Cercli raises $12M Series A to scale its AI-powered workforce management platform across MENA, led by Picus Capital and backed by Y Combinator and other global investors.
Saudi- UAE-based AI workforce platform Cercli has raised USD 12 million in a Series A funding round to accelerate its growth across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).
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The round was led by Germany-based Picus Capital and joined by Knollwood Investment Advisory, Y Combinator, Afore Capital, and COTU Ventures, a strong signal of investor confidence in the region’s rapidly evolving AI-powered worktech landscape.
Investors Back Cercli’s AI Vision for the Modern Workforce
“The company has a unique founding team, evident from the speed of their product development and expansion strategy. They’re scaling fast in a region undergoing rapid transformation — a region that’s hungry for AI-native workplace solutions,” said Robin Godenrath, Founding Partner at Picus Capital.
The round also saw participation from individual investors, including:
- Prabhakar Reddy (OpenFX)
- Jaime Arrieta (Buk)
- Marco Ogliengo and Francesco Scalambrino (Jet HR)
- Francesco Simoneschi (Truelayer)
- Mehdi Ghissassi (AI71)
This investment aligns with Picus Capital’s strategic focus on high-growth technology markets in MENA, where demand for intelligent workforce tools is accelerating.
Cercli: Redefining How Companies Hire, Manage, and Pay in the AI Era
Founded in 2023 by Akeed Azmi and David Reche, it enables enterprises to hire, manage, and pay global teams from a unified AI-powered platform.
The platform replaces fragmented HR systems with a modern, automated ecosystem that integrates:
- HR management
- Payroll automation
- Compliance tracking
“Businesses recognise the benefit of a unified platform as a single source of truth in managing their greatest asset — their people,” said Akeed Azmi, Co-founder and CEO of Cercli.
Its team built internal AI systems that accelerate product rollouts and feature innovation. The company claims enterprises can migrate their entire operations to Cercli’s platform within 48 to 72 hours, thanks to its automation-first architecture.
Cercli’s rapid growth represents a new wave of enterprise AI adoption in MENA. The region’s tech ecosystem is maturing, and startups are looking for AI-native infrastructure to manage people, payments, and productivity efficiently.
This funding also positions Cercli as one of the few MENA startups bridging HR tech and AI, making the region a competitive player in global worktech innovation.
For MENA-based founders and businesses, Cercli’s story underscores how AI-driven efficiency and integration can attract serious global capital and redefine traditional business operations.
