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- Saudi Arabia Discovers 110M Tonnes of Ore; RedBird Meets PIF Over Al-Nassr; Synapse Secures $13M
Saudi Arabia Discovers 110M Tonnes of Ore; RedBird Meets PIF Over Al-Nassr; Synapse Secures $13M
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Wednesday, September 16, 2026
Happy Wednesday everyone!
Strategic mineral exploration, sports franchise acquisitions, and fintech capital raises mark major business updates across the Middle East. Saudi Arabia identified an estimated 110 million tonnes of ore containing rare earth elements and uranium at its Jabal Sayid project. In sports finance, private equity firm RedBird Capital is scheduled to meet with Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) to evaluate a potential takeover bid for Al-Nassr FC. Meanwhile, Abu Dhabi-headquartered AI company Synapse Analytics closed a $13 million Series A funding round led by Partech to expand its risk automation platform.
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Saudi Arabia Discovers 110M Tonnes of Rare Earth and Uranium Ore at Jabal Sayid
🔹 What Is It About
Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman announced the discovery of 110 million tonnes of mineral ore at the Jabal Sayid site in the Madinah region. Geological surveys indicate the deposit contains roughly 552,000 tonnes of heavy rare earths, including dysprosium and terbium, alongside 355,000 tonnes of light rare earths. The site also holds an estimated 31,000 tonnes of uranium resources.
Identifying Large Deposits: Surveys confirmed 110 million tonnes of ore containing heavy rare earths, light rare earths, and uranium.
Measuring Rare Earths: The site holds 552,000 tonnes of heavy elements and 355,000 tonnes of light elements.
Locating Nuclear Material: Exploration mapped 31,000 tonnes of uranium within the same geological formation.
🔹 Why It Matters
Locating domestic heavy rare earths and uranium resources supports Saudi Arabia's goals to develop local mining and nuclear energy industries. Having an internal supply of critical minerals reduces dependence on foreign supply chains for industrial manufacturing. Co-located uranium deposits provide potential fuel sources for domestic civil nuclear power projects.
🔹 What’s Next
State mining teams will complete feasibility studies to determine commercial extraction costs for the Jabal Sayid site. Energy officials will evaluate processing frameworks to refine raw uranium for power generation.
Evaluating Extraction Costs: Mining engineers will assess technical requirements to extract heavy rare earths economically.
Developing Refining Plans: Regulatory agencies will review processing options for domestic uranium reserves.
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Money20/20 Middle East: Fintech’s Biggest Names Head to Riyadh
For three days, Riyadh will become a meeting point for some of the biggest names in finance and fintech. Money20/20 Middle East returns from September 14 to 16, with more than 38,000 attendees, 600 investors, 350 speakers and 150 startups expected in Malham.
The line-up includes Tabby CEO Hosam Arab, Revolut GCC CEO Ambareen Musa, NALA founder Benjamin Fernandes and Lean Technologies CEO Hisham Al-Falih. Beyond the stages, much of the action will be around founders meeting investors, financial institutions and potential partners as Saudi Arabia builds its position as a regional fintech hub. Smashi Business is an official media partner and will be covering the event from Riyadh.
RedBird Meets PIF to Evaluate Takeover Bid for Al-Nassr FC
🔹 What Is It About
Private equity firm RedBird Capital, led by Chief Executive Officer Gerry Cardinale, is holding talks with Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) regarding a takeover bid for Al-Nassr FC. Reporting points to a 5-member consortium discussing a joint bid, including team captain Cristiano Ronaldo (holding a reported 15% equity stake), former club president Ibrahim Al-Muhaidib, Almería owner Mohammed Al-Khuraiji, and businessman Sharaf Al-Hariri. Each partner's minimum buy-in is reportedly set at $100 million.
Targeting Majority Stake: The consortium aims to acquire 70% of Al-Nassr, with PIF retaining a 30% holding.
Structuring Private Buy-In: The proposed partner buy-in requires a minimum commitment of $100 million per participant.
Expanding Multi-Club Networks: RedBird considers integrating Al-Nassr into its network alongside AC Milan and Toulouse.
🔹 Why It Matters
Releasing 70% of Al-Nassr to private investors aligns with PIF's strategy to reduce direct ownership across top Saudi Pro League clubs, following the sale of Al-Hilal. Acquiring a majority stake in Al-Nassr brings private capital into a club carrying over $213 million in debt. Involving active players like Cristiano Ronaldo as equity partners sets a new precedent for commercial participation in regional sports franchises.
Privatizing League Clubs: Selling state-owned stakes advances government plans to transition sports assets to private investors.
Restructuring Club Debt: Bringing in private capital helps manage operational liabilities and player contracts.
🔹 What’s Next
RedBird and PIF representatives will complete preliminary discussions to decide whether to advance to formal contract negotiations. Legal teams will review the consortium's corporate structure if PIF approves the terms.
Synapse Analytics Secures $13M to Expand AI Credit Decisioning Platform
🔹 What Is It About
Abu Dhabi-headquartered AI firm Synapse Analytics raised $13 million in a Series A funding round led by global venture firm Partech, alongside Algebra Ventures and Silicon Badia. Co-founded by CEO Ahmed Abaza and COO Galal Elbeshbishy, the firm builds software that automates risk and underwriting decisions inside a bank's own secure cloud environment. Total capital raised by the startup reached $17 million following the investment.
Closing Series A Funding: Partech led the $13 million investment round alongside Algebra Ventures and Silicon Badia.
Deploying On-Premise Software: The platform runs within an institution's private perimeter to meet data privacy rules.
Reaching $17M Total: Total funding reached $17 million since the company's launch.
🔹 Why It Matters
Allowing banks to run AI credit scoring models within their private servers solves data privacy hurdles for regulated financial institutions. Risk management teams can test policy updates against historical transaction data before deploying automated loan approvals. Expanding software deployment across the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America helps regional lenders process loan applications faster while maintaining strict compliance controls.
🔹 What’s Next
Synapse Analytics will hire additional software engineers and data scientists to expand its technical teams in Abu Dhabi. Sales leads will launch market expansion campaigns across target banking sectors in Latin America and the GCC.
Hiring Technical Teams: Management will recruit software engineers to build specialized AI agent features.
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🔍In other news…
🦄 World of Startups
ChatFeatured, Canada-based AI startup, raised $2M in a pre-seed funding round from BY Venture Partners (UAE/Lebanon) and other global investors
Doctorbook, Syria-based healthtech platform, raised $16K in a pre-seed funding round from a group of angel investors, valuing the startup at $200K
Carbar, Australia-based car subscription platform, is merging with Carasti, UAE-based car subscription business operating across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, and Singapore, at a combined pre-raise valuation of $74M
Fincart, Egypt-based eCommerce enablement platform, raised $2.8M in a seed funding round
