Alaan Raises US$48 Million To Equip MENA Finance Teams With AI

Alaan, the UAE-based spend management platform for businesses, has secured US$48 million in a heavily oversubscribed Series A round, billed as one of the largest in the region’s history.

The raise was led by venture capital (VC) and growth investing firm Peak XV Partners , with significant participation from 885 Capital founders Sudeep Ramnani and Jai Mahtani, Silicon Valley-based startup accelerator Y Combinator, Berlin-based tech investment firm 468 Capital, and San Francisco-based VC firm Pioneer Fund. 

The round included both primary and secondary funding, and it attracted a host of prominent regional and global operators. Notable backers include Tabby co-founder and CEO Hosam Arab, Careem co-founder and CEO Mudassir Sheikha, Pleo co-founder and CEO Jeppe Rindom, KAM founder Khalid Al Ameri, Astra Tech founder Abdallah Abu-Sheikh, Talabat Chief Product Officer Yi Wei Ang, and Parth Garg, founder of Aspora, among others. 

Founded by former McKinsey consultants Parthi Duraisamy and Karun Kurien in the UAE in 2022, Alaan is a comprehensive spend management platform that, to date, has processed 2.5 million transactions for over 1,500 startup, mid-market, and enterprise clients—including G42, Careem, Tabby, Lulu Group, and Rivoli—across industries such as real estate, aviation, logistics, and retail.  

In an interview with Inc. Arabia, Duraisamy, who also serves as the CEO of Alaan, reflected on the scale of the company’s latest raise and the factors that drove investor confidence in the company. “I think it comes down to two things: timing and trust," he said. "The Middle East—especially Saudi Arabia and the UAE—is going through a generational shift in how businesses operate and adopt technology. Investors are eager to back companies that are building for this shift, and Alaan is right at the center of it.” 

According to Duraisamy, what sets Alaan apart in the eyes of investors is the company’s disciplined execution and strong fundamentals. “But beyond the macro story, it’s really about what we’ve built," he added. "In just a few years, we’ve scaled fast while staying incredibly capital efficient—we’re already profitable in the UAE, which is rare at this stage. Pair that with our artificial intelligence (AI)-first approach and a team that’s executed flawlessly from day one, and investors saw not just potential, but a business that’s already delivering. This raise is a validation of the foundation we’ve built and a catalyst for the next phase of scale."

Alaan’s solution has already helped finance teams eliminate over 1.5 million hours of manual work—a figure the company anticipates will grow significantly as it ramps up its investment in automation. Earlier this year, Alaan expanded its footprint into Saudi Arabia, where it has been doubling its transaction volumes month-over-month (MoM) for six months. The latest investment is thus set to accelerate Alaan's expansion into the Saudi market and support its next stage of growth, with a core focus on AI-powered financial automation. 

“Saudi Arabia is a massive opportunity for us, not just in terms of market size, but also in terms of the pace of digital and economic transformation," Duraisamy said. "The Vision 2030 laid out by HRH [Mohammed bin Salman, Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia] has created a unique environment where innovation is being embraced across both the public and private sectors.” Alaan is thus "going faster and deeper" in Saudi Arabia, with Duraisamy highlighting a clear roadmap shaped by local momentum and a long-term commitment to building strong foundations in the Kingdom. “We launched in Saudi earlier this year, and the early response from customers, across industries and company sizes has been very encouraging," he said. "With this new funding, we’re significantly scaling our local go-to-market team in Riyadh, from sales to customer success, to be closer to our customers and partners. Second, we’re investing in engineering and product resources to localize our platform even further for the Saudi market, whether that’s language, regulatory integrations, or workflows unique to the Kingdom. Saudi is a strategic market for us, and we’re going all in.” 

At the core of Alaan’s operations are its AI agents, and Duraisamy noted that they are only getting smarter as they help to streamline processes for both employees and finance teams. “Today, our AI agents handle the heavy lifting behind the scenes: they read receipts, match them to transactions, verify details, extract value added tax (VAT) information, and even help maximize VAT reclaims," Duraisamy explained. "For the end user, that means a seamless, one-click expense submission process—just upload the receipt, and let the AI take care of the rest."

Duraisamy also noted that Alaan's AI agents are helping to improve efficiency and reshape how finance teams operate behind the scenes. “AI is flagging duplicate receipts, which is a tedious task for a human," he pointed out. "Our VAT agent is acting like a real-time assistant for accountants, advising on which expenses are claimable, catching errors, and saving companies both time and money." But that's not all—Duraisamy said that Alaan plans to push the boundaries of automation even further as part of its long-term vision. “Looking ahead, our vision is to fully automate the expense workflow," he explained. "AI agents will not just verify receipts, but review them against company policy, flag only the outliers, benchmark spending across categories, and even suggest cost-saving opportunities. There’s a lot more in the pipeline, and we’re building towards a future where finance teams can truly focus on strategy, not chasing receipts."

Duraisamy pointed out that Alaan is therefore building out its solution to go far beyond solving a single pain point—rather, it’s looking to reshape the entire finance function for modern businesses. “Spend management is just the starting point," he explained. "If you look at finance operations in most companies today, they’re still incredibly manual, fragmented, and error-prone. From managing payments and vendor invoices to reconciling books and ensuring compliance—it’s a web of spreadsheets, emails, and disconnected tools. Yet, it's also the part of the business where there is zero room for error."

As the company looks to the future, Duraisamy described a vision that moves beyond transactions toward intelligent, autonomous finance. “Our vision with Alaan is to build the finance ops platform that takes care of all company outflows—not just card spend,” he explained. “That means automating everything from invoice payments and reimbursements to petty cash and recurring vendor payouts, all with real-time visibility, built-in controls, and AI-powered policy enforcement. In essence, we want to make finance operations autonomous—where approvals, compliance, reconciliation, and reporting happen in the background, and finance teams can shift from being reactive to strategic. Alaan becomes the system of record and execution for every dirham or riyal going out of the business. That’s the future we’re building toward.” 

Meanwhile, as the region at large continues to grow its leadership in the global fintech arena, Duraisamy believes that Alaan is well poised to set new standards for the sector. “What excites me about fintech in the MENA right now is that we’re witnessing a new playbook being written," he said. "The region isn’t just adopting global innovations—it’s creating its own breakthroughs, shaped by the unique needs and ambitions of businesses here. At Alaan, we want to do more than just build a great product. We want to show what’s possible when you combine bold ideas with disciplined execution in this market. If we can prove that companies here can scale fast, stay capital efficient, and lead with technology like AI from day one, it sets a benchmark for others to follow.” 

And that leadership, he believes, is key to his vision for Alaan. “My hope is that Alaan doesn’t just change how finance teams work—it inspires a new generation of founders to think bigger, build faster, and create world-class companies from the Middle East to the world,” Duraisamy said. This ties into his advice for other fintech founders building in the region, with Duraisamy emphasizing the importance of local context over imported playbooks. “It can be tempting to replicate models that are successful in the West, but that approach rarely leads to lasting impact in our region," he said. "My advice is to spend time with your prospective customers, listen deeply, understand their context, and uncover the nuances of their pain points. The most valuable products are those built with a clear understanding of local needs, not assumptions based on what worked elsewhere. Don’t just copy global trends and expect them to succeed here. Build for the region, not just in the region."

Pictured in the lead image are Alaan co-founders Parthi Duraisamy and Karun Kurien. Image courtesy Alaan.