The company establishes a locally governed entity with support from the Ministry of Investment of Saudi Arabia, formalizing more than a year of commitments across Saudi Arabia and the Gulf
Napster LEAP 2026
Napster Saudi Arabia
NEW YORK and RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, Sept. 03, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Napster, the AI company democratizing access to expertise through embodied, multimodal agents, is now officially incorporated in Saudi Arabia, establishing a legal entity in the Kingdom with support from the Ministry of Investment of Saudi Arabia and AstroLabs. The move gives Napster a permanent, locally governed presence in one of its most important markets and formalizes an investment the company has been building across Saudi Arabia and the wider Gulf for more than a year.
Saudi Arabia has become one of the fastest-growing digital economies in the world, driven by national AI initiatives under Vision 2030 and sustained investment in local infrastructure. Organizations across the public and private sector are moving quickly to deploy AI, and many now expect the technology providers they work with to operate inside the Kingdom to ensure compliance with local regulations and data sovereignty. A local entity positions Napster to meet that expectation directly and better capitalize on the business relationships it has built with some of the Gulf’s biggest AI, tech, and infrastructure entities.
“You cannot serve a market like Saudi Arabia from the outside. The organizations building the Kingdom’s AI economy want a technology partner that is present, accountable, and invested in the same outcomes they are,” said John Acunto, CEO of Napster. “Incorporating here puts us inside the ecosystem we are helping to build, under the same rules and working toward the same national goals as the clients we serve. Napster has earned its place as a first mover in this market, and we intend to remain among the AI leaders in Saudi Arabia and the rest of the Middle East.”
The step, announced in Riyadh during LEAP 2026, one of the world’s biggest tech events, follows a series of commitments Napster has made in the region. The company signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Takamol Holding in November 2025, a Master Service Agreement with Lenovo to host its platform on local infrastructure in January 2026, and has since worked with DETASAD and Nourah Information Technology Company (NITC) to bring sovereign AI capabilities and Arabic-native intelligence to Saudi clients.
“For our clients in the Kingdom, a locally incorporated Napster means faster deployments, agreements written under Saudi law, and a team that answers to the same regulators they do,” said Samuel Huber, CEO of MENA for Napster. “This lets us go deeper with the organizations we already serve and reach the many more preparing to put agentic AI to work across the region.”
With a local entity in place, Napster can contract directly under Saudi law, deploy its platform in line with the Kingdom’s data sovereignty requirements, and grow a locally hired regional team to support enterprise and government clients on the ground.
“We are building a full organization inside the Kingdom, with local engineering and deployment capability and a team clients can rely on every day,” said Frank Furnari, General Manager for Saudi Arabia and Senior Vice President at Napster. “Our commitment is long term: We are hiring and developing Saudi engineers, tuning our agentic and embodied AI to Arabic and the requirements of local enterprises and government, and working with local partners to co-develop new solutions made in Saudi Arabia. Our goal is not simply to deploy technology in the Kingdom, but to build it here, creating solutions that can scale alongside a sector that is maturing quickly.”
“Napster’s decision to incorporate in Saudi Arabia reflects the confidence global technology companies place in the Kingdom’s investment environment and its ambitions in artificial intelligence,” said Dr. Arwa Alrawais, General Manager of Information and Communications Technology at the Ministry of Investment of Saudi Arabia. “As we build a competitive AI economy under Vision 2030, we welcome investors who commit to operating here for the long term and to creating opportunities for Saudi talent. Napster’s presence adds to a growing ecosystem that is drawing world-class innovation to the Kingdom.”
Napster plans to expand its team and deployments in Saudi Arabia through 2026, with further initiatives across the MENA region to follow.
About Napster
Founded on the principle of democratizing access, first to music in 1999, now to expertise in the AI era, Napster has consistently remained at the forefront of technological shifts that empower users. Today, the company builds embodied, multimodal AI agents that engage employees and customers where they already work: through video presence, voice, and text. Designed to work alongside people rather than replace them, Napster’s agents carry institutional knowledge into every interaction, elevating the user’s experience and improving business outcomes. For more information, visit napster.com.
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