Berlin-based startup Circula raises €15 million in an extended Series A round to enhance its AI-powered expense management platform. With this funding, the company now plans to accelerate the development of autonomous finance workflows and, furthermore, expand the platform’s capabilities to better serve mid-sized businesses across Germany and Europe.
Returning investors—Alstin Capital, Capnamic Ventures, Peak Capital, Wenvest Capital, and Storm Ventures—participated in the round, joined by CIBC Innovation Banking, which also provided financial backing.
“We have a clear goal: to become Germany’s AI-based champion in expense and spend management for small and medium-sized businesses,” says Nikolai Skatchkov, CEO of Circula. “With hundreds of millions of euros in transaction volume, hundreds of thousands of active users, and the trust of countless tax advisory firms, we are in an ideal position to realize our vision of a seamless workday for finance teams in the coming years.”
Circula, founded in 2017 by Nikolai Skatchkov and Roman Leicht, delivers a modular SaaS platform that streamlines business expense management. Specifically, the platform features AI-powered receipt capture, automated tax-compliant data extraction, and real-time booking verification. As a result, it significantly simplifies and accelerates financial workflows for its users.
More than 2,800 companies—including Aston Martin, About You, DATEV, and Securitas—currently rely on Circula. Over 150,000 employees across Europe use the platform to manage travel expenses, per diems, credit card transactions, and employee benefits.
Circula reports that its customers reduce manual effort by 80% and accelerate their monthly closing cycles by several business days. These improvements offer a crucial advantage as businesses face economic uncertainty and increased pressure to cut costs.
Research from ERP provider Diamant clearly highlights the urgent need for digital expense solutions, revealing that only 8.8% of Germany’s mid-sized businesses have fully automated their expense workflows.
To address this gap, Circula leverages a mobile-first approach. Specifically, the platform captures over 70% of expenses at the point of occurrence, pre-books them with tax-relevant data, and, as a result, shortens billing cycles to fewer than two days.
Charlotte Goggin, Director of CIBC Innovation Banking, says: “Circula is transforming traditional paperwork into smart, AI-powered processes – setting new standards in digital expense management. We are excited to support this growth.”
The company attributes its success to consistent revenue growth and a disciplined focus on profitability—key factors that have enabled it to navigate the challenges of today’s unpredictable funding landscape.
With this latest infusion of capital, Circula now aims to further strengthen its AI capabilities and roll out additional automation features specifically designed to support finance teams.
