Alaan, an AI-powered expense management platform for Middle Eastern businesses, has raised a $48M in Series A equity funding to accelerate its mission of simplifying finance operations through automation.
This round was led by Peak XV Partners (formerly Sequoia Capital India & SEA) and 885 Capital. Pioneer Fund joined it, with continued support from Y Combinator and 468 Capital.
Both primary and secondary funding were included in the round, which also saw the backing of some of the region’s leading operator angels which include Hosam Arab (Founder of Tabby), Mudassir Sheikha (Founder of Careem), Jeppe Rindom (Founder of Pleo), Parth Garg (Founder of Aspora), Khalid Al Ameri (Founder of KAM and the Middle East’s most well-known creator) and many others.
Register for Tekedia Mini-MBA edition 19 (Feb 9 – May 2, 2026): big discounts for early bird.
Tekedia AI in Business Masterclass opens registrations.
Join Tekedia Capital Syndicate and co-invest in great global startups.
Register for Tekedia AI Lab: From Technical Design to Deployment (next edition begins Jan 24 2026).
With the new funding, Alaan plans to double down on two priorities: expanding its footprint in the UAE and Saudi Arabia and enhancing its AI-powered finance suite. Saudi Arabia, in particular, is seen as a high-growth market, with businesses eager for digital transformation but still underserved by modern financial tools. Alaan is building tailored features to accommodate Saudi-specific tax regulations, workflows, and language needs. Alongside expansion, the company is launching new products such as Bill Pay and Rewards Cards, enabling end-to-end spend management from a single platform.
In the age of digital transformation and artificial intelligence, finance functions continue to rely on traditional tools and methods for their day-to-day operations, such as using petty cash for business payments, calculators for manual reconciliation, and spreadsheets for managing budgets. These methods take time, involve manual effort, and incur huge costs. Simply put, these traditional approaches no longer meet the demands of modern business.
Launched in 2022 by Parthi Duraisamy and Karun Kurien, Alaan helps companies manage expenses through corporate cards, artificial intelligence-led automation, and centralized dashboards.
The fintech startup is an all-in-one solution for finance teams to manage and control their expenses easily. It provides everything a finance team needs like smart corporate cards, an AI-driven expense management platform, streamlined accounting processes, and centralized dashboards that provide real-time visibility.
Alaan caters to any business or organization that incurs expenses. From startups to large enterprises, and across various sectors including manufacturing and services, whether a sole proprietorship or a multi-entity organization, the company is designed to serve businesses of all sizes and industries.
Since launch, Alaan has raised more than $7.5 million from the world’s best investors, like Y Combinator, and renowned angels, like Mudassir Sheikha, CEO & Co-founder of Careem. Though the company has achieved profitability, the decision to raise fresh capital wasn’t driven by necessity but by ambition.
“Profitability was never the only end goal. Impact was. From day one, we built Alaan to be financially disciplined. We were generating revenue early, growing efficiently, and hitting profitability faster than most would expect from a fintech company in our space. But we didn’t raise this round to keep the lights on – we raised it to move faster and drive our mission of becoming the most loved fintech in the Middle East”, the company wrote via a blogpost.
Alaan believes impact, not just financial returns, is the real goal. With the backing of top investors and regional leaders, the fintech startup is positioning itself to become the Middle East’s most loved fintech, transforming finance teams from manual processors to strategic decision-makers.