Naif Al-Obaidallah co-founded SDM alongside Dr. Selwa Al-Hazzaa, an ophthalmologist with nearly four decades of clinical expertise, building a Riyadh-based startup around a striking medical premise: that the retina can reveal far more about a person’s health than the eye itself. Since launching in 2018, SDM has developed AI-driven retinal imaging technology capable of detecting the early stages of diabetic retinopathy and other chronic conditions, aiming to make diagnostic screening faster, more accessible, and less dependent on specialist availability — particularly in remote communities across Saudi Arabia and beyond.
As Co-Founder and Managing Director, Al-Obaidallah has focused on expanding what the company’s core technology can detect. Speaking to Arab News, he explained that a single retinal image can help identify at least twenty different diseases, with SDM’s research extending into detection of glaucoma, hypertension, and Alzheimer’s through the same imaging approach — work he has described as demonstrating how directly ocular health reflects systemic health.
SDM’s ambitions have extended into research well beyond clinical diagnostics. In 2025, the company partnered with nonprofit FALAK for Space Science and Research to send biological samples into orbit aboard SpaceX’s Fram2 mission, studying the effects of low gravity on the human eye’s microbiome — the first time such specimens had been carried into a polar orbit with a live crew. Al-Obaidallah has represented SDM at international platforms including LEAP, Saudi Arabia’s flagship technology conference, and has engaged with programs such as Tech Founders London to build connections across the broader startup ecosystem.
A graduate of Alfaisal University, Al-Obaidallah has built SDM’s growth around a founding conviction he shares with Al-Hazzaa: that accessible, low-cost healthcare should not be limited by geography, positioning the company as a distinctly Saudi contribution to global health-tech innovation.
