Thiel co-invests with Saudi PIF, Qatar in new business platform
The billionaire co-founder of data software giant Palantir Technologies and PayPal will invest in SILQ Group through his Valar Ventures unit
Nordin Catic/Getty Images for The Cambridge Union
Peter Thiel speaks at The Cambridge Union in May
Tech investor Peter Thiel is teaming up with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and a Qatari lender to back a new business-to-business commerce platform, starting with a combined sum of $110 million.
Thiel, a co-founder of data software giant Palantir Technologies and PayPal, will invest in SILQ Group through his Valar Ventures unit, according to a statement issued today.
The $925 billion Saudi sovereign wealth fund will participate through its Sanabil Investments subsidiary, joining Valar in a group that also includes Qatar Development Bank.
SILQ was formed through a merger between the Riyadh-based online marketplace Sary and ShopUp, Bangladesh’s largest business-to-business commerce platform.
With the funds from Thiel, Sanabil and Qatar, the merged company plans to target markets across the Middle East and Asia, and raise more money in 2027 through an IPO.
“Saudi Arabia and the Gulf represent one of the most exciting economic stories in the world today,” James Fitzgerald, Founding Partner at Valar Ventures, said in the statement. “This merger reflects a bold vision to place these markets at the center of a new commercial ecosystem connecting with South Asia.”