Guide Startups

Alaan

Winter 2023 · Active

Modern finance platform for the Middle East

Location: Dubai, United Arab Emirates, AE

Founded: 2021

Team size: 160

About

Alaan is an AI-powered finance platform for businesses in the Middle East. We help businesses instantly issue corporate cards for employees, control their spending, and automate workflows. Our mission is to simplify finance for businesses in the Middle East and help them prosper. We have grown rapidly and now work with over 2000 startups, mid-market, and enterprise customers across various industries, doing tens of millions of dollars in payment volume. We've been default alive since our launch in August 2022 (9x net revenue growth in 2023, 6x in 2024), and raised one of the largest Series A rounds in the history of the Middle East backed by Peak XV (formerly Sequoia India). Check out alaan.com/careers if you want to join us!

Founders

  • Parthi DuraisamyFounder

    I grew up in a lower-middle-class family in India. Neither of my parents had been to high school or college. The first life-changing event occurred in 2005 when I won a full scholarship to study engineering in Singapore. The drive to prove myself then sent me on a journey through prestigious institutions, including Barclays Investment Bank, McKinsey, and Dartmouth College. While I always felt like an outsider in these institutions, the journey eventually led me to build Alaan.

  • Karun KurienFounder

    Karun started his career as a software engineer and then spent a few years consulting with McKinsey Digital. Most recently, he has focussed on building products for startups. He now leads product and tech. at Alaan.