CapQuest raises $1M pre-seed to help startups track ownership and employee equity
What's the deal? Dubai-based CapQuestDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → has raised $1 million in pre-seed funding to develop its equity management software and expand internationally. Oraseya CapitalDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → and AMKM Family Office led the round.
What does it do? Founded by Antoine Bruna, Marco Banfi, and Anvita Varshney, CapQuest brings ownership records, employee share plans, and fundraising transactions into one system. It serves customers across 11 countries, including Holo, erad, and Avenia.
Why now? Bruna and Banfi hit the problem at RepeatDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, the restaurant-tech firm they co-founded, which raised $12 million from 47 investors across three continents and had 63 employees on an equity plan. Maintaining spreadsheets and reporting to investors "took increasing time away from running the business," Bruna told FWDstart.
How it works: The platform tracks how ownership shifts as companies raise money, issue options, and convert financing instruments into shares. Scenario modelling tools let founders calculate dilution from a proposed round before signing, while employees and investors can view their holdings. CapQuest charges by the number of stakeholders a customer manages, so bills rise only as companies add investors and employees.
What's next? The team is building a data room with document-sharing analytics and structured investor reporting. Bruna said CapQuest is preparing a separate $2 million seed round, with capital aimed mainly at commercial expansion.
The signal: At $1 million, this is a modest round — larger than roughly a quarter of comparable pre-seeds. But the timing fits Dubai's push to build out startup financing: Oraseya recently doubled its venture fund to US$255.8M and broadened its remit. CapQuest's customers in Brazil, Singapore, and the US suggest a regional pain point with reach beyond the UAE.
Read more: fwdstart.me
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