Circles Global

What Circles Global does

Circles Global is a Singapore-headquartered, AI-native SaaS provider founded in 2014 that enables telecommunications operators to transform from traditional telcos into digital 'techcos.' The company's cloud-native platform consolidates legacy BSS/OSS, CRM, and network data into a unified architecture and serves as the technology foundation for operators to launch, operate, and scale fully digital telco brands. Core platform components include the Multi-AI Agent Fabric, Innovation Engine (Xplore), Digital Quotient Assessment, Digital Advisory Support Services (DASS), and AI assistants (Circles AI, povo AI), all built on TM Forum ODA and Open API standards. The platform is validated through Tier-1 brownfield transformations (Telkomsel Indonesia) and digital brand launches including KDDI's povo (Japan), e&'s onic (Middle East), AT&T Mexico's Wim, and PTCL's onic (Pakistan). Circles also operates its own MVNO, Circles Life, in Singapore, providing firsthand operator experience that feeds product development.

The company generates revenue through three streams: SaaS platform subscriptions (primary, recurring), Professional Services (implementation, customization, consulting), and On-Premise Software Licenses. Pricing is quote-based and structured through multi-year Statements of Work and Purchase Orders with telecom operators, with fees typically accruing after Go-Live. Distribution is exclusively direct enterprise sales targeting Tier-1 global carriers, with go-to-market heavily oriented around long-cycle strategic partnerships, joint ventures for digital brand creation (e.g., e& onic, PTCL onic), and technology integrations (Huawei, Oracle Communications). The company employs 700+ people across operations in 15 countries spanning 6 continents, and it has a wholly owned subsidiary base including Liberty Wireless Pte Ltd (Singapore) and Circles Australia Pty Limited. Circles acquired Pareteum in 2022 to bolster its MVNE capabilities.

The customer base consists almost entirely of large Tier-1 telecom operators across Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, Europe, and North America, including KDDI, Telkomsel, e& International, AT&T Mexico, PTCL, XL Axiata, Proximus, Telenet, Vodacom, and Mobicom. Reported client outcomes include 7x revenue growth and 3x subscriber growth for the onic brand in the Middle East, greater than 30% engagement uplift for KDDI Digital Life using the Innovation Engine, and 40+ feature enhancements delivered to partner brands. The company is privately held with no disclosed venture or private equity funding rounds in the available data, and it is led by co-founders Rameez Ansar (CEO) and Adeel Najam.

Name

Circles Global

Legal name

Circles Global

Website

https://circles.co

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

Circles Global is a Singapore-based, AI-native SaaS provider founded in 2014 that enables telecommunications operators to launch, operate, and scale digital telco brands on a cloud-native, unified BSS/OSS platform.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Telecom BSS/OSS Software

NAICS

Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (518)

SIC

Services-Telephone Interconnect Systems (7385)

akta.pro primary industry

Telco Cloud & Edge for NaaS (Distributed Cloud, MEC, Edge CNFs) (HDAIAIAE)

Keywords

• Telco SaaS platform
• Digital telecom transformation
• AI-native BSS OSS
• Telco-to-techco software
• Telecom operator software

Headquarters

HQ city

Singapore

HQ country

Singapore

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. SaaS Platform Subscription: Circles generates primary revenue through SaaS platform subscriptions paid by telecom operators for access to their AI-native digital telco transformation platform. Fees are contracted through Statements of Work (SOW) and Purchase Orders (PO) with operators.
2. Professional Services: Implementation, customization, and consulting services provided alongside the SaaS platform, including Digital Advisory Support Services (DASS) consultants who provide on-demand expertise and accelerate transformation journeys.
3. On-Premise Software License: Software licenses for on-premise deployment where operators prefer to host software internally rather than using SaaS, including rights to reproduce, modify, and use software under intellectual property rights.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Circles Global sells a cloud-native, AI-enabled SaaS platform that enables telecommunications operators to build, operate, and launch digital telco brands. The platform consolidates legacy BSS/OSS systems into a unified architecture with an embedded Multi-AI Agent Fabric and unified data layer, and is delivered via SaaS subscriptions, on-premise software licenses, or professional services. It also operates joint ventures with operators (e.g., onic with e& and PTCL) to co-create digital telco brands.

Product overview

Circles Global offers a SaaS-powered telco transformation platform with a modular architecture. The core is a cloud-native, AI-enabled SaaS platform that enables telecommunications operators to build, operate, and launch well-loved digital telco brands. It integrates embedded AI capabilities (Multi-AI Agent Fabric, Circles AI/povo AI assistants) and is supported by add-on modules including Innovation Engine (rapid service development), Xplore (innovation sandbox), Xtend, Digital Quotient Assessment, AI Capabilities, Main Brand Evolution, Sub-Brand Creation and Transformation, A New Telco for Any Industry, and Digital Advisory Support Services (DASS). The platform consolidates legacy BSS/OSS systems into a unified architecture, enabling operators like KDDI, Telkomsel, e&, and AT&T Mexico to serve millions of users across 15 countries.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Circles AI: AI-powered platform enabling anticipatory customer experiences within the telco app, potentially turning telco apps into AI-powered super apps.
• povo AI

Products and services

• SaaS Platform for Telcos Cloud-native, AI-enabled SaaS platform enabling telecommunications operators to build, operate, and launch digital telco brands. Consolidates legacy BSS/OSS systems into a unified architecture supporting real-time monetization, automation and customer management across multiple brands and geographies.
• On-Premise Software License Perpetual software license granting operators rights to reproduce, modify and use Circles' software under Vendor intellectual property, deployed on the operator's own infrastructure for telco digital transformation. Fees and scope are defined in the applicable Purchase Order.
• Professional Services Implementation, customization and consulting services provided alongside the SaaS platform, including Digital Advisory Support Services (DASS) consultants who deliver on-demand telco AI expertise and accelerate operator transformation journeys. Services are scoped through Statements of Work with defined deliverables.
• Digital Quotient (DQ) Assessment Diagnostic assessment tool benchmarking an organization's digital maturity against industry standards, providing tailored insights and a recommended path to becoming an Ideal Digital Mobile Operator (DMO). Available as a self-serve interactive quiz.

Quantifiable outcome

• 7x revenue growth achieved by onic digital brand in Middle East
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers11 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability9 records

Feature7 records

Partnerships

14 partnerships are on record, tiered strategic, flagship, core and champion.

• HuaweistrategicTechnology or Integration · 20 March 2026Strategic collaboration agreement to develop AI-native digital telecom solutions globally. The partnership focuses on integrating Huawei's network and cloud capabilities with Circles' SaaS platform to enhance real-time monetization, automation, and customer management for operators worldwide.
• by.U by TelkomselflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 26 February 2026Launch of cloud-native SaaS platform for large-scale digital transformation of telecommunications operators in legacy environments. Deployment represents one of the most complex Tier-1 brownfield transformation programs, consolidating multiple legacy systems into a unified platform while serving millions of active users.
• HCLTechcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint TM Forum Catalyst initiative (Axiom AI-Native Experience Intelligence and Open Monetization) focusing on multi-AI agent correlating customer experience, intelligence and monetization with autonomous network operations.
• GreySkiescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint TM Forum Catalyst initiative collaborator on AI-native telecom solutions for correlating customer experience, operational intelligence and monetization with autonomous network operations.
• TM ForumcoreOthersProud member of TM Forum. Circles participates in Catalyst initiatives and leverages TM Forum ODA and Open APIs for solution development and standardization.
• Oracle CommunicationsstrategicTechnology or IntegrationTechnology partnership where Circles is singular in the industry in taking the same tech stack, extending it to make it natively digital, and carrying it rapidly to multiple brands to take them to market digitally.
• KDDI CorporationflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerFlagship partner for digital telco brand creation. Circles enabled KDDI to launch Japan's first digital 5G telco brand (povo). KDDI Digital Life achieved >30% engagement increase with Circles' Innovation Engine.
• e& InternationalflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint venture partner in Middle East for onic digital brand. The partnership achieved 7x revenue growth and 3x subscriber growth. Onic was highlighted in PTCL's FY2024 Financial Results as revolutionizing telecom industry.
• AT&T MexicostrategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for Wim digital brand providing streamlined and user-centric mobile experience aligned with digital-first consumer expectations.
• PTCLflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint venture partner in Pakistan for onic digital brand transformation, with e& and Circles. onic was recognized in PTCL's FY2024 Financial Results as revolutionizing the telecom industry.
• XL AxiatastrategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for digital brand transformation and reimagining customer experiences in Indonesia, with Circles' expertise in pioneering customer-first digital telco brands.
• TELUSchampionTechnology or IntegrationChampion operator validating TM Forum Catalyst initiative, demonstrating how CSPs can operationalize AI safely at scale.
• OrangechampionTechnology or IntegrationChampion operator validating TM Forum Catalyst initiative, demonstrating how CSPs can operationalize AI safely at scale.
• Circles LifechampionStrategic or Co-development PartnerChampion operator validating TM Forum Catalyst initiative. Circles Life won Fast Mode 2025 Award for Best Innovation in Customer Experience.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Oracle Communications:
• Amdocs: Amdocs is a long-established telecom software vendor offering BSS, OSS, network optimization and digital transformation suites to global CSPs. It directly competes with Circles in the BSS/OSS modernization market but serves a broader portfolio of telecom software categories beyond Circles' focused digital-brand and AI-agent stack.

Direct peers

• Netcracker Technology: Netcracker provides BSS/OSS and digital transformation platforms for telecom operators globally, including cloud-native digital BSS stacks aimed at CSP modernization. It is one of the closest direct comparables to Circles in target customer (Tier-1 telcos), product category (BSS/OSS suites) and go-to-market (large operator engagements).

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/CirclesSaaS
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/circles1
• Instagraminstagram.com/circlessaas

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A2 records

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Circles Global