Iris Capital, a venture capital firm that manages Saudi Telecom Company’s (STC) corporate venturing unit, has invested an undisclosed amount in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia-based Acadox, which makes interactive software to help teach students.
STC Ventures Fund said it now had a “significant minority stake” in Acadox, which recently graduated from the New Ventures and Entrepreneurship Program of King Abdullah University of Science & Technology (Kaust).
Fahad Mushayt, vice-president of corporate strategy at Saudi Telecom, said: “The establishment of STC Ventures in early 2012 comes as part of the Kingdom’s strategic direction and its drive to transform to a knowledge-based economy by enriching the spirit of both initiative and innovation being a fund that invests in start-ups and small and medium sized businesses which develop products and services in the field of telecommunications and information technology.”
Aiman Al-Atiqi, partner at Iris Capital, added: “The Seed Fund Program and the Entrepreneurship Centre at Kaust are stellar examples of excellence in the development of complex, technology based startups, assisting entrepreneurs in shaping their research and development projects to form successful technology startups and become leading companies in Saudi Arabia.”
Teo Uysal, acting director of New Ventures and Entrepreneurship at Kaust, said: “With this new funding and board representation of STC Ventures, Acadox will be able to accelerate its growth in the education marketplace.”