
Newlab, the Brooklyn, N.Y.-based global venture platform for technology startups with a major innovation hub at Michigan Central in Detroit’s Corktown neighborhood, is expanding into Riyadh in Saudi Arabia.
The endeavor will be an integrated public-private partnership involving multiple public sector agencies and leading industry partners.
It marks what Newlab is calling “a key milestone” in its mission to accelerate the commercialization of critical technologies by aligning cross-sector partners, infrastructure, capital, and resources in strategic geographies around the world.
Newlab Riyadh is expected to attract leading critical-tech startups to Saudi Arabia and accelerate commercialization outcomes that will translate into measurable economic impact in the country and broader region.
Newlab Riyadh joins Newlab’s growing network of hubs around the world, including Newlab Brooklyn, Newlab Detroit, and Newlab Montevideo in Uruguay.
Newlab will establish an initial beta space in Riyadh this year to serve as an anchor point for the founding startup ecosystem, while beginning development of a larger hub slated to open in 2026.
Once built, the hub will provide essential technical infrastructure for startups and partners to convene and collaborate. It will have the signature Newlab features: flexible workstations and private studios, labs, workshops, and event areas designed for large-scale presentations and product launches.
To catalyze the ecosystem, Newlab says it will launch sector-focused and challenge-based programs designed to attract leading startups, drive targeted investment activity, and enable structured collaboration between startups and potential end-users in the region.
Each program will be anchored by key government and industry stakeholders whose partnership is imperative to driving commercialization outcomes.
The first program, The Mining Innovation Studio, will focus on attracting startups that are developing technology that can be applied to addressing key challenges or opportunities across the mining value chain including:
- Accelerating the exploration and identification of economically viable mineral resources
- Increasing the efficiency, productivity, and regulatory compliance of mineral recovery
- Reducing emissions across the mining value chain
- Efficiently processing and refining strategic and critical minerals from primary and secondary resources
The Mining Innovation Studio is anchored by the National Industrial Development and Logistics Program (NIDLP), the Ministry of Industry and Minerals (MIM), Saudi Geological Survey (SGS), Saudi Arabia Mining Co. (Ma’aden), and Saudi Mining Services Co. (ESNAD). Future programs will focus on energy, logistics, and advanced manufacturing.
“Newlab is expanding globally into regions that are uniquely positioned to accelerate the commercialization of critical technologies,” says David Belt, co-founder and executive chair of Newlab. “The economic transformation in KSA represents a generational opportunity to catalyze an ecosystem of startups that can drive technology-led diversification, growth, and scale solutions that can be applied to industrial-scale challenges around the world.
“Our work will be geared towards helping KSA achieve its 2030 goals and accelerate decarbonization and sustainability. We are extremely excited for the work we can do in-region and feel that it will have an outsized impact on the world at large.”
Newlab has appointed Muneef M. AlMuneef to lead Newlab Riyadh and the company’s expansion into the broader region. AlMuneef brings more than 16 years of experience working across strategic roles in the public and private sectors.
Most recently, he served as general director of renewable energy policies at the Ministry of Energy, where he helped lead the development and implementation of policies and strategies to advance Saudi Arabia’s renewable energy sector.
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