Kingpin, the UAE-based AI-native SaaS company redefining how brands, distributors, and wholesalers discover, approach, and transact with retailers, has raised $3.5 million in a seed funding round aimed at accelerating the development of its global distribution platform.
The round was led by Infinity Ventures, alongside Red Swan Ventures, Mu Ventures, COTU Ventures, and Outliers Venture Capital, with additional support from Hub71. The new capital will enable Kingpin to expand its engineering and product teams, enhance its AI capabilities, and extend its operational footprint beyond the Middle East into Europe and North America.
Founded by Harsh Sajnani (Co-founder & CEO) and Guilherme Soares (Co-founder & COO)—both third-generation operators in the retail and distribution sectors—Kingpin was built in response to the fragmentation and inefficiencies slowing global trade. Leveraging their deep understanding of both the buyer and seller sides across MENA and Latin America, the founders set out to create infrastructure that streamlines B2B sales and operations. The platform unifies people, products, pricing, and processes into a single ecosystem that allows businesses to manage discovery, sales, and fulfillment with far greater efficiency.
Harsh Sajnani, Co-founder & CEO, stated:
“Coming from three generations across both sides of the industry, retail and distribution, we’ve been building Kingpin with a first-hand understanding of the main challenges – from new customer/supplier discovery, to deciding what and how much to buy, all the way to managing orders, shipments and financing. It’s a privilege to be building in the AI era: it allows us to combine technology, deep industry expertise and relentless execution to deliver real value to our customers.”
Guilherme Soares, Co-founder & COO, added:
“B2B retail’s been running on duct tape and Excel sheets for decades. Many have been trying to transform the industry before, but always in silos, patching one piece at a time while the system stays fragmented. Kingpin finally replaces all of that.”
Mario Ruiz, Co-founder and Managing Partner at Infinity Ventures, emphasized Kingpin’s ability to transform commerce at scale:
“We backed Kingpin because they’re bringing AI-native infrastructure to one of the largest and least-automated sectors of the global economy. With deep wholesale experience and exceptional execution, the team is transforming fragmented retail operations into intelligent, scalable workflows for brands, distributors, and their retail partners.”
Amir Farha, Founder at COTU Ventures, reaffirmed the firm’s longstanding support, saying:
“What I admire most about the Kingpin team is their discipline. Every step of their journey reflects thoughtfulness and care for the people they’re building for. Having been part of their story from the very beginning, it’s great to see how Harsh and Gui are rebuilding global distribution from the ground up and they’re now coming into their stride with an innovative AI-powered solution that has incredible potential.”
Basma Ahmed AlBadi AlDhaheri, Head of Value Creation at Hub71, noted:
“Kingpin reflects Abu Dhabi’s ambition to advance AI-first, export-ready companies that can scale globally from the capital. By enabling intelligent B2B infrastructure with global applications, Kingpin demonstrates the impact of Abu Dhabi’s global tech ecosystem in scaling innovative startups into commercially successful businesses. Through Hub71, we continue to empower pioneering founders who are shaping industries and enhancing Abu Dhabi’s global position as a world-class advanced technology hub.”
Today, Kingpin serves over 300 distributors and brands across multiple retail categories including beauty, fashion, and sports—helping sales teams increase revenue by up to 20%, reduce sales cycles by 85%, and save more than 200 hours per month through automation. Its AI-native retailer discovery engine helps brands identify relevant global retailers, validate prospects, access verified contacts, and personalize outreach for faster and smarter market expansion.
Kingpin is part of the Mubadala-backed Hub71 ecosystem in Abu Dhabi, benefiting from the UAE’s rapidly growing AI innovation environment and its strategic access to global markets.
