Saudi-based startup Sawt has secured $1 million (SAR 3.75 million) in a pre-seed funding round, backed by leading investors STV and T2. With this funding, the company is poised to scale its Arabic-native voice AI platform and redefine how businesses across the region handle customer interactions.
A Bold Step in AI-Driven Customer Support
Sawt’s core mission is to replace outdated call centers with intelligent, always-on voice agents. These AI-powered agents handle customer support, bookings, and sales, responding naturally, understanding Arabic context, and operating 24/7 without the usual delays or human limitations.
- AI Agents that sound human
- Support available around the clock
- Zero wait times or hold music
- Optimized for Arabic-first communication
This innovation targets a rapidly growing need across the Gulf region, where traditional call centers often struggle with efficiency, staffing, and cost control.
Backed by Strong Investors
The funding round was led by STV and T2, two major players in the regional venture capital space. According to Ahmad Al Naimi, General Partner at STV:
“Sawt exemplifies a new wave of Saudi AI-native ventures. With strong technology and momentum, they’re set to lead the $800M–$1.2B GCC AI call center automation market.”
This backing signals confidence in Sawt’s vision and its ability to scale rapidly in a high-demand market.
Scaling Up with Arabic at Its Core
With fresh capital in hand, Sawt is laser-focused on:
- âś… Expanding its team of engineers and AI experts
- âś… Scaling cloud infrastructure to support millions of calls
- âś… Refining its Arabic-native voice models for greater accuracy
- âś… Enhancing data privacy and security for enterprise clients
Unlike many global solutions, Sawt is building voice AI from the ground up, in Arabic, by Saudis, for the Arab world. This local-first approach ensures high accuracy, cultural alignment, and full compliance with regional data policies.
Aligning with Vision 2030
Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 places a strong emphasis on AI and data, with 66 of its 96 goals linked to tech-driven transformation. Sawt’s CEO and Co-founder, Abdulmalik Al-Saeed, shared:
“At Sawt, we’re proud to contribute to this movement by building Arabic voice technology from the ground up, right here in the Kingdom.”
Solving Real-World Customer Pain Points
Sawt was born out of the everyday frustrations businesses face with customer support, long wait times, overloaded agents, and repetitive inquiries. These issues cost companies time, money, and customer trust.
- Faster response times
- Fewer overhead costs
- Improved customer satisfaction
- End-to-end voice automation
T2’s CEO, Abdulkarim Aljarba, added,
“Sawt’s platform enables us to tap into this market and help our clients unlock new value through advanced AI voice calling.”