Cercli Raises $12 Million Series A Led by Picus Capital

Dubai-based startup Cercli, co-founded by ex-Careem operators Akeed Azmi and David Reche, has secured an oversubscribed $12 million Series A round, led by European VC Picus Capital. Launched as a unified platform combining human resources, payroll and compliance for enterprises operating in the MENA region, Cercli claims to have scaled revenue over 10× in the last year and now processes more than $100 million in payroll annually across businesses in 50 countries. Rather than layering AI on existing software, Cercli rebuilt its stack from the ground up to be AI-native, enabling setup in just two to three days — a major contrast to traditional systems that typically require months. With MENA’s HR-software market estimated at around $5.8 billion, Cercli sees an opportunity to replace fragmented point-solutions with a unified platform built for local regulation, multilingual compliance and agent-based workflows. Other participants in the round include Knollwood Investment Advisory and existing investors Y Combinator, Afore Capital and COTU Ventures.