Silicon Valley’s General Catalyst makes first investment into Saudi Arabia

Silicon Valley venture capital firm General Catalyst has made its first investment in Saudi Arabia through fintech startup Lean Technologies, which just closed a Series B round worth $67.5 million.
General Catalyst has $30 billion in assets under management and has backed major U.S. tech companies like Snap , Stripe and AirBnb . Lean Technologies’ fundraising round also saw participation from Bain Capital Ventures, Stanley Druckenmiller’s Duquesne Family Office, and Arbor Ventures, among others, bringing the Riyadh-based firm’s total funding to over $100 million to date, according to a Sunday statement from the company.
For three of those investors — General Catalyst, Stanley Druckenmiller and Bain Capital — this investment is their first in the kingdom.
What this signifies, Lean Technologies CEO and co-founder Hisham Al-Falih told CNBC, is that