Terraxy raises $3M seed to scale desert-greening soil tech
What's the deal? TerraxyDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, a startup spun out of King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), has raised $3 million in a seed round led by Wa'ed VenturesDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, Saudi AramcoDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →'s venture capital arm. KAUST also participated.
The funding will help Terraxy scale its soil regeneration and carbon storage technology from pilot projects to industrial production. A centrepiece of the plan is a 30,000m² commercial facility in Al Zulfi, Saudi Arabia.
Terraxy's core product, Carbosoil, is a soil enhancer designed for the sandy, nutrient-poor ground that dominates the Arabian Peninsula. The company says it can boost plant growth and yield by up to 70% using the same amount of water and nutrients — a critical advantage in one of the world's most water-scarce regions.
Why now? Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture (MEWA) has created a Regulatory Sandbox that lets emerging environmental technologies undergo real-world testing under official oversight. Terraxy has used this framework to validate its product, clearing a path toward commercialisation.
The timing also aligns with Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 push to diversify the economy, improve food security, and hit sustainability targets. Soil degradation affects nearly a third of the world's arable land, and the kingdom's vast deserts make the problem especially acute at home.
What could go wrong? Scaling lab-born soil technology to industrial production is no small feat. Moving from a controlled pilot to a 30,000m² facility introduces manufacturing, supply chain, and quality-consistency risks.
The product's real-world performance across different soil types and climates is still being proven. And Terraxy's market depends heavily on government-backed greening and agriculture programmes — policy shifts could slow demand.
The signal: This is Terraxy's second seed round, pointing to a staged funding approach that lets an early-stage deep-tech company de-risk before scaling — a pattern increasingly common among KAUST spinouts backed by institutional capital. Wa'ed Ventures, as Saudi Aramco's dedicated venture arm, is a telling lead investor: its involvement signals that the kingdom's hydrocarbon incumbents are actively bankrolling technologies that address the environmental consequences of arid-climate economies, from soil degradation to carbon capture.
Read more: scienmag.com
