AI-Powered Expense Platform Circula Lands €15M Funding
Circula founders Nikolai Skatchkov and Roman Leicht - © Circula
Berlin-based SaaS company Circula has secured €15 million in an extended Series A funding round to advance its AI-powered expense management platform, according to a company press release. The round was led by existing investors including Alstin Capital, Capnamic Ventures, Peak Capital, Wenvest Capital, Storm Ventures, and CIBC Innovation Banking.
Circula's platform tackles one of the most persistent challenges for companies: efficient expense management. With its AI-driven solution, the company reduces manual effort by an average of 80% and shortens monthly closing processes by several business days—a significant benefit for finance teams, especially in the German mid-market where the CFO office plays a crucial role in business success.
The fresh capital will fuel the development of autonomous workflows and further expand the company's Finance Operations solution. Founded in 2017 by Nikolai Skatchkov and Roman Leicht, Circula has built an impressive client portfolio of over 2,800 customers, including notable names like Aston Martin, DATEV, and Securitas.
"We have a clear goal: to become Germany's AI-based champion in expense and spend management for small and medium-sized businesses," says CEO Nikolai Skatchkov. The company's app-based solution allows more than 70% of expenses to be captured at the point of occurrence, with automatic extraction and pre-booking of all necessary tax data, reducing billing periods by up to 90%.
Charlotte Goggin, Director of CIBC Innovation Banking, notes: "Circula is transforming traditional paperwork into smart, AI-powered processes – setting new standards in digital expense management."
With hundreds of millions in transaction volume and hundreds of thousands of active users, Circula is well-positioned to realize its vision of creating a seamless workday for finance teams in the years ahead. The company's growth comes at a time when, according to a 2024 survey by ERP provider Diamant, only 8.8% of medium-sized businesses in Germany have fully automated their expense management—indicating significant market potential.
