Lio raises $30M Series A to automate enterprise procurement

In short: Lio said it raised $30 million in Series A funding to build software that automates how large companies buy goods and services.

What happened

Lio, a startup founded in 2023, announced a $30 million Series A funding round on March 5, 2026. The round was led by Andreessen Horowitz (also called a16z). SV Angels, Harry Stebbings, and Y Combinator also participated.

The company was co-founded by CEO Vladimir Keil, Lukas Heinzman, and Till Wagner. Lio said it has now raised $33 million in total.

Lio sells procurement software. Procurement is the process companies use to choose suppliers, agree on prices and terms, and place orders. Lio says it uses AI agents, which are software helpers that can take steps on their own (like an assistant who can read emails, fill out forms, and follow a checklist) to handle work such as reading documents, comparing suppliers, negotiating terms, checking ERP systems (the company’s main record system for money and inventory), and completing purchases across different tools.

Keil said that even with modern buying software, procurement often stays manual and slow, and it can require large teams or outsourcing. Lio says one customer, a global manufacturer, automated 75% of work that had been outsourced within six months. The new funding will be used to grow Lio’s business in the US and improve what its AI agents can do.

Why it matters

For many big companies, buying is a hidden but expensive part of day to day operations. If tools like Lio can shorten purchase cycles from weeks to minutes and reduce mistakes, companies may spend less time on paperwork and more time on running the business.

Source: TechCrunch AI