Aramco’s Wa’ed Ventures co-leads Euro 13m Series A round in OQ Technology for growth into MENA

10X Technology

Mita Srinivasan
10X Technology
Published:

Aramco’s Wa’ed Ventures co-leads Euro 13m Series A round in OQ Technology for growth into MENA

OQ Technology is in the process of establishing two global subsidiaries, one in Saudi Arabia, and one in Greece. According to GSMA Intelligence report published this year, the global direct-to-satellite market is growing at fast rate with 3GPP standardized technology offering access to new revenue for telcos, which will be worth over $30 billion by 2035.

Aramco’s Wa’ed Ventures joins Phaistos Investment Fund to lead a Euro 13 million Series A funding in OQ Technology, a global 5G IoT satellite operator. The funds will be used to grow its 5G IoT satellite constellation, further develop its proprietary technologies and acquire more licenses. OQ’s technology enables applications requiring fast and real-time data processing in remote and rural areas via small satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO).

As part of OQ’s expansion strategy, OQ Technology is in the process of establishing two global subsidiaries, one in Saudi Arabia, the first of its kind in the Kingdom and the only 5G space network operations centre in the MENA region, and one in Greece under the name ‘OQ Technology Hellas’.

The Saudi subsidiary, headquartered in Al Khobar, will host one of the largest data and network operations centre in the Middle East for 5G satellite services and will pioneer many of the business engagements with large oil and gas companies in the region. The centre will develop new products to engage with the local industrial ecosystem and universities in line with Saudi Arabia’s space initiatives as part of Vision 2030.

Fahad Alidi, Managing Director and CEO at Wa’ed Ventures commented; “Our investment in OQ Technology is the true manifestation of our mission to position the Kingdom as the centre of gravity for global tech ventures. We envision OQ to become the nucleus to building a full spacetech ecosystem that starts with the Kingdom and spreads to the surrounding region.”

Omar Qaise, founder and CEO of OQ Technology hopes that the funding will help the company achieve their immediate goals in terms of growth, expansion into Middle East, African, Asia, South America, and Oceania, increasing their spectrum licenses and patents portfolio, and further product development..

He added, “We have pioneered satellite-based 5G communications with the world’s first universal IoT device that can provide connectivity using satellite in low Earth orbit (LEO) and other patented technologies. This investment is testament to the strength of our business plans, capabilities, and technology that OQ has been implementing since its inception, and a clear differentiator from many other satellite IoT companies.”

According to GSMA Intelligence report published this year, the global direct-to-satellite market is growing at fast rate with 3GPP standardized technology offering access to new revenue for telcos, which will be worth over $30 billion by 2035.