Saudi fintech Lean Technologies raises $67.5M Series B led by General Catalyst to expand its open banking platform

🏦 Lean Technologies, a Riyadh-based fintech infrastructure provider, has closed a $67.5 million Series B round.

• Founded in 2019 by Hisham Al-Falih, Aditya Sarkar, and Ashu Gupta, Lean specialises in financial infrastructure that enables secure data-sharing between bank accounts and applications.

💰 Investor lowdown: The round was led by Silicon Valley's General Catalyst, with participation from Bain Capital Ventures, Stanley Druckenmiller’s Duquesne Family Office, and Arbor Ventures, bringing Lean’s total funding to over $100 million. Notably, this is the first investment in Saudi Arabia for General Catalyst, Stanley Druckenmiller, and Bain Capital.

⚙️ Breaking it down

Lean facilitates direct account-to-account (A2A) payments, bypassing intermediaries like payment processors.

Operating under Saudi Arabia’s Central Bank regulatory sandbox, Lean has verified nearly 1 million bank accounts for clients like Tawuniya, Abdul Latif Jameel Finance, Salla, Tabby, and Tamara.

🐂 Bull case

With Saudi Arabia’s recent Open Banking Framework, Lean can now enable merchants to accept direct bank payments, unlocking new use cases and offering alternatives to card payments.

Regulated by ADGM in the UAE, Lean has processed over $2 billion in payment volumes through its A2A solutions, serving major clients like e&, DAMAC, and Careem.

🥊 Competition

Lean’s main competitor, Tarabut, has raised over $50 million, including a $32 million Series A last year.

🔮 Flashforward

The new funds will fuel Lean’s expansion of its Pay-by-Bank and Open Banking offerings, with plans to grow its product suite and strengthen regional partnerships.