Kingpin has raised $3.5 million in seed funding to scale its global platform that helps brands, distributors, and wholesalers find, approach, and transact with retailers more efficiently
Kingpin, a UAE-based AI-native SaaS company redefining how brands, distributors, and wholesalers find, approach and transact with retailers, has raised $3.5 million in seed funding to accelerate its global distribution platform.
The round was backed by US-based Infinity Ventures, Red Swan Ventures, Mu Ventures, as well as UAE-based COTU and Outliers, with support from Hub71. The new funding will enable Kingpin to expand its engineering and product teams, strengthen its AI capabilities, and expand its operations beyond the Middle East to Europe and North America.
Kingpin was founded by Harsh Sajnani (co-founder & CEO) and Guilherme Soares (co-founder & COO) – both third-generation industry operators, representing the buyer and seller sides across two regions: MENA and Latin America. Drawing on their backgrounds, the founders experienced first-hand the fragmentation and inefficiencies that slow global trade. Kingpin was created to reinvent how the industry operates by building infrastructure that streamlines B2B sales and operations. The platform connects people, products, pricing, and processes within a single ecosystem, enabling businesses to manage discovery, sales, and fulfillment more efficiently.
“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.” said Harsh Sajnani, co-founder & CEO of Kingpin.
“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.”- added Guilherme Soares, co-founder & COO.
Infinity Ventures, which led the round, emphasized Kingpin’s potential to redefine how commerce operates 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.” – said Mario Ruiz, co-founder and Managing Partner at Infinity Ventures.
COTU Ventures, an early backer of Kingpin, reaffirmed its conviction in the team and vision by continuing its support at the seed stage.
““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.” said Amir Farha, Founder at COTU.
Basma Ahmed AlBadi AlDhaheri, Head of Value Creation, Hub71 said: “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.”
Kingpin currently serves over 300 distributors and brands across multiple retail sectors like Beauty, Fashion & Sports, helping sales teams grow revenue by up to 20%, reduce sales cycles by 85%, and save 200+ hours a month through automating complex workflows. Its AI-native retailer discovery engine enables brands to identify and connect with the right retailers globally. Its AI agents validate prospects, access verified contacts, and personalise outreach. This enables faster, smarter market expansion, and gives teams more control to grow their markets and revenue.
The company is part of the Mubadala-backed Hub71 ecosystem in Abu Dhabi, benefitting from the UAE’s thriving AI innovation landscape and access to global markets.
