Peter Thiel’s Valar, Saudi Arabia’s Sanabil Back B2B Commerce Firm SILQ - Bloomberg
The venture capital arm of Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund and Peter Thiel’s Valar Ventures are jointly leading a $110 million funding round in SILQ Group, a newly formed commerce platform.
Sanabil Investments, a wholly owned subsidiary of the $925 billion Public Investment Fund, and Valar are joining a group of investors that includes Qatar Development Bank, according to a statement.
SILQ was created through the merger of ShopUp, Bangladesh’s largest business-to-business commerce platform, and Sary, one of the Gulf’s leading marketplaces. The combined entity will target markets across the Gulf and emerging Asia.
The deal also marks Sanabil’s first investment in South Asia, the latest example of the Middle East’s growing trade ties with that region.
The merged entity is aiming for an initial public offering in 2027, according to its top executives. “We think the Gulf market is very exciting when it comes to IPOs — especially the Saudi market,” said SILQ Group’s Chief Executive Officer Afeef Zaman.
Over the next six months, the firm will focus on achieving profitability at a group level, said Mohammed Aldossary, CEO of SILQ Financial, its financing arm.
Aldossary also said that wide-ranging tariffs championed by US President Donald Trump will create opportunities for SILQ, as exporters seek new markets.
SILQ’s other backers include Saudi Arabia’s STV, Flourish Ventures, VSQ, MSA Capital, Rocketship VC, Wafra Investment, Peak XV, Prosus, Tiger Global, Endeavor Catalyst and Raed Ventures.
Collectively, ShopUp and Sary have processed over $5 billion of transactions and facilitated more than 100 million shipments to date.
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