Lio Technologies Raises $30M for Agentic AI
Lio Technologies has raised $30 million in a Series A round to develop "agentic" AI for enterprise procurement. The funding highlights VC interest in AI platforms that automate decision-making for real-world operations like supply chains.
The Series A funding was led by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), with participation from SV Angels, Harry Stebbings, and Y Combinator. This new capital brings the company's total funding to $33 million. Founded by CEO Vlad Keil, Lio, formerly known as askLio, is an alumnus of Y Combinator's Spring 2023 batch. The founders experienced procurement bottlenecks firsthand and aim to address a market where enterprises annually spend over $180 billion on procurement personnel versus roughly $10 billion on software. Lio's platform provides a virtual procurement workforce, using AI agents to operate existing enterprise systems. These agents autonomously handle the entire workflow, from triaging requests and analyzing quotes to negotiating with suppliers and executing purchases across ERPs, inboxes, and contracts. This approach represents a shift from humans using software for assistance to AI agents executing complete, complex tasks without direct oversight. The goal is to move procurement teams away from manual work and toward supervising a digital workforce. Since launching in 2023, Lio's agents have managed billions of dollars in spending for dozens of Global 2000 and Fortune 500 companies. Notable clients include Munich Re, the world's largest reinsurer, and automotive supplier Brose. According to lead investor a16z, clients using Lio have seen an 85% reduction in manual work for procurement buyers and an additional 10% in procurement savings. The company plans to use the new funding to accelerate product development and expand its operations into the United States.
