KAUST tech start-up secures $2 mln investment

Artificial Intelligence (AI) start-up, UnitX, has secured a $2 million (SAR 7.5 million) co-investment from the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) and Saudi Aramco’s Wa’ed Ventures fund.

The joint funding will support UnitX, a cloud-based spin-out from KAUST, to democratize supercomputing and help enterprises of all sizes leverage technologies such as high-performance data analytics to make data-driven decisions, reduce IT spending and become globally competitive.

“We are breaking the barriers of skill and access to supercomputers – which are traditionally expensive beyond the reach of most companies – and partnering with institutions that have unused supercomputing power. We then make this spare capacity available to the companies on our platform in a manner that is easy to use,” UnitX co-founder and CEO, Kiran Narayanan, said.

The co-investment will be used in UnitX’s rapid team expansion in order to cater to growing client demands. Additionally, the funding will support business development for large clients (financial and retail) as well as small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

The team is currently securing contracts with leading financial, insurance, retail and SMEs, catering to government, supply chain and oil and gas stakeholders.