Lio, a company formerly known as askLio, has announced it raised $30 million in a Series A funding round led by venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z). The round also included investments from SV Angels, Harry Stebbings, and Y Combinator. This new funding brings Lio’s total capital raised to $33 million. The company plans to use the funds to speed up product development and grow its footprint in the United States, where demand for enterprise AI tools is rapidly increasing.

The Huge Market for Procurement Software

Procurement remains a massive part of business operations, especially in large organizations. Companies spend over $180 billion annually just on procurement staff, yet the software dedicated to this area accounts for only about $10 billion in spending. Despite years of investment in procurement tech, much of the process still relies on manual work, layered approvals, and disjointed platforms. Teams often need extra staff or outsource services just to keep up with the workflow.

Lio aims to change this by addressing these inefficiencies. The company introduces a new approach called Agent Operating Procedures (AOPs). These procedures enable AI-powered agents to handle procurement tasks automatically across different systems, reducing reliance on manual intervention and streamlining processes.

Meet the Virtual Procurement Workforce

Instead of just offering another dashboard, Lio provides what it calls a digital procurement department. Its AI agents act as a virtual workforce, capable of managing the entire purchasing process from start to finish. These agents can triage requests, analyze supplier quotes, compare vendors, negotiate prices, onboard suppliers, and complete purchases. They work seamlessly across enterprise software like ERPs, contracts, email systems, and external data sources.

Vlad Keil, Lio’s founder and CEO, explains that the future of procurement won’t rely on more people or tools but on AI agents that perform work end-to-end. He envisions procurement teams shifting from manual tasks to overseeing and directing AI workers. Lio’s goal is to create virtual buyers that work alongside human staff, forming a smarter, more efficient procurement workforce.

Unlike traditional solutions that simply move data between systems, Lio’s platform performs the actual work. This helps eliminate fragmented workflows and cuts down on manual reviews that slow down procurement. The system aims to make processes faster, more accurate, and less labor-intensive.

Early Success with Big Companies

Since launching in 2023, Lio reports that its AI agents have managed billions of dollars in enterprise spending. Its platform is already used by dozens of large companies in the Global 2000 and Fortune 500 lists. Customers include Munich Re, Brose, and Novozymes, spanning industries like chemicals, retail, transportation, pharmaceuticals, and medical tech.

Many of these organizations are moving toward AI-augmented procurement operations. As the technology matures, Lio expects more companies to adopt AI-driven procurement tools to reduce costs, improve efficiency, and adapt to the growing demand for smarter business processes.

With this new funding, Lio is set to expand its capabilities and reach more enterprises. The company believes AI-powered procurement will reshape how large organizations manage their purchasing, making the process faster, smarter, and more integrated than ever before. This shift could fundamentally change the way procurement teams operate in the future.

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• https://justainews.com/companies/funding-news/lio-raises-30m-series-a-to-build-ai-procurement-agents/