Würzburg AI startup Scoutbee celebrates successful exit

The US company Coupa, a platform for AI-supported spend management, has announced the acquisition of the German AI start-up Scoutbee. Scoutbee, founded in Würzburg in 2015, has developed into an international pioneer in the field of supplier discovery and supplier management in recent years.

With the acquisition, Coupa is integrating Scoutbee's AI technology into its platform, thereby strengthening its global procurement and supplier intelligence. The aim is to further accelerate automation in procurement and expand its presence in Europe.

From Franconian Würzburg to Silicon Valley and a global exit

It sounds like a start-up fairytale: Gregor Stühler and his co-founder team started Scoutbee in 2015 with the vision of making supply chains more resilient, transparent and efficient through artificial intelligence. After three rounds of financing totaling 76 million US dollars, the start-up expanded into Silicon Valley in 2019 and acquired customers such as Audi, Siemens, Airbus, Unilever and Bosch Rexroth.

Today, Scoutbee employs over 150 people worldwide and is one of the best-known German AI supply chain start-ups.

Coupa integrates Scoutbee's AI for supplier discovery

Through the acquisition, Coupa plans to add Scoutbee's AI-powered supplier discovery, data analytics and networking capabilities to its platform. The integration includes:

• Real-time AI search and data matching for new suppliers,
• Improved supplier profiling and onboarding processes,
• Enhanced transparency and efficiency in global supply chains.

Together we are creating the world's most comprehensive and data-rich buyer-supplier network. This acquisition enables us to make the procurement process even smarter and simpler - for buyers and suppliers alike.

Salvatore Lombardo, Chief Product & Technology Officer at Coupa

Scoutbee CEO Gregor Stühler sees the acquisition as the next logical step:"We founded Scoutbee with the conviction that AI can fundamentally change the way buyers and suppliers work together." The integration is set to begin in the current quarter. Scoutbee will initially continue to operate under its own name, but will be fully integrated into the Coupa platform in the medium term.

AI meets procurement

For Coupa, the acquisition is part of a clear AI strategy: within just six months, the company has already acquired two European AI start-ups (Cirtuo). This is a sign of the dynamism with which Coupa is driving forward AI-based automation in procurement.

The joint solution is designed to help companies

• Identify new suppliers faster,
• recognize risks and sustainability factors at an early stage,
• and simplify collaboration across Coupa's network of over 10 million suppliers.

Scoutbee customers benefit from global reach

In future, existing Scoutbee customers will have direct access to the Coupa platform and thus to a significantly larger market. Conversely, Coupa users will benefit from Scoutbee's AI search engine and data-driven supplier intelligence, which will be integrated into Coupa applications for sourcing, contracts and supplier management.