Startup Spotlight: How AI-Powered Mobility Platform Ahlan Is Helping Professionals Move to Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia’s career opportunities are drawing international professionals and their families to the Kingdom, especially as it moves to diversify its economy beyond oil. In fact, according to the latest estimates of the General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT), the country’s non-Saudi population reached approximately 15.7 million in mid-2024, up from 14.5 million in 2023, accounting for 44.4% of the population.

Its appeal as a place to work is also reflected in InterNations’ Expat Insider 2026 survey, in which 70% of respondents in Saudi Arabia said they had relocated for work-related reasons, compared with 33% globally, while 72% said the move had improved their career prospects.

However, employment is only one part of moving to another country, and settling into everyday life is a different conversation. It is within this space that Abiel Ghezae developed Ahlan, an AI-powered global mobility platform. Through personalized guidance and planning tools, Ahlan aims to support professionals and families before and after their move to Saudi Arabia, connecting them with organizations and service providers in one place.

“Attracting talent is only part of the challenge. Professionals still have to navigate housing, schools, documentation, finances and everyday life across disconnected sources and providers,” Ghezae, founder and CEO of Ahlan, explains. “That is the gap Ahlan is being built to address: helping international professionals not only move to Saudi Arabia, but settle and thrive here.” 

The idea took shape as Ghezae prepared to return to Saudi Arabia in early 2026. Although he had previously lived and worked in Riyadh, finding the information he needed still meant searching government websites, property platforms, Facebook and WhatsApp groups, and reaching out to personal contacts.

“Saudi Arabia today is very different from the country I previously lived in. The scale of transformation is attracting international companies, investment and talent, creating a growing need to make moving to and living in the Kingdom as seamless as possible,” he says, explaining why he sees Ahlan as particularly relevant now.

Born in Saudi Arabia and raised in the UK, Ghezae has spent more than 20 years working across both countries in entrepreneurship, business development, marketing, events and community building. His experience includes two and a half years as marketing director for an international retail franchise in Saudi Arabia. He now draws on that background to lead Ahlan’s business strategy and growth in the Saudi market.

“I realized the problem wasn’t necessarily a lack of information,” he says. “It was bringing the right information together, making it personal and providing a clear route from a question to actually getting something done.”

Founded in May 2026 and currently operating in beta, Ahlan begins with a questionnaire to assess each member’s needs and priorities. Its AI assistant, Ask Ahlan, uses this information to answer their relocation questions with guidance relevant to their situation. This is the starting point for the company’s model: Ask → Plan → Do. The aim is to help members turn the guidance into a personalized plan, then take the next step or find a service provider who can help. 

“Trust is equally important,” Ghezae emphasizes. “After Ask Ahlan provides an answer, members can select ‘Verify Sources’ to check the sources behind the information provided. We are continuing to strengthen this layer as the platform develops, supported by two PhDs (Doctor of Philosophy) in AI within our core team.”

Individuals can also use relocation checklists to organize their move and a savings calculator to help with financial planning, two of its popular tools, according to Ghezae. Ahlan also includes Discover and Community features, where members can explore and review restaurants, cafes, events, and local experiences. The team is currently developing booking capabilities so members can arrange services through the platform.

Five months into the business, Ahlan has already reached 500 members and secured 12 organizational pilots, according to Ghezae. The pilots span education, events, media, and health and beauty, including an international school that has backing from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund. The names of the participating organizations remain undisclosed while the pilots are underway.

“Organizations can support their international professionals through one connected ecosystem while gaining greater visibility into their needs and progress,” Ghezae says. “Ultimately, we are connecting three sides of the ecosystem: the professional, the organization supporting them, and trusted providers capable of fulfilling their needs.”

Ahlan has been founder-funded to date, and is now raising US$750,000 in pre-seed financing.

“Relocation is our entry point because it creates a series of high intent needs, from housing and education to careers, events and everyday services,” Ghezae explains. “The opportunity is to connect that intent with the organizations supporting internationally mobile professionals and trusted providers capable of serving them. Saudi Arabia gives us a compelling market in which to prove that model before expanding further.”

Ahlan aims to attract approximately 3,000 members by the end of October through paid acquisition, giving the team a larger user base to test the service, Ghezae says.

Looking ahead, the company plans to add more trusted Saudi service providers to the platform, reducing the need for members to navigate disconnected websites and social media platforms. Saudi Arabia will remain Ahlan’s focus as it seeks to develop its local knowledge before expanding across the GCC and other international relocation routes.

“I want Ahlan to become a key part of the infrastructure that makes international mobility significantly less fragmented,” he says. “In Saudi Arabia, that means creating one connected ecosystem where a professional can ask a question, understand their options, make a plan and take the next action, while organizations and trusted providers participate in that same journey.”

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