Akeed Azmi

founder at @cerclihq (YC S23). formerly at MENA tech unicorns @Careem & @KitopiHQ

[Akeed Azmi @akeed23]

I am thrilled to announce that I've made the leap to start @cercliHQ with my ex-colleague, long-time friend, and partner in crime @twopac.

We’re actively hiring - if our purpose & values align with yours and your next adventure, I’d love to chat!

[Y Combinator @ycombinator]

Cercli (YC S23) is the modern employee data platform for MENA that automates payroll, compliance, onboarding & more, by seamlessly integrating with tools across the workplace.

https://t.co/JTBi5gDGNq

Congrats on the launch, @akeed, @david, and team @cercliHQ!

[Jack @Jackkk]

Tom Hanks shares the best advice he’s ever received

“Throw deep. If you’re gonna do it, do it”

“If you have the chance, do it. Don’t pause. If you’ve got an instinct, go at it”

[Cercli @cercliHQ]

📰 Cercli in the News:
“What our screening agent does differently is evaluate what the role actually requires, not who previously filled it,” Akeed Azmi, Co-Founder.

https://t.co/kAGlzinKV5

[Entrepreneur Middle East @EntMagazineME]

Cercli (@cercliHQ), a #Dubai-based AI-native people platform for HR and recruitment, has launched Cera, an #AI hiring agent and applicant tracking system, designed to automate parts of the recruitment process, including candidate evaluation, screening, and workflow management.

The system is integrated in Cercli’s existing #HR and payroll platform, allowing companies to manage #hiring and workforce operations within a single system.

Cera generates structured summaries of candidates’ experience and career history, and automates functions including job description creation, CV screening, candidate ranking, interview scheduling, and feedback management.

Read more HERE: https://t.co/ByRTW8Zibc

[Akeed Azmi @akeed23]

🤩

[Cercli @cercliHQ]

Cera’s been busy. 🌎
From Dubai to San Francisco, turns out everyone is tired of reading 187 CVs before lunch.
Hire better with Cera: https://t.co/TM15BzsUys

#AIHiring #Recruitment #HRTech

[Akeed Azmi @akeed23]

⚡️🥤pumped to be supporting the Humantra team scale globally 🌍

[Cercli @cercliHQ]

Humantra is on Cercli.

Building a global brand is enough of a workout. Humantra is now using Cercli to handle the heavy lifting behind their people operations.

Glad to have the Humantra team with us.

[Cercli @cercliHQ]

In this episode of #BehindTheBuild, we sat Nour and Ahmad down to answer for their crimes.

The crime? Being really, really, really, ridiculously good at building an AI hiring agent.

https://t.co/b59gJNZXVE

[HH Sheikh Mohammed @HHShkMohd]

Under the directives of the President of the UAE, we launch a new government model. Within two years, 50% of government sectors, services, and operations will run on Agentic AI, making the UAE the first government globally to operate at this scale through autonomous systems.

AI is no longer a tool. It analyses, decides, executes, and improves in real time. It will become our executive partner to enhance services, accelerate decisions, and raise efficiency.

This transformation has a clear timeline. Two years. Performance across government will be measured by speed of adoption, quality of implementation, and mastery of AI in redesigning government work.

We are investing in our people. Every federal employee will be trained to master AI, building one of the world’s strongest capabilities in AI-driven government.

Implementation will be overseen by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed, with a dedicated taskforce chaired by Mohammad Al Gergawi driving execution.

The world is changing. Technology is accelerating. Our principle remains constant. People come first. Our goal is a government that is faster, more responsive, and more impactful.

[Kevin Yang @kevinyang]

We raised $6.5M to build the agent for professionals.

When your reputation is on the line, you need an agent that's reliable, secure, and one step ahead.

Try it now at https://t.co/D7mEwvFOiz

[Garry Tan @garrytan]

A K shaped future makes sense since Team B loses to Team A 10 times out of 10, and now coding AGI is an accelerant

[Harj Taggar @harjtaggar]

Imagining this is the vibe in more and more product meetings as Claude Code percolates its way through the hive mind

https://t.co/3Gr7TjEqqJ

[Aaron Epstein @aaron_epstein]

New YC homepage design just launched! 👀

The last few years have been a return to our roots at YC, so we wanted to capture that with our new site, and show what it's really like to go through the batch.

There's also a bunch of fun easter eggs throughout – thread below!

[Fast Company Middle East @fastcompanyme]

Dubai now hosts more than 800 AI companies, mostly startups, according to the Dubai Center for Artificial Intelligence. But despite an “abundance” of tech workers, a talent report by the UAE Ministry of Economy and @fragomen shows most lack the skills needed for specialized AI roles, forcing employers to recruit talent from beyond the Middle East.

“Diverse talent drives innovation and helps startups scale faster,” says Akeed Azmi, co-founder & CEO, Cercli. “Engineers from different backgrounds solve problems differently and build better products. Our global team helps us understand diverse markets and customer needs across over 50 countries.

@akeed23 @cercliHQ

[Y Combinator @ycombinator]

Congrats to @akeed23, @twopac, and @cerclihq on their $12M Series A!

Cercli is the single platform for enterprises to hire, manage, and pay their global workforce in the AI era. They've grown 10x over the last 12 months, processed over $100M in payroll across 50 countries - and are now launching their AI-native recruitment product to help customers hire more intelligently.

https://t.co/jgb8L9r4lC

[Wamda ومضة @WamdaME]

UAE-based workforce management platform @cercliHQ raised $12 million in a Series A funding round led by Germany’s @picuscap. |https://t.co/iAortMxvc7

The round also saw participation from Knollwood Investment Advisory, @ycombinator, @AforeVC, and @COTUVentures, as well as individual investors from OpenFX, Buk, JetHR, Truelayer, and AI71.

Founded in 2023 by Akeed Azmi and David Reche, Cercli offers enterprises a unified, AI-powered system of record for hiring, managing, and paying their workforce – both human and agentic.

[Akeed Azmi @akeed23]

Lfg! 🚀

[Cercli @cercliHQ]

We raised. 💸
We built. 🧠
Now we’re telling the story. 🎬
Don’t miss our Series A announcement video!

[Cercli @cercliHQ]

🚀 Big news from Cercli!

We’ve raised a $12M Series A led by @picuscap with continued support from @ycombinator, @AforeVC and @COTUVentures to accelerate building the unified platform to hire, manage, and pay a global workforce in the AI era. https://t.co/p7JA9AFfJ8

🧵👇

[Akeed Azmi @akeed23]

Coz no one wants to remember passwords and login to take that break. Approval workflows at your finger tips 🏝️

[Cercli @cercliHQ]

Summer’s here & requesting time off shouldn’t feel like queuing at passport control ☀️

With the Cercli bot, you can request & approve leave inside @SlackHQ. No more waiting for your manager to dig through emails, even if you’re on the plane ✈️

Book demo: https://t.co/aG5s1wTEx5

[Cercli @cercliHQ]

We asked our Co-founder, David: What do Cercli users love the most about the platform?

The list is long, but here’s his top 3 😉
✅ Built for MENA
✅ Payroll experts (yes, actual humans) behind the scenes
✅ Modern intuitive platform

Book a demo: https://t.co/aG5s1wTEx5

[Akeed Azmi @akeed23]

🤖🚀

[Ibrahim Ajami @IbrahimAjami]

18 years since @Mubadala invested in @AMD, created @GlobalFoundries, and began its journey in the semiconductor industry.

It was 1% everyday, a steady hand, high tolerance for pain, and long-term commitment to being leaders in technology.

To see it all come together like this and for Abu Dhabi to become a center for technology and ai leadership is incredible 🇦🇪 🇺🇸

[Akeed Azmi @akeed23]

come through and chat with us on all things HR and payroll 💸

[Cercli @cercliHQ]

Cercli is joining HR Tech MENA Summit next week, by @qnahrseries!

📆 13–14 May
📍W Hotel, The Palm

We’ll be exhibiting & showing you what we’ve built. Stop by for a demo, meet the team, grab one of our limited drops 👀

We’d love to connect. Book time: https://t.co/XMdsky2SKz