PR Newswire
Backed by Andreessen Horowitz, the AI-native company is redefining procurement with a virtual workforce that executes purchasing end-to-end
Lio (formerly known as askLio), the company building an agentic AI platform for enterprise procurement, today announced a $30 million Series A funding round led by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), with participation from SV Angels, Harry Stebbings and Y Combinator. The new capital brings Lio's total funding to $33 million and will be used to accelerate product development and support its expansion into the U.S.
Procurement is one of the largest spend categories in the enterprise, yet it still runs like an administrative back-office function. Enterprises spend over $180 billion annually on procurement talent, compared to roughly $10 billion on procurement software, reflecting how much work still happens manually around existing systems. Workflows remain slow and manual, with requests moving through layers of systems, rules, and approvals. Even with heavy investment in eProcurement software, decisions still happen at human speed – forcing teams to scale headcount or outsource work, often at up to 20x the cost of software.
Lio addresses this challenge by introducing Agent Operating Procedures (AOPs) to procurement - a shift enabled by recent advances in AI that make autonomous execution of complex enterprise workflows possible for the first time.
Rather than adding another layer of procurement software, Lio provides enterprises with a virtual, agentic procurement department. Its agents operate as a procurement workforce, executing the same standard operating procedures as experienced buyers, shared service centers, or outsourced BPOs, but at machine speed and scale. The agents triage requests, analyze quotes, compare suppliers, negotiate, onboard vendors, and execute purchases end-to-end across ERPs, systems of record, inboxes, contracts, and the open web. This represents a fundamentally new approach to back-office operations, challenging the long-standing assumption that procurement work must scale with headcount.
Rather than simply moving tasks between systems, Lio's agents do the work itself - replacing fragmented workflows and expensive human review with intelligent automation that frees procurement teams to focus on strategy, compliance, and savings.
"The procurement organization of the future will look fundamentally different from today,"
said Vlad Keil, founder and CEO of Lio.
"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."
Since launching in 2023, Lio's agents have managed billions of dollars in enterprise spend and are used by dozens of Global 2000 and Fortune 500 companies worldwide. Customers include Munich Re, the world's largest reinsurer; Brose, among the largest family-owned automotive suppliers globally; and Novozymes, a global leader in biological solutions — alongside enterprises across chemicals, postal services, retail, transportation, medical technology, and pharmaceuticals.
"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,"
said Jared Petras, Senior Director of Global Procurement Digital Transformation at Walmart.
"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."
said Andreas Schick, COO at Schaeffler, one of the world's largest automotive and industrial suppliers.
Customers using Lio report:
- Over 95% adoption rates, delivering a consumer-grade purchasing experience with just a few clicks
- 85% less manual work, eliminating the need to outsource large portions of procurement operations
- 10% incremental savings, driven by better sourcing, negotiation, and real-time optimization
- 100% customer retention, fueled by rapid deployment and measurable results
In one example, a global tier-1 industrial manufacturer automated 75% of previously outsourced procurement work in six months, freeing the equivalent of 10 full-time employees.
"We're entering a phase in the enterprise where AI moves beyond workflow co-pilots to autonomous, multi-agent execution,"
said Seema Amble, Partner at Andreessen Horowitz.
"Lio is applying that shift to procurement – one of the largest and most operationally complex functions in the enterprise."
About Lio
Lio (formerly known as askLio) builds the world's most advanced AI procurement workforce for enterprise companies worldwide. Every purchase request is managed by specialized agents working in parallel - researching vendors, negotiating terms, managing approvals, and tracking deliveries simultaneously. What once consumed your team's hours is now executed by a coordinated network of AI Agents. Learn more at lio.ai.
About Andreessen Horowitz
Andreessen Horowitz (aka a16z) is a venture capital firm that backs bold entrepreneurs building the future through technology. We are stage agnostic: We invest in seed to venture to growth-stage technology companies, across bio + healthcare, consumer and enterprise apps, crypto, fintech, infrastructure, and companies building toward American dynamism. a16z has over $90B under management across multiple funds.
CONTACT: Jill Staebe, Head of Marketing - Jill.staebe@asklio.ai
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