Saudi Arabia-based artificial intelligence infrastructure startup Think has raised more than US$8 million in a pre-seed funding round to accelerate the development and expansion of its AI infrastructure platform.
The financing round was co-led by RAED Ventures and Wa’ed Ventures, with participation from the venture capital arm of Dhahran Techno Valley (DTV) and a group of strategic angel investors.
According to the company, the transaction represents the largest pre-seed investment in artificial intelligence infrastructure and deep technology in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region to date.
Expanding AI Infrastructure Across Saudi Arabia and the GCC
Think said the new capital will be used to expand its engineering team, increase manufacturing capacity, accelerate product development, and support commercial growth across Saudi Arabia, the GCC, and selected international markets.
The company develops AI infrastructure designed to reduce the cost and complexity of deploying artificial intelligence systems by combining liquid-cooled multi-GPU hardware with proprietary orchestration software that improves computing efficiency and resource utilization.
Think was founded by Ahmed AlSharif, whose previous experience includes leadership roles at Meta, Sony PlayStation Europe, and EA Games, alongside co-founder Ammar Enaya, who previously held senior positions at Cisco, HPE Aruba, and Vectra AI.
Building More Efficient AI Infrastructure
Founder and CEO Ahmed AlSharif said the artificial intelligence industry is entering a new phase where infrastructure efficiency is becoming more important than simply increasing computing capacity.
“As the industry moves beyond the race for bigger models and larger data centres, a new age of efficiency is beginning,” AlSharif said.
“AI infrastructure today is expensive, inefficient, and increasingly difficult to scale. Think exists to help organisations do more with the compute they already have, offering an alternative to the industry’s current obsession with bigger, faster and more expensive.”
The company’s platform combines its proprietary AI Node hardware with its ILM orchestration software to improve GPU utilization, reduce deployment costs, and increase computing efficiency. According to Think, benchmark testing demonstrated sustained GPU utilization exceeding 90%, compared with industry averages ranging between 30% and 50%.
Think added that its platform is built around commercially available GPUs and is being developed to support mixed-vendor hardware for both AI training and inference workloads.
Supporting Saudi Arabia’s AI Ecosystem
The startup said it is currently involved in multiple proof-of-concept projects, production deployments, and strategic partnerships within Saudi Arabia, including participation in the Kingdom’s expanding AI ecosystem alongside initiatives such as HUMAIN.
Co-founder Ammar Enaya said organizations are increasingly seeking alternatives that provide greater control over their AI infrastructure.
“Our customers want the benefits of AI without the spiralling costs, security concerns, and dependence associated with hyperscale cloud providers,” Enaya said.
“We’re seeing strong demand from enterprises, startups and government organisations looking for infrastructure that delivers the performance they need, with an approach that gives them total control and ownership.”
Investors Back Sovereign AI Infrastructure
Wael Nafee, General Partner at RAED Ventures, said future AI leaders will be defined not only by the models they build but also by the infrastructure supporting them.
“Think is tackling one of AI’s biggest challenges with technology that improves efficiency while giving organisations greater control over their AI capabilities. We believe the team is building a category-defining company from Saudi Arabia with global potential,” Nafee said.
Wa’ed Ventures CEO Eng. Anas Algahtani said Saudi Arabia has an opportunity to become not only an adopter of artificial intelligence but also a builder of the infrastructure powering the technology.
Faizan Baig, Chief Investment Officer at Dhahran Techno Valley, added that sovereign and efficient AI infrastructure will be fundamental to national AI strategies by helping organizations manage costs, security, and data ownership.
Commercial Expansion Ahead
Following the funding round, Think plans to expand commercial deployments across Saudi Arabia, strengthen its presence throughout the GCC over the next 18 months, and continue developing ILM as a standalone software platform.
Why It Matters
As governments and enterprises accelerate AI adoption, demand is shifting toward sovereign infrastructure that delivers greater efficiency, security, and operational control. Think’s record pre-seed funding underscores growing investor confidence in Saudi Arabia’s ambition to become a regional AI infrastructure hub while highlighting the strategic importance of locally developed computing platforms in the global artificial intelligence race.
