Saudi Arabia has launched its first defense-focused venture capital fund, MasnaVentures, aiming to raise 100 million from investors in the US and the Kingdom. The fund is designed to support the localization of defense technology manufacturing within Saudi Arabia, targeting sectors such as unmanned aerial vehicles, aerospace, counter-UAS systems, automated platforms, AI-enabled defense technologies, and maritime solutions.
MasnaVentures is led by Lucien Zeigler and Nehal Farooqui, entrepreneurs with established experience in the US-Saudi defense corridor. Zeigler heads Redsalt Defense and its US-Saudi joint venture SR Advanced Strategic Systems, while Farooqui leads device services firm Zension Technologies. Together, they plan to facilitate about 10 early-stage transactions, providing structured growth capital to new joint ventures and special purpose vehicles that integrate Saudi manufacturing capabilities with advanced US defense systems.
The initiative highlights a growing role for the private sector in Saudi defense localization, offering "last-mile" capital to support formation and scale-up of projects that might otherwise struggle to enter the market due to infrastructure, regulatory, or localization challenges. MasnaVentures aims to give investors and startups visibility and confidence, enabling defense and advanced manufacturing companies to commit to the Kingdom with a reliable source of institutional funding.
