Copyright iafrica
South African artificial intelligence (AI) company Locstat has raised €2.5 million (US$2.3 million) in a pre-Series A funding round led by Portugal Gateway Fund (PGF), with participation from ANZA Capital. The investment will accelerate Locstat’s expansion into the United Kingdom and European Union, while deepening its footprint across Africa, one of its fastest-growing markets. Founded in 2016, Locstat specializes in graph-based AI and complex event processing (CEP) technologies that transform large volumes of real-time and historical data into actionable intelligence. Its proprietary platform helps clients uncover hidden relationships between data points—offering insights traditional systems often fail to detect. Transforming Data Into Decisions Locstat’s AI-powered platform integrates graph databases, event stream processing, and machine learning to help organizations detect fraud, analyze customer behavior, enforce business rules, and perform geo-spatial analytics in real time. “Our goal is to transform complex, interconnected data into meaningful decisions that drive real-world impact,” said Ryno Goosen, co-founder and CEO of Locstat. “This funding enables us to scale a South African-born solution, proven in some of the continent’s toughest conditions — to international markets with renewed confidence.” The company has already established strong traction within Africa’s financial services sector, where its technology supports banks and fintechs in combating fraud, money laundering, and compliance challenges while enhancing risk management. Scaling in Europe and Strengthening Africa Operations The latest funding round will be used to: Expand operations in the UK and EUEstablish local partnerships with European firmsReinforce its South African team and regional partner networksAdvance product innovation to meet global demand for faster, more transparent analytics “Locstat embodies the type of company we invest in — a skilled leadership team, groundbreaking technology, and bold global aspirations,” said Erik van Veen, General Partner at Portugal Gateway Fund. “We recognize immense promise in their graph database innovation and are confident in their capacity to expand across Europe. This marks a solid step toward a successful Series A within the next two years.” Growing Global Demand for Graph AI Locstat’s success reflects a broader global shift toward graph AI and real-time analytics, which are becoming critical for sectors such as finance, logistics, and security. These technologies allow organizations to identify risks earlier, respond faster, and capture value beyond what legacy systems can offer. With this latest investment, Locstat joins a rising wave of African-born AI companies scaling globally, highlighting the continent’s growing influence in data intelligence innovation. “This milestone validates not just our technology, but the depth of African innovation on the world stage,” Goosen added. Locstat’s expansion marks another significant chapter in South Africa’s rapidly maturing AI startup ecosystem, positioning the company as a global leader in graph analytics and event-driven intelligence.
