Irish startup Source has secured $1.4 million in pre-seed funding to address procurement inefficiencies plaguing small and medium-sized retailers. The Dublin-based company, founded by 18-year-old Liam Fuller, has developed an artificial intelligence platform that automates stock purchasing decisions for businesses managing thousands of product lines.
The funding round was led by Square Peg Capital, with participation from former Stripe CTO David Singleton and the Xtripe angel syndicate. Fuller, who became Square Peg’s youngest portfolio founder, left school to focus on building Source full-time alongside co-founder and CTO Yoan Gabison.
Manual Processes Drive Retail Inefficiency
Fuller discovered the procurement challenge whilst pitching his previous venture, CartShare, to e-commerce businesses. Conversations with retailers revealed that substantial portions of their revenue originated from physical stores rather than online channels, yet their backend operations remained surprisingly primitive.
“We have 10,000 to 15,000 SKUs, and maybe three people managing that,” one Dublin pharmacy told Fuller. Another retailer spending over €100 million annually relied on just three or four staff members for procurement decisions. When Fuller enquired about their purchasing methods, the response was consistent: “It’s all through email and Excel.”
This manual approach creates bottlenecks that consume significant portions of buyers’ working days. Fuller noted that procurement professionals often work extended hours, with administrative tasks dominating their schedules.
AI-Powered Procurement Platform
Source addresses these inefficiencies through an API-based integration that connects with existing enterprise resource planning systems, spreadsheets, and email inboxes. The platform analyses unstructured data including inventory reports, invoices, and sales histories to generate purchasing recommendations.
The system comprises two primary features: a prompt interface allowing users to locate suppliers or place orders, and a suggested order function that synthesises multiple data points including stock levels, promotional campaigns, and historical sales patterns. This approach enables Source to surface purchasing opportunities that might otherwise be overlooked whilst reducing the administrative burden on procurement teams.
“I’ve talked to buyers working 10- to 13-hour days — and six of those hours are just admin,” Fuller explained, highlighting the time-saving potential of automated procurement processes.
Market Expansion and Growth Plans
Source currently operates almost ten pilot programmes and has set its sights on the American market. Fuller views the United States as offering greater complexity and opportunity, with more established business-to-business commerce platforms and diverse distribution channels that have served retailers for decades.
Paul Bassat, co-founder of Square Peg Capital, closed the funding round within weeks of meeting Fuller during a family visit to Australia. “Liam combines technical sophistication with commercial instincts that are rare at any age,” Bassat observed, emphasising the founder’s strategic thinking capabilities.
The capital injection will enable Source to double its engineering workforce, launch American pilot programmes this autumn, and finance a relocation to Silicon Valley later this year. The company has also joined the NDRC Accelerator programme operated by Dogpatch Labs in Dublin.
Traditional Industries Meet Modern Technology
Fuller’s vision extends beyond simple automation to helping businesses that continue operating through legacy systems like spreadsheets and email. Rather than requiring complete system overhauls, Source integrates with existing infrastructure to enhance decision-making capabilities.
The approach targets a segment often overlooked by enterprise software providers, who typically focus on larger retailers with substantial technology budgets. Small and medium-sized businesses frequently lack cohesive systems despite handling significant transaction volumes, creating opportunities for lightweight solutions that complement rather than replace existing processes.
Source’s development reflects broader trends in artificial intelligence applications, particularly the emergence of reasoning models capable of processing complex operational data to support human decision-making in traditional industries.