Dubai-based expense management platform Alaan has raised $48 million in Series A funding, the company announced today. The round was led by Peak XV Partners (formerly Sequoia Capital India & SEA) and 885 Capital, with participation from Pioneer Fund and existing investors Y Combinator and 468 Capital.
It also includes both primary and secondary investment and drew support from prominent regional operator-angels including Tabby’s Hosam Arab, Careem’s Mudassir Sheikha, Pleo’s Jeppe Rindom, Nomod’s Omar Kassim, and popular Emirati creator Khalid Al Ameri, among others. The breakdown of primary and secondary investment was not disclosed. Alaan previously raised $4.5 million in a pre-Series A round in January 2023.
Founded by former McKinsey consultants Parthi Duraisamy and Karun Kurien in 2022, Alaan provides automated expense management and corporate card solutions designed specifically for Middle Eastern businesses. The platform addresses pain points in regional finance operations, where teams often struggle with manual expense filing, receipt matching, and compliance requirements using tools originally built for other markets.
“From startups managing burn to large companies struggling with compliance, it’s a problem amplified in our region, where most finance software is built elsewhere, retrofitted for MENA, and lacks the local context companies here desperately need,” wrote Alaan co-founder Parthi Duraisamy in a blog post announcing the funding. “That is why Karun and I built Alaan: a platform that gives finance teams full visibility, automated control, and real-time efficiency, with none of the manual grind.”
The company has achieved profitability and raised funding to “move faster,” according to its CEO, who also confirmed in a LinkedIn comment that it is well past $10 million in annual recurring revenue, without providing further details.
Alaan has developed several AI-powered agents to automate repetitive finance tasks. These include Alaan Drop, which automatically matches receipts uploaded via email, WhatsApp, or Chrome to transactions, and specialized agents for memo population, categorization, and VAT processing. The company claims its platform has saved finance teams over 1.5 million hours across its customer base in the past three years.
“The category has demonstrated strong product-market fit in the MENA region, and Alaan stands out as the category leader,” said GV Ravishankar, Managing Director at Peak XV Partners. “Their customer-centric and product-led mindset has enabled them to build solutions tailored to modern finance teams.”
The fresh capital will be used to accelerate expansion in Saudi Arabia and the UAE while continuing development of AI-powered agents. Alaan is investing heavily in building local presence in Saudi Arabia, including features tailored to Saudi tax rules, workflows, and language preferences.
The company also plans to launch new products including Bill Pay and Rewards Cards, expanding its suite of finance management tools for regional businesses.
- Saudi’s Orbii raises $3.6 million in Prosus-led seed to help banks and fintechs launch SME lending - September 8, 2025
- Egypt’s TradeHub shuts down, returns remaining capital to investors after failing to achieve product-market fit - September 7, 2025
- Dubai’s WheelsOn raises $12.5 million in debt and equity for its deposit-free car rental platform - September 7, 2025
