Digital security company Elm, owned by Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund, jumps 30% to $44.30 in its Riyadh trading debut after raising $820M in its IPO
Context & Ripple Effects
Elm's listing was three weeks in the making: the PIF-owned digital security firm filed to raise up to $820M in its Riyadh IPO in late January, and the 30% first-day jump to $44.30 confirms demand ran well past that target. Because the sovereign wealth fund stays majority owner, the debut is a partial monetization, not an exit.
The arc around it is PIF building out a listed Saudi tech complex: it has funded e-commerce player Noon.com directly, Salla's round was framed as its last before an IPO, and in 2025 PIF went further by selling business-services firm Thiqah to Elm itself in a $906M related-party acquisition.
First-order effects
- PIF converts a minority slice of Elm into $820M of fresh capital while retaining control, and public buyers immediately mark that stake up 30% to $44.30.
Second-order effects
- A warm reception gives PIF a template for taking other portfolio companies public — Salla's pre-IPO positioning and Noon.com's PIF-led funding sit directly on this path — and lets Elm use its newly valued currency for acquisitions like Thiqah.
Third-order effects
- Riyadh's exchange is structuring itself as the exit venue for state-backed digital infrastructure, with the government simultaneously owner, anchor customer, and seller — a circularity public-market investors will have to price.
The trend: Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund is serially listing its digital-security and e-commerce holdings on the Riyadh exchange, recycling proceeds while keeping control.