Goldman Sachs joins Saudi delivery app Ninja’s possible $1 billion IPO

Goldman Sachs has joined a four-bank lineup for Saudi quick-delivery app Ninja’s planned listing, a mandate that points to where the firm still sees IPO energy: scaled consumer technology in the Gulf with regional backers and a clear growth story.

Bloomberg reported on May 8 that Ninja had lined up Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, Riyad Capital and UBS for an offering that could raise about $1 billion, with timing stretching toward the end of 2026 or into early 2027. That timeline matters for Goldman bankers because it leaves room for long runway work on valuation, investor education and sector comparables rather than a rushed market launch.

Ninja was founded in 2022 by Saud Al Qahtani and Canberk Donmez. By July 2025, it had raised about $250 million in a round led by Riyad Capital, reaching a $1.5 billion valuation and unicorn status. The company operates across Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar and Kuwait, and has been reported to have generated about $1 billion in revenue in 2025 with a target of $1.6 billion in 2026. That scale makes it more than a local app story. For Goldman’s equity-capital-markets team, it is the kind of regional consumer platform that can be underwritten as a serious public-market asset, not a niche venture bet.

The deal also fits Goldman’s broader push in Saudi Arabia. The firm opened its regional headquarters in Riyadh’s King Abdullah Financial District on December 11, 2025, said it had been present in Saudi Arabia since 2008, and launched the first stage of an onshore private wealth management presence in Riyadh on October 21, 2025. A listing mandate from Ninja would deepen those relationships in a market where founder access, sovereign-linked capital and corporate advisory work increasingly overlap.

Saudi market activity adds to the backdrop. The Saudi Exchange said on May 10, 2026 that the IPO for Dar Albalad for Business Solutions Co. had started that day, underscoring continued primary-market activity in the kingdom. Goldman Sachs Research has also framed Saudi Arabia’s diversification and digital transformation as part of a broader capex super-cycle, which helps explain why a quick-commerce company with regional reach can look attractive to bankers and investors alike.

For Goldman professionals, the significance goes beyond fees. A Saudi delivery IPO would be another sign that the most actionable growth capital-markets opportunities are increasingly emerging from the Gulf, where consumer demand, platform economics and market-building ambitions are converging.