Cercli
YC S23Dubai, AE · Founded 2023 · 28 employees · 6 known investors
Cercli is an AI-powered payroll and compliance platform designed for multi-entity, multi-country teams. It processes payroll, automates manual work, and provides 24/7 support for global workforce management.
AI & Machine LearningEnterprise SoftwareHR TechSaaSPayrollUnited Arab EmiratesMiddle East and North AfricaPartly Remote
Founders & leadership· Y Combinator alumni (S23)
Cercli was founded in 2023 by Akeed Azmi, David Reche, and AE Akeed Azmi.
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Akeed Azmiin𝕏Co-FounderAkeed Azmi held growth, expansion, and operations leadership roles at Kitopi and Careem prior to founding Cercli.
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David Rechein𝕏Co-FounderHe previously served as VP of Product and Engineering at Kingmakers, and held product and engineering leadership positions at Careem before its acquisition by Uber in 2020.
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AE Akeed AzmiFounder
Investors · 6
PICUS CAPITALMunich · $100K – $300M
Y CombinatorSan Francisco · $500K
Afore CapitalreportedSan Francisco · $500K – $2M
COTU Venturesreported · 2 sources$300K – $37M
Knollwood Investment AdvisoryreportedHunt Valley
Also in the syndicate · 1
AI71
Funding
SEC filings, press & company announcements$12M disclosed across 1 of 3 rounds · 2024–2025
- $12MSeries AOct 2025 · 5 sources
Picus Capital (lead), Afore Capital, AI71, COTU Ventures, Knollwood Investment Advisory, Y Combinator
Source ↗ - Undisclosed amountSeed RoundSep 2024 · 2 sourcesSource ↗
Source: company announcements and press reports — follow each round's link for the claim.
Competitors · 8
by search overlap
Rippling113 shared keywordsRippling is a workforce management platform that unifies HR, IT, finance, and employee data across a business. It integrates with 600+ applications to help organizations operate more efficiently.
Papaya Global91 shared keywordsPapaya Global is a workforce payments platform that runs payroll, employer-of-record hiring, contractor management and cross-border payments for companies employing people in more than 160 countries. Founded in 2016 by Eynat Guez, Ofer Herman and Ruben Drong, it treats global payroll as a payments problem and holds its own payment licences after acquiring Azimo in 2022.
Shrm87 shared keywordsSHRM is a membership organization for human resources professionals, offering HR certifications, expert-led training, seminars, events, and research on workplace trends. It provides educational resources, networking through local chapters and regional councils, and data-driven insights for HR practitioners.
Deel87 shared keywordsDeel is a global HR platform that enables businesses to hire, onboard, and manage employees and contractors across borders. The platform handles payroll, compliance, and HR administration for companies managing international workforces.
Intuit®86 shared keywordsIntuit develops financial software products—including TurboTax, Credit Karma, QuickBooks, and Mailchimp—for consumers and small businesses to manage taxes, credit, accounting, and marketing. It serves approximately 100 million customers worldwide.
Skuad85 shared keywordsSkuad is a platform that helps companies hire, onboard, pay, and manage remote employees and contractors across 160+ countries. It provides compliant employment contracts, payroll processing, tax compliance, benefits administration, and talent matching services for global teams.
ADP81 shared keywordsADP provides cloud-based human capital management solutions that integrate payroll, HR, talent management, time and attendance, tax, and benefits administration for businesses globally. The company serves as a comprehensive provider of HCM software and business outsourcing services with analytics and compliance expertise.
Oyster81 shared keywordsOyster is an employer of record (EOR) platform that lets companies hire, pay, and manage full-time employees and contractors in over 180 countries without setting up local entities, handling compliant onboarding, contracts, payroll, and benefits. It pairs an automated platform with in-house HR experts and integrates with HRIS, ATS, and accounting systems, serving globally distributed teams.
Companies competing with Cercli for the same Google search keywords, organic and paid, via search-intersection analysis.
In the news
Frequently asked questions
- What does Cercli do?
- Cercli is an AI-powered payroll and compliance platform designed for multi-entity, multi-country teams. It processes payroll, automates manual work, and provides 24/7 support for global workforce management.
- Who founded Cercli?
- Cercli was founded by Akeed Azmi, David Reche, AE Akeed Azmi in 2023.
- Who are Cercli's investors?
- Cercli's investors include PICUS CAPITAL, Y Combinator, Afore Capital, COTU Ventures, Knollwood Investment Advisory.
- How much funding has Cercli raised?
- Cercli has disclosed $12M raised across 1 of its 3 known rounds.
- Where is Cercli headquartered?
- Cercli is headquartered in Dubai, AE.