Lio, previously known as askLio, has raised $30 million in a Series A funding round led by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z). The round also included participation from SV Angels, Harry Stebbings, and Y Combinator.

The new capital brings the company’s total funding to $33 million. Lio plans to use the investment to accelerate product development and expand its presence in the United States, where demand for enterprise AI tools continues to grow.

Procurement Is a Massive Market Still Run by Manual Work

Enterprise procurement remains one of the largest operational spending areas inside large organizations. Companies spend more than $180 billion every year on procurement talent, while software solutions for the same function represent only around $10 billion in spending.

Despite years of investment in procurement software, much of the work still moves slowly through layered approval systems, internal rules, and fragmented platforms. Teams often rely on additional staff or outsourced services just to keep up with purchasing workflows.

Lio’s platform targets that inefficiency by introducing Agent Operating Procedures (AOPs). These procedures allow AI agents to execute procurement workflows autonomously across multiple systems.

A Virtual Procurement Workforce Powered by AI

Instead of offering another procurement dashboard, Lio introduces a model that functions more like a digital procurement department. Its AI agents operate as a virtual workforce capable of handling purchasing tasks from start to finish.

The agents triage incoming requests, analyze supplier quotes, compare vendors, negotiate pricing, onboard suppliers, and finalize purchases. They operate across enterprise software environments including ERPs, contract systems, internal inboxes, and external data sources.

“The procurement organization of the future will look fundamentally different from today. Teams won’t scale through headcount or more tools, but through AI agents that execute work end-to-end. Procurement teams will shift from doing manual work to directing and supervising an AI workforce. Lio was built to create virtual buyers that work alongside human teams, together shaping the procurement workforce of the future.”

Vlad Keil, founder and CEO of Lio.

Rather than simply transferring data between tools, the system performs the work directly. The aim is to remove fragmented workflows and reduce the amount of manual review that typically slows procurement operations.

Early Adoption Among Large Enterprises

Since launching in 2023, Lio reports that its AI agents have already managed billions of dollars in enterprise spending. The platform is currently used by dozens of Global 2000 and Fortune 500 companies.

Customers include Munich Re, Brose, and Novozymes, along with organizations operating in industries such as chemicals, retail, transportation, pharmaceuticals, and medical technology.

“Leading organizations are transitioning to AI augmented procurement operating models, and they are doing so quickly. Agentic AI systems for procurement, such as Lio, will be pivotal in that shift. What sets Lio apart is the level of innovation and creativity its founder has applied to solving one of the hardest challenges in this space: serving the enterprise customer. They are reimagining how procurement can operate in a wide range of environments and the technology is fundamentally different from anything I have used in my career. The impact is real, and the ROI is compressed from years to weeks,”

Jared Petras, Senior Director of Global Procurement Digital Transformation at Walmart.

Efficiency Gains Reported by Customers

Early enterprise deployments suggest strong operational improvements. According to Lio, companies using its platform report:

• Over 95% adoption rates thanks to simplified purchasing workflows
• 85% reduction in manual procurement work
• Around 10% savings through improved sourcing and negotiation
• 100% customer retention so far

In one case, a large industrial manufacturer automated 75% of previously outsourced procurement tasks within six months, freeing the equivalent workload of ten full time employees.

“In collaboration with Lio, we are redefining the future of Purchasing at Schaeffler. The rapid progress and measurable outcomes underscore the transformative potential of agentic AI. This collaboration strengthens our AI-driven capabilities, increases efficiency at scale, and underlines our ambition to be a pioneer in innovation and operational excellence.”

Andreas Schick, COO at Schaeffler.

Investors Bet on Autonomous Enterprise AI

The investment reflects growing interest in agent based enterprise software, where AI systems move beyond assisting employees and begin executing operational workflows themselves.

“We’re entering a phase in the enterprise where AI moves beyond workflow co-pilots to autonomous, multi-agent execution. Lio is applying that shift to procurement – one of the largest and most operationally complex functions in the enterprise.”

Seema Amble, Partner at Andreessen Horowitz.

Lio says its long term goal is to build a network of AI agents that can manage procurement activities at the scale required by global enterprises.

Origianl Creator: Paulo Palma
Original Link: https://justainews.com/companies/funding-news/lio-raises-30m-series-a-to-build-ai-procurement-agents/
Originally Posted: Thu, 05 Mar 2026 18:45:51 +0000