• Saudi fintech barq has closed a $329.5 million Series A round at a $1.85 billion valuation, with participation from Noon Investments, Sohar International Bank, and M20 Fund. 
• Founded in 2023 by Ahmed Alenazi, barq is a Saudi Central Bank (SAMA)-licensed financial technology company offering digital payments and money-transfer services through its app.
• The latest financing gives barq a $1.85 billion valuation, placing the Saudi fintech firmly in unicorn territory.

Press release:

Saudi digital payments company barq has closed a $329.5 million Series A funding round at a valuation of $1.85 billion, following rapid growth in its user base and transaction volumes since its launch.

The round saw participation from Noon Investments, Sohar International Bank, and M20 Fund.

The new valuation places barq among Saudi Arabia's fintech unicorns and comes around two years after the company launched its services to users.

Headquartered in Riyadh, barq is a financial technology company licensed by the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA), offering digital payments and other financial services through its platform.

The company is led by founder and CEO Ahmed Alenazi, who previously served as CEO of Saudi digital payments company stc pay.

barq says it has surpassed 15 million users from more than 210 nationalities within two years, as it continues to expand its range of digital financial services and products.

The total value of funds processed through the platform has also exceeded SAR440 billion ($117.3 billion) since launch, reflecting the growing transaction volume across its services.

The company has been expanding its payments offering beyond domestic transactions. Earlier this year, barq partnered with Alipay+ to enable cross-border QR payments, allowing its users to make payments at supported merchants across more than 220 markets globally.

The Series A funding will support barq's next phase of growth, with the company planning to strengthen operational efficiency, accelerate the development of products and services, invest in new financial and technology solutions, and enter additional regional and international markets.

The $1.85 billion valuation also makes barq one of the region's faster-growing fintech companies to cross the $1 billion valuation threshold following its market launch.