Uvera, a Dhahran-based deep tech startup building shelf life extension and supply chain intelligence tools for the fresh food industry, has closed its seed funding round with backing from Morgan Stanley Inclusive & Sustainable Ventures, LAB7, and Core Vision, alongside a group of strategic angel investors.
A platform built on preservation and traceability
Uvera’s core offering combines proprietary shelf life extension technology with blockchain-backed traceability and IoT-powered analytics. The platform is designed to help producers, distributors, and retailers keep fresh produce viable for longer while gaining better visibility into how food moves through the supply chain. The company frames its mission around a well-documented problem. Roughly a third of all food produced globally is lost or wasted, a figure that carries high economic and environmental costs.
The startup was founded by Dr Asrar Damdam, who developed the underlying concept during her doctoral research. What began as a research idea has since grown into a company positioning itself at the intersection of food security and deep tech, with Uvera’s flagship device, Aurora, able to extend the shelf life of fresh produce by using a chemical-free process that takes roughly 30 seconds per use.
Fresh capital for commercial scale-up
Uvera says the new funding will go toward scaling commercial deployments and advancing its technology platform further. That includes continued work on the traceability, analytics, and supply chain intelligence features that distinguish its offering from simpler shelf life extension tools already on the market.
The company’s growth trajectory reflects a broader pattern in Gulf foodtech, where deep tech ventures tackling food waste and food security are increasingly finding support from both government-linked venture arms and international impact investors. Saudi Arabia’s foodtech sector has seen sustained investment growth in recent years, with food waste reduction emerging as a priority area tied to national sustainability goals.
Positioning within the region’s foodtech push
Uvera’s seed close arrives at a moment when Gulf governments and corporates are directing more capital toward agritech and foodtech solutions that address both economic loss and environmental impact. For Saudi Arabia specifically, reducing food waste ties into wider Vision 2030 sustainability commitments, and corporate venture arms like LAB7 appear increasingly willing to back deep tech ventures with long development cycles rather than only software plays with faster paths to revenue.
For Uvera, the round marks a shift from an R&D-stage company to one preparing for a wider commercial rollout. With Aramco’s venture arm now directly involved in strengthening its technical foundation, the startup enters its next phase with both capital and infrastructure support behind it, a combination that could prove decisive as it moves from pilot deployments toward broader adoption across the region’s food supply chains.
