Lio raises 30 million US dollars Series A

The Munich-based AI startup Lio Technologies GmbH has closed a Series A financing round of 30 million US dollars. The round was led by venture capital investor Andreessen Horowitz. Other investors include SV Angels, Harry Stebbings and Y Combinator.

The financing brings the company's total capital raised to 33 million US dollars. The money will primarily be used to further develop the platform and expand into the US market.

AI agents automate complex purchasing processes

Lio is developing an agent-based AI platform for corporate purchasing. The aim is to fully automate purchasing processes, from the initial inquiry to the order.

While companies spend around 180 billion US dollars annually on personnel in purchasing, only around 10 billion US dollars are invested in software solutions. Many processes therefore continue to run manually across multiple systems, approvals and reconciliations.

This is where Lio's platform comes in: Instead of simply providing software workflows, the company provides a virtual AI purchasing department.

The AI agents used can, among other things:

• Prioritize requests
• Analyze offers
• Compare suppliers
• conduct negotiations
• onboard new suppliers
• Completely process orders

The agents access company systems such as ERP platforms, contract databases, emails and external data sources and carry out processes automatically.

Purchasing teams will manage AI workers in future

According to Vlad Keil, founder and CEO of Lio, the organization of purchasing departments will change fundamentally.

Instead of scaling teams with more staff or additional tools, AI agents will carry out entire processes autonomously in future, while human teams will focus more on strategy, compliance and savings potential.

First large companies rely on the platform

Since its market launch in 2023, Lio says it has already processed billions in corporate purchases via its platform.

Its customers include major international companies such as

• Munich Re
• Brose
• Novozymes

Companies from industries such as chemicals, logistics, retail, transportation, medical technology and pharmaceuticals also use the solution.

High level of automation and measurable efficiency gains

According to the startup, customers report significant efficiency gains through the use of AI agents:

• over 95% user acceptance
• Around 85% less manual work in purchasing
• around 10% additional savings through better procurement and negotiations
• 100% customer loyalty since the platform was introduced

In one example, a global industrial group was able to automate 75% of its previously outsourced purchasing processes within six months.

Investors see next phase of AI automation

For Seema Amble, the development marks an important technological step: companies are increasingly moving from AI assistance systems to autonomous multi-agent systems that can take over entire business processes.

Lio intends to use the current funding to further expand its platform and drive forward the automation of complex business processes in procurement worldwide.