YC alum Cercli, an AI-powered Rippling for MENA, raises oversubscribed $12M Series A

In a region historically hindered by disjointed enterprise solutions and outdated compliance tools, Cercli is poised to offer a modern alternative for businesses in the MENA region, leveraging the power of artificial intelligence. This Dubai-based startup, co-founded by former Careem executives Akeed Azmi and David Reche, has recently completed an oversubscribed Series A funding round, raising $12 million led by European venture capital firm Picus Capital. Cercli has evolved significantly since its initial $4 million seed round last year. The company is now developing a comprehensive HR tech platform modeled after Rippling but is fundamentally designed to operate on AI principles. Over the past year, this strategic pivot has proven fruitful, as Cercli reports a revenue increase of over 10 times and currently manages payroll exceeding $100 million annually for businesses across 50 countries. With a saturated HR tech landscape featuring competitors like Deel, Remote, SAP, and Oracle, the question arises: what unique value does Cercli bring to the market? CEO Akeed Azmi believes that the AI-centric approach will provide a competitive advantage. Cercli was born out of the need to streamline basic people operations, a challenge Azmi and Reche experienced in their previous roles at Careem and Kitopi, two prominent MENA unicorns. The initial version of Cercli aimed to consolidate human resources, payroll, and compliance processes for MENA companies operating on a global scale. Recognizing a broader opportunity, Azmi has since focused on incorporating AI into the platform. Over the last three months, Cercli has completely overhauled its payroll engine to support multi-country operations and compatibility with agents, enhancing its scalability across various jurisdictions. "The legacy systems of the last 20 years—like SAP, Oracle, and Workday—were designed for on-premises and cloud services. Now, we're transitioning into an AI-native era," Azmi stated in an interview. "Our goal was not just to integrate AI but to fundamentally rethink how people and agents collaborate." In addition to payroll, Cercli has revamped its recruitment features to include agent-driven capabilities that can generate candidate lists, source from internal databases, and analyze hiring compatibility. The company also employs AI for its internal operations, utilizing custom treasury and reconciliation agents to manage finances effectively. This innovative approach has allowed the 14-member team to secure Series A funding while maintaining a remarkable month-to-month revenue growth rate of 21%. Beyond its AI capabilities, Azmi emphasizes that Cercli's strength lies in its ability to consolidate various HR functions. While many competitors offer multi-module systems, MENA companies often rely on disparate solutions for payroll, expense management, and recruitment. "Clients are requesting an all-in-one solution, and being AI-native enables us to deliver that integrated experience much faster," Azmi explained. Cercli's architecture also facilitates quick onboarding of new clients, with setup times reduced to just two to three days—significantly shorter than the months often required by traditional systems. This efficiency has helped the startup attract a diverse clientele, from emerging startups to established multinational companies, including Vision Bank, the Global Climate Finance Centre, Huspy, Lean Technologies, and Ziina. The investment from Picus Capital marks its first venture into the MENA market, following its backing of other global HR firms like Personio, Multiplier, and Deel. In addition to funding, Cercli plans to expand its range of AI-driven products and capture a larger share of the $5.8 billion HR software market in the MENA region. Robin Godenrath, founding partner at Picus Capital, expressed enthusiasm for Cercli's potential, noting, "We’ve witnessed this business model thrive globally within our portfolio, and we are eager to support Cercli as they grow through new customer acquisitions and product innovations."