RIME, a Saudi startup that runs AI agents at physical sites, raised more than $2m in a seed round, announced on 4 August 2026. Seedra Ventures led it, according to Wamda and WAYA.
Athlah Investment, Unity Invest Partners and several angel investors also took part. Seedra also led RIME's earlier pre-seed round, Wamda reported. No valuation was disclosed.
Wamda reported RIME's scale, more than 6,000 cameras across 2,000 sites, as a company claim. It did not name any customers or disclose revenue.
“We are moving into a new era of Physical AI.”Mohammed Al Marshadi, Co-founder, RIME
What RIME does
RIME's platform links on-site cameras and sensors to AI agents that make decisions locally using edge computing and connected devices, rather than sending everything to a remote data centre. Wamda described it as a platform for deploying AI agents at physical sites.
The company says it connects more than 6,000 cameras to AI agents across over 2,000 operational sites in the Gulf region. Its customers are major retail and service chains, according to Wamda and WAYA. These figures come from the company and were not independently verified.
Co-founder Mohammed Al Marshadi said Saudi Arabia and the wider region are moving into a new era of physical AI.
WAYA framed the company's pitch as part of a wider shift, writing that physical AI is emerging as a new frontier for enterprise technology. In RIME's case, that means software agents that watch a store or service site through its existing cameras and sensors and act on what they see in real time.
Who is behind it
RIME was founded in Riyadh in 2024 by Mohammed Almarshidi and Aarif Al Otaibi, according to WAYA. Wamda named the founders as Mohammed Almarshidi and Arif Alotaibi. Spellings of both names vary between reports.
Neither report gave an employee count or the total raised.
Who invested
Abdullah Al Munif, a co-founder of Seedra Ventures, said that model capabilities alone are no longer the key differentiator in the sector, in comments quoted by Wamda.
Seedra's repeat investment, first at pre-seed and then at seed, shows the firm is staying with the company as it grows. The amount of the earlier round was not reported.
Wamda reported that Seedra Ventures is a repeat investor in RIME after leading the pre-seed round, and the seed amount is given only as more than $2m.
What the money is for
RIME said it will use the funds to strengthen its position in Saudi Arabia, accelerate platform development and help enterprises deploy scalable AI applications. It said this fits Saudi Arabia's National Strategy for Data and AI and Vision 2030.
WAYA reported that the company aims to develop an AI-powered operational intelligence platform as demand grows.
Wamda said RIME presents the raise as aligned with Saudi Arabia's National Strategy for Data and AI and Vision 2030. The reports did not set out a hiring plan.
Company website: rime.sa