Didero Raises $30M to Automate Manufacturing Procurement
▼ Summary
– Tim Spencer founded Didero after his experience running an e-commerce startup revealed the overwhelming manual complexity of global procurement.
– Didero is an AI platform that automates procurement by ingesting natural language communications like emails and purchase orders to manage workflows.
– The company recently raised a $30 million Series A funding round co-led by Chemistry and Headline, with participation from Microsoft’s M12.
– Didero differentiates itself by focusing on the manufacturing and distribution supply chain, rather than general corporate purchasing.
– The platform acts as an AI layer on top of existing enterprise systems to automate tasks from initial sourcing to final payment.
Navigating the intricate world of manufacturing procurement often involves a chaotic web of emails, purchase orders, and phone calls, a reality Tim Spencer knows all too well. While leading his e-commerce startup Markai in Asia, he witnessed firsthand how manual processes for sourcing, negotiating, and tracking orders overwhelmed his team. This frustrating experience directly inspired the creation of Didero, a company that has now secured $30 million in Series A funding to bring automation to this complex field. The investment round was co-led by Chemistry and Headline, with additional participation from Microsoft’s venture fund, M12.
Spencer sold Markai in 2023, recognizing a new opportunity with the rise of generative AI to solve the very procurement hurdles that had plagued his previous business. He soon co-founded Didero with Lorenz Pallhuber, a procurement specialist from McKinsey, and Tom Petit, a former technical co-founder of Landis. Their mission is clear: to automate the cumbersome workflows that define global trade.
“Global trade runs on natural language communication,” Spencer explained, highlighting the daily flood of emails, WeChat messages, and packing lists. Before advanced AI, managing this fragmented information required dedicated staff to manually chase suppliers and update records. Didero’s platform is designed to ingest these communications directly, aiming to place a substantial part of the procurement workflow on autopilot.
The company’s technology acts as an AI coordination layer that integrates with a company’s existing ERP system. It reads incoming communications and automatically executes necessary updates and tasks. Spencer describes the ambitious goal as moving seamlessly from “I need a good” to final payment with minimal human intervention.
Didero distinguishes itself by focusing squarely on the manufacturing and distribution supply chain, rather than general corporate purchasing. Its platform is built for businesses that need to source raw materials and components required to build or sell their products. While other platforms like Levelpath or Zip use AI for internal procurement, and companies like Cavela assist with sourcing, Spencer notes that Didero aims to manage the entire end-to-end process from initial quote to final payment, a scope he says sets them apart in serving larger enterprise needs.
The startup, which has dozens of customers, points to sustainable packaging provider Footprint as a named client. By targeting the core inefficiencies in manufacturing procurement, Didero is positioning its automated platform as a critical tool for streamlining global supply chain operations.
(Source: TechCrunch)
