Saudi Energy and Kraken Technologies form joint venture

Through the Riyadh-based joint venture, Kraken's platform will be deployed across 11.5 million accounts across the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Energy (SE) and Kraken have signed agreements to set up a joint venture that will reserve licensing rights to deploy Kraken across the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Under the agreements, say the partners in a release, SE and Kraken will accelerate digital transformation across the energy and utilities sectors in the Middle East and North Africa.

The joint venture will serve as the exclusive reseller of the Kraken operating system across the MENA region, focusing on deploying the Kraken operating system to modernise utility operations and customer experience.

According to Kraken, through the joint venture, the company will support SE's AI-driven digital innovation strategy.

Kraken's platform is a cloud-based, and the AI-enabled operating system is designed specifically for utility companies. It enables digital operations, including customer experience, billing, service management, data analytics, and intelligent system optimisation.

The platform currently supports more than 90 million customer accounts on behalf of global utilities and operates in over 15 countries.

Commenting to Enlit media on what the joint venture means for Kraken's business model, a Kraken spokesperson said: "It's an important partnership for Kraken's growth and reflects the increasing global relevance of our technology.

"The joint venture is creating a regional delivery and go-to-market presence to deploy Kraken across MENA. The move is consistent with our existing strategy: working with organisations around the world that can help accelerate the energy transition at scale."

SE is the Kingdom's primary electricity provider for more than 11.5 million customers, operating an integrated business spanning generation and the transmission, and distribution network.

Through SE Generation, the company oversees a power generation fleet comprising 38 power plants and total owned generation capacity that exceeds 56.7GW, with annual electricity production exceeding 237TWh, representing more than 57% of national electricity production.

Through SE Transmission, the company is responsible for planning, operating, and expanding Saudi Arabia's electricity transmission network, which spans approximately 104,633 circuit kilometers and includes 1,315 substations.

The company's transmission business plays a pivotal role in connecting generation sources to demand centres, enabling renewable energy integration, and supporting the Kingdom's economic growth and Vision 2030 ambitions.

Finally, its Distribution and Customer Services division delivers power from transmission substations to more than 11.5 million customers across the Kingdom.

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As part of the agreements, SE will also acquire a minority strategic equity stake in Kraken, which it says will reinforce long-term alignment between the two companies.

Details on the size and relative share of the investment have not been disclosed.

The investment sees SE join existing investors in Kraken, including D1 Capital Partners, Fidelity International and Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, all of which backed Kraken's spin-off from Octopus Energy at a valuation of nearly $9 billion, initially announced last year.

Earlier this year, further paving the way for the demerger, the company announced an approximately £750 million ($1 billion) funding round, paving the way for its demerger from Octopus Energy Group.

Amir Orad, CEO of Kraken, said at the time: "We'll keep pushing innovation in the cloud, advancing our utility-grade AI and harnessing vast amounts of energy and grid data, while ensuring structural clarity for customers, investors, and partners.

"We are aiming to accelerate the energy transition and positively impact people around the world."