Alaan, the Middle East spend management platform for businesses, has secured 48 million dollars in Series A financing in one of the region’s largest rounds. The company says the raise will accelerate its Saudi Arabia expansion and deepen its push into AI-driven finance automation for enterprises across MENA. Founded in 2022, Alaan positions the round as a catalyst to scale product, partnerships, and operations while fortifying its category leadership.
Funding Round Details
The Series A was led by Peak XV Partners, formerly Sequoia Capital India and Southeast Asia, with significant participation from the founders of 885 Capital, Sudeep Ramnani and Jai Mahtani. Y Combinator, 468 Capital, and Pioneer Fund also joined the round, which the company notes was heavily oversubscribed and included both primary and secondary components. Alaan characterizes the investor mix as a blend of global venture capital, alumni networks, and strategic operators.
Strategic Backing
Notable individual supporters include Hosam Arab of Tabby, Mudassir Sheikha of Careem, Jeppe Rindom of Pleo, and content creator and founder Khalid Al Ameri. Additional backers include Abdallah Abu-Sheikh of Astra Tech, Yi Wei Ang of Talabat, and Parth Garg of Aspora, among others. Peak XV Managing Director GV Ravishankar cited strong product market fit in MENA and Alaan’s execution focus, highlighting the team’s customer centric, product led approach.
Growth and Market Traction
Since launch, Alaan reports processing more than 2.5 million transactions and serving over 1,500 finance teams, including G42, Careem, Tabby, Lulu Group, and Rivoli. The company entered Saudi Arabia earlier this year and says it has doubled transaction volumes month over month for six consecutive months. Management frames these metrics as evidence of durable demand for automated spend controls and real time visibility across enterprise workflows.
Product and AI Roadmap
Alaan plans to evolve from spend management into a full finance operations platform tailored to regional regulations and workflows. Existing AI agents already handle receipt matching, manual reconciliation, and VAT extraction, which the company says translates to tangible time and cost savings for finance teams. With fresh capital, Alaan expects to expand product coverage, automate additional back office tasks, and give controllers and CFOs fuller control over policy, approvals, and compliance.
Executive Perspectives
According to 885 Capital’s Sudeep Ramnani, Alaan is defining a new standard for business finance in the Middle East by combining automation, transparency, and intelligence at the transaction level. CEO and co founder Parthi Duraisamy said the funding will help the company go faster and deeper in Saudi Arabia while reinforcing its base in the United Arab Emirates. He added that product expansion will target more manual workflows so finance teams can redirect time from reconciliation toward analysis and planning.
Impact and Hiring Plans
Alaan estimates its platform has already saved finance teams more than 1.5 million hours of manual work, a figure it expects to multiply as automation expands. The company is ramping up hiring across sales, customer success, and compliance in Saudi Arabia, alongside local partnerships intended to better serve the Kingdom’s growing business ecosystem. These efforts complement its regional footprint and align with customer demand in sectors such as real estate, aviation, logistics, and retail.
Company Background
Alaan was founded by ex McKinsey consultants Parthi Duraisamy and Karun Kurien and describes itself as the largest and most comprehensive spend management platform in the Middle East. Its AI powered corporate cards and controls are used by startups, mid market firms, and enterprises seeking tighter spending governance and faster close cycles. The company is a UAE Future 100 honoree and is ranked the number one expense management platform by G2 across the Middle East and Africa.
By pairing a substantial capital infusion with a deep bench of regional and global backers, Alaan is positioning to consolidate leadership in MENA finance operations. The company’s traction in Saudi Arabia and its automation roadmap suggest a clear focus on scale, compliance, and measurable productivity gains for finance teams. If execution matches ambition, Alaan’s next phase could shape how enterprises in the region manage spend, audits, and financial controls.