IMAN Holdings Plans $100 Million Raise to Launch AI-Powered Islamic Banking Platform Across the GCC

IMAN Holdings, a Central Asia-based fintech company, has announced plans to raise $100 million to accelerate the expansion of its AI-powered Islamic banking platform into GCC markets. Founded in 2020, the company has built a mobile-first financial ecosystem structured around Shariah-compliant principles, integrating savings, investments, payments, and financial guidance within a single application. Its platform currently serves more than one million registered users and manages over $100 million in assets, with a target of exceeding $250 million in assets under management by the end of 2026. The company has raised over $10 million from global investors to date.

What IMAN Is Building

Rather than replicating conventional banking interfaces, IMAN has built its platform around conversational AI that adapts to a user's financial behaviour, preferences, and life context in real time. The system is designed to anticipate user needs rather than react to them, analysing behavioural and transaction data to provide financial guidance that moves beyond static dashboards and periodic reporting.

A key design principle is the embedding of trust and transparency directly into the product: real-time Shariah validation and visible compliance logic are core features rather than back-end processes, positioning ethical finance as an active, visible part of the user experience rather than a certification badge.

Rustam Rahmatov, Founder and Group CEO, described the fundamental problem the platform is designed to solve:

"The problem with banking is not access. It is the way it was built. It was never designed to understand people."

Shakhzod Shukurov, Co-Founder and Chief Risk and Data Officer, added:

"The future bank does not react. It anticipates. And it does so with consent, transparency, and care."

Beyond consumer banking, IMAN is building a RegTech and AI banking layer designed to let financial institutions deploy AI-powered, Shariah-compliant products at scale, positioning the company as an infrastructure provider to the Islamic digital finance ecosystem as well as a direct consumer service.

The GCC Opportunity

The global Islamic finance industry now exceeds $4 trillion in assets and is undergoing rapid transformation driven by digital adoption and shifting user expectations among younger, mobile-first populations. GCC markets combine a well-established Islamic finance sector with strong fintech momentum, making the region a natural expansion target for a platform that sits at the intersection of both.

The timing also connects to a broader pattern of AI-powered fintech launches targeting the GCC this week. Numi, which emerged from stealth in Dubai this week as the region's first AI-native personal finance platform, and the PeopleStrong FutureOfTalent.ai launch earlier this week, both reflect the same directional shift: AI in GCC financial and workforce services is moving from experimentation to operational deployment, with new entrants targeting specific underserved segments rather than replicating existing products.

For Saudi Arabia and the broader Gulf, where Islamic finance represents a material share of the financial system, a well-funded AI-native platform built specifically for Shariah compliance could fill a gap that no incumbent has closed. IMAN's $100 million fundraise, if completed, would be one of the larger AI fintech raises targeting the GCC in 2026.