Dubai-based regtech Qanooni closes $2mln funding round to drive regional expansion
UAE – Dubai-based legal technology startup Qanooni has raised $2 million in a pre-seed round led by Village Global, Oryx Fund by Salica Investments, TA Ventures, and strategic angels.
The startup will utilize the capital to accelerate its expansion across the UAE and UK markets, in addition to enhancing its proprietary AI engine tailored to legal workflows, according to a press release.
Through the new investment, Qanooni reinforced its position in driving the future of legal automation across MENA and Europe. This came amid growing investor interest in regulatory technology (regtech) solutions that streamline productivity without disrupting existing digital environments.
It is worth highlighting that the funding round also witnessed the participation of Ben Casnocha, Sri Batchu, Josh Rodger, Viktoriya Tigipko, Andrew Verbitsky, Jimmy Stone, Nicholas Nottebohm, CFA, Ashish Shetty, and Miguel Rodrigues.
Founded by Anuscha Iqbal, Ziyaad Ahmed, and Karim Shiyab, Qanooni integrates directly into the software that lawyers mainly use during work, eliminating the friction of switching platforms or adopting new workflows.
Its solution allows law firms and legal departments to draft and produce documents faster and more accurately, leveraging generative AI that mimics a lawyer's tone, writing style, and internal standards.
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Interview excerpts: Sobha has clearly invested heavily in its backward integration model. What are the key performance indicators (KPIs) you use internally to assess the success and efficiency of this model over time? At Sobha Realty, our backward integration model is central to our commitment to delivering exceptional quality and value. To evaluate its effectiveness, we monitor several key performance indicators: • Project Delivery Timelines: We track the adherence to project schedules, aiming for early or on-time completions. Thanks to our backward integration model, our projects are delivered on time as per the original project delivery plans. • Quality Assurance Metrics: We assess the quality of our projects through internal audits and customer feedback. 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"We didn't want to invest when we didn't have our internal house in order," he said, referring to risk appetite in particular. Citi is also targeting healthcare, and that process similarly preceded Raghavan's arrival when it decided to invest in the sector and hired Chuck Adams from Goldman Sachs. This year it is ranked third in healthcare banking. That sector is an example of how Citi has been able to bring in talent from outside and invest, focus and produce results, the first banker said. 'If we can replicate that across the bank, which is our intention, we are hopeful of incremental progress," he said. Raghavan is also keen to build up more business with sponsors, as Citi is underweight in that area. The bank will step up activity as sponsors are under pressure to realise returns and put more of their dry powder to work, said a senior DCM banker. He said the effort was gaining traction. 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'But ultimately in every part of our business, banking overall, M&A, ECM, DCM and leveraged lending, our wallet share has increased and that is a function of everyone pulling in the same direction. 'Wallet share is the best performance measure of a business and that's on the uptick,' he said. The second banker said the turnover has mostly been in EMEA in DCM. 'Any time you have a change in banking people are nervous,' he said, adding that the change in leadership came when there was competition for senior bankers as DCM desks have remained busy and there is a decent bid for bankers from its usual rivals but also from private credit firms and second-tier banks trying to grow. 'Some have gotten pretty cool opportunities,' the banker said. Some have decamped for clients in the sponsor community, which could benefit Citi as it looks to beef up its book with sponsors. 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The senior Citi bankers said the mandate for banking is not to produce results at the end of the year. 'We are focused on the next five years and 10 years to be the most prominent bank," said one. Mayo agreed – up to a point. He expects to see durable results in the next two to three years. 'The current market share gains were surprising even to me even,' Mayo said. The question is when investment banking activity picks up, can Citi continue to hold its own, he said. Additional reporting by Sudip Roy and Paul Kilby Source: IFR
Zawya
an hour ago
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Unique Properties to launch AI-powered real estate platform in UAE
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