Saudi start-up launches AI stockpicking app

Lead

Saudi start-up Almutanabi has launched what it says is the kingdom’s first AI-powered equity trading application, making trading suggestions for Saudi and global equities to paying customers from 30 August. The homegrown app, developed by co-founders Omar Alolayan and Mohammad Alsallum, currently serves fewer than 100 retail users and is approved by the Capital Markets Authority to act as an adviser but not a broker. The company is seeking SAR10 million to SAR15 million (about $2.66m–$4m) in a Series A round to expand its user base and embed its technology with brokerages.

Direct quote

“These are all of the things that nobody as a human can comprehend,” said Omar Alolayan, Almutanabi’s chief of AI, describing the app’s ability to compare trading patterns, company cash flows and incremental share price changes to predict price directions. He added of machine decision-making: “Machines don't have feelings. Whenever it makes a decision, it makes it based on maths.”

Context and details

Almutanabi offers subscribers monthly access to algorithmic stock-picking suggestions. Because the start-up is authorised only as an adviser, the app cannot execute trades on behalf of users — investors must approve every suggested trade. Alolayan said the company is in talks with Saudi trading apps to integrate its technology with brokerage platforms to streamline that approval process and reduce the number of steps required to act on recommendations.

The AI underpinning Almutanabi was built in-house from scratch, according to Alolayan. The system analyses a range of inputs — market trading patterns, corporate cash flows and small changes in share prices — and issues directional predictions about where a stock's price may move next. Almutanabi stresses speed and scale as comparative advantages, arguing the AI can process far larger volumes of information than an individual analyst.

International peers already offer AI tools for retail investors: platforms such as eToro, Public and TradingView have rolled out AI bots or advisory features to support trading decisions. Industry voices caution that AI is not a panacea: Vasant Dhar, professor of data science at New York University and author of Thinking with Machines, warned of the limits. “Predicting markets is the hardest prediction problem out there, period,” he said, noting that while AI can improve speed and operational efficiency, the inherent unpredictability of markets remains a core challenge.

• Launch date for paying customers: 30 August
• Current user base: fewer than 100 retail investors
• Regulatory status: approved as an adviser by the Capital Markets Authority; not licensed as a broker
• Fundraising target: SAR10m–SAR15m ($2.66m–$4m) Series A

Outlook

Almutanabi aims to move beyond a retail-only footprint by courting institutional investors and embedding its AI into brokerage apps to shorten the path from suggestion to execution. The founders believe impartial, math-driven decisioning will help scale equity advice, but external experts stress that beating market randomness is a high bar even for advanced AI. As Almutanabi pursues its Series A raise from Omar Alolayan and co-founder Mohammad Alsallum's self-funded beginnings, its next steps will hinge on successful integrations with trading platforms and traction among larger investors who can test whether the app’s predictions translate into consistent returns.