Saudi Arabia’s digital infrastructure is no longer merely a supporting pillar for the telecommunications sector. It has become a key factor shaping where startups choose to establish and scale their businesses.
According to the Saudi Internet 2025 report published by the Communications, Space and Technology Commission (CST), the Kingdom continues to strengthen the foundations of its digital economy through a high-performance telecommunications network, near-universal internet penetration, and the growing adoption of advanced technologies. Together, these factors are creating an increasingly favorable environment for the growth of technology-driven startups.
Infrastructure That Reduces Growth Challenges
Startups particularly those operating in Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) and business to business (B2B) solutionsdepend on reliable digital infrastructure to deliver their services efficiently
In 2025, Saudi Arabia’s median mobile internet download speed increased to 216 Mbps, up from 203 Mbps a year earlier, placing the Kingdom among the top five G20 countries in this indicator.
Meanwhile, the country’s 5G network recorded download speeds of 320 Mbps, while fixed broadband latency reached just 8 milliseconds, supporting cloud-based applications and services that rely on real-time data processing.
Beyond enhancing the user experience, these performance indicators provide technology companies with a more stable operating environment, reducing technical challenges and improving the reliability of digital services.
A Market Ready to Adopt Digital Products
Alongside the continued development of digital infrastructure, the report highlights Saudi Arabia’s high level of digital readiness.
Internet penetration reached 99.6%, achieving 100% coverage in the regions of Riyadh, Makkah, the Eastern Province, Madinah, and Hail.
Average monthly mobile data consumption climbed to 53 GB per user approximately three times the global average—while 61.3% of internet users spend more than seven hours online each day.
These figures indicate that startups are entering a market where consumers are already highly accustomed to digital services, reducing the time required to build a user base and increasing the likelihood of rapid adoption of new applications and digital platforms
Artificial Intelligence Expands Startup Opportunities
The report found that 45.2% of internet users in Saudi Arabia now use artificial intelligence tools, reflecting the accelerating adoption of emerging technologies across the market.
This trend creates significant opportunities for startups developing AI-powered solutions across productivity, customer service, and business management, allowing them to tap into a market that is increasingly prepared to embrace artificial intelligence compared with previous years.
Indicators That Matter to Investors
The report’s findings are equally relevant for investors assessing market readiness before deploying capital into technology companies.
Saudi Arabia’s total internet data traffic reached 69 million terabytes in 2025, with 56% attributed to domestic traffic and 44% to international traffic.
At the same time, IPv6 adoption rose to 67%, while the number of Saudi internet networks approached 200. The number of Saudi domain names also increased by 18% year-on-year.
Collectively, these indicators reflect continued investment in digital infrastructure, strengthening the market’s capacity to support the expansion of digital services and technology-enabled business models.
Digital Infrastructure Strengthens the Entrepreneurial Ecosystem
In recent years, Saudi Arabia has focused on developing its entrepreneurial ecosystem through funding programs, startup accelerators, venture capital funds, and regulatory reforms.
The findings of the Saudi Internet 2025 report add another important dimension to this ecosystem: the readiness of the Kingdom’s digital infrastructure, which supports startups from their earliest stages through to regional and international expansion.
With Saudi Arabia also ranking first globally in the 2026 ICT Development Index published by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the Kingdom’s digital infrastructure has become a key competitive advantage—not only in attracting technology investment but also in providing startups with an environment where they can build, test, and scale innovative products into regional and global markets.
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