Saudi Arabia-based event technology startup INVE has raised $300,000 in pre-seed funding from Outliers Venture Capital to expand its digital event management platform and attract more customers across the Gulf region.
Founded in 2024 by Abdulrahman Alabdulkarim, the company provides tools for managing invitations, registrations and guest communications for social and corporate events.
The investment will support team expansion, brand development and customer acquisition as INVE scales its consumer and business platforms.
Its founder envisions transforming how people and organisations host gatherings, describing the company’s ambition as becoming “the infrastructure behind how people and businesses host across the Gulf.”
The startup plans to expand beyond Saudi Arabia and the GCC into North Africa, other African markets and Europe.
What INVE is and What It Does
INVE is a digital event management platform designed to help individuals and businesses organise gatherings without relying on scattered spreadsheets, email conversations and messaging applications.
Its services include personalised invitations, RSVP management, guest profiles, branded registration pages and digital entry passes.
For individuals, the platform simplifies the preparation of weddings, birthdays and other celebrations. Businesses can use it to coordinate conferences, networking sessions, dinners and summits while maintaining a consistent brand identity throughout the guest experience.
INVE also allows hosts to send invitations through their own email addresses and company WhatsApp numbers.
Its business platform is designed for organisations that consider events an important part of customer engagement, including technology companies, venture firms, financial institutions and event agencies.
By consolidating these activities, INVE aims to make hosting more organised, personalised and efficient.
From a Wedding Solution to a Growing Eventtech Business
INVE began as a practical solution to a personal challenge when Alabdulkarim developed its first version in 2024 to simplify invitations and RSVP management for his sister’s wedding.
The idea subsequently evolved into a consumer platform supporting events across Saudi Arabia and the Gulf region.
According to the company, its consumer product has facilitated 250 events in more than 60 cities and towns, sending over 35,000 invitations and recording an 88 per cent RSVP response rate.
The figures indicate that the platform has gained experience serving event organisers and managing guest communications. However, an RSVP response does not necessarily mean confirmed attendance.
With its business platform launched in August 2026, INVE is now seeking to extend its services beyond social celebrations into corporate gatherings and professional events.
What Drives INVE’s Business Model
A central feature of INVE’s business platform is its ability to maintain guest profiles that become more useful as people interact with hosts and attend events.
Rather than repeatedly collecting information from the same guests, businesses can retain relevant details, including preferences and attendance histories, for future gatherings.
The company says this approach can help hosts personalise invitations and improve communication while reducing the administrative work associated with managing separate guest lists.
Its founder argues that the hosting experience extends beyond the event itself, explaining that:
“The guest experience doesn’t start when someone walks through the door, and it doesn’t end when they leave.”
INVE wants businesses to build stronger relationships through more intentional interactions.
However, maintaining guest information also requires responsible data handling, appropriate consent and compliance with applicable privacy regulations.
Funding to Support Expansion and Customer Acquisition
The $300,000 investment will help INVE expand its team, strengthen its brand and attract more customers as it develops its consumer and business offerings.
The company is prioritising Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council, comprising Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman.
Its longer-term expansion plans include North Africa, other African markets and Europe, although the company has not announced specific launch dates for those markets.
The investment comes as INVE seeks to turn early consumer adoption into a broader business opportunity, serving organisations that regularly host events and need reliable guest-management systems.
Its self-service product is accessible internationally, but its immediate commercial focus remains regional. The company has not disclosed its valuation, detailed investment terms or revenue figures, making its financial performance difficult to assess independently.
Outliers as INVE’s First Paying Customer
Outliers Venture Capital became INVE’s first paid business design partner before investing in the startup, giving the firm an opportunity to experience the product firsthand.
The venture capital firm has used INVE to manage invitations and guest communications under its own branding, including preparations for its forthcoming Builder Summit.
Outliers General Partner Sarah AlSaleh said the partnership strengthened the firm’s confidence in the product and its founder.
“Working with INVE as a design partner before investing gave us conviction in both the product and Abdulrahman’s ability to execute,” she said.
Alabdulkarim, a software engineer who previously worked on backend and infrastructure systems at Lean Technologies, graduated from King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals.
He received the university’s President’s Medal for Entrepreneurship for INVE, becoming its second recipient.
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