Former Google exec to help build unicorns for Saudi VC Fund

One of the Middle East’s largest venture capital funds hired Ivan Jakovljevic from Google to help transform its portfolio of startups into so-called unicorns. Jakovljevic will join Saudi Arabia’s STV — which backed Dubai-based ride-hailing firm Careem before its sale to Uber — as chief development officer next month, the company said. He was previously head of new markets for Google in the Middle East and North Africa.

“Saudi startups are at an inflection point,” STV CEO and former Google executive Abdulrahman Tarabzouni said. The fund is “nurturing what could become another two-to-three unicorns over the next few years,” he said. Startups with a market value of $1 billion are typically referred to as unicorns.