that some of those petro dollars will funnel back to the region’s startups. Now there are signs that venture capitalists and private equity funds are responding by scouting for investments in local startups.
In recent months General Atlantic made an investment in Eyewa, an eyewear retailer similar to Warby Parker, based in Riyadh and Dubai. And TPG this year backed Riyadh-based Hala, which provides point-of-sale software, according to four people familiar with the transactions, which haven’t been previously reported. Both General Atlantic and TPG have raised money from Saudi Arabia’s $925 billion Public Investment Fund and are in the process of increasing their in-person presence in the region.