More than 2,500 startups, roughly US$2.6 billion of venture capital into Riyadh since 2018, and four unicorns.
The takeaway: your next competitor — or your next acquisition — is younger than your strategy document. Corporates need a scouting lane, not a memo.
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765,000 came for the falcons
The Saudi Falcons and Hunting Exhibition 2026 closed after receiving 765,000 visitors in 10 days at the Riyadh Exhibition and Convention Center in Malham, with 1,450 exhibitors and brands on 200,000 square metres. A Mongolian falcon sold for SAR 1.4 million, the highest price in the auction's history, and auction sales exceeded SAR 7 million; the Al-Malwah race carried SAR 723,000 in prizes.
765,000 visitors alongside a single SAR 1.4 million falcon shows the exhibition serves a mass audience and a high-spending niche at the same time.
Money market funds stay home
The Capital Market Authority decided to require managers of public money market funds to ensure that investments and assets held outside Saudi Arabia do not exceed 5% of a fund's net asset value. All overseas investments must also be with counterparties holding an investment-grade credit rating issued by a licensed credit rating agency, according to a CMA circular to capital market institutions.
Limiting foreign exposure to 5% of net asset value means money market funds are mainly used for domestic funding. This change affects where riyal liquidity is held more than it changes what savers earn.
Fifty days and 6,681 riyals
Saudi Arabia's Musanad platform reported that in H1 2026 the average domestic worker recruitment period was 50 days, at an average cost of SAR 6,681, with the service running across 39 countries. The platform handled more than 122,000 service transfer requests and more than 450,000 insurance contracts, working with approximately 6,164 approved external offices, and expanded wage payment channels to 16 digital options.
The state has made this market measurable, with transfers exceeding 122,000. Focus on preparing for customer transitions rather than prioritizing first-time recruitment.
