Fintech Spotlight

Tag: supply chain

  • Lyric raises $43.5M series B for AI supply chain platform

    Lyric raises $43.5M series B for AI supply chain platform

    Lyric, formally known as ChainBrain Inc., has completed a $43.5 million Series B funding round to advance its artificial intelligence-driven supply chain intelligence platform. Insight Partners spearheaded the investment, joined by Primary Venture Partners, Permanent Capital Ventures, VMG Partners, PSP Growth, and NewBuild Venture Capital.

    The startup’s flagship product, Lyric Studio, represents a composable platform designed to deliver customized decision-making intelligence tailored to specific business requirements. The system integrates with existing data infrastructure and provides an intuitive workflow builder alongside a comprehensive library of AI algorithms for supply chain optimization.

    Revenue Growth and Enterprise Adoption

    Since launching 18 months ago, Lyric has demonstrated substantial commercial traction with revenue expanding over 500% during this period. The company has attracted multiple Fortune 500 clients, including global food and beverage corporation Mondelēz International Inc., validating its approach to supply chain intelligence.

    The platform addresses persistent challenges in supply chain management, particularly around inventory optimization and transportation logistics. Many enterprises continue to rely on outdated tools that lack automation capabilities, creating inefficiencies in data processing and decision-making workflows.

    Technical Foundation and Team Expertise

    Lyric’s founding team brings deep domain knowledge from their previous collaboration during tenures at Opex, LLamasoft, and Coupa. The leadership includes Ronan O’Donovan focusing on product development, Vish Oza handling machine learning initiatives, Sarang Jagdale overseeing algorithms, Karthik Mutukrishnan managing engineering, and Sara Hoormann directing strategy and marketing efforts.

    “Our platform, Lyric Studio, allows companies to build AI-powered decision products at a fraction of the time and cost. These aren’t just dashboards or reports; they’re real analytical applications supporting day-to-day, weekly, and long-term decisions” ~ Ganesh Ramakrishna, founder and CEO.

    Market Expansion Strategy

    The fresh capital will fund product development acceleration and expansion of the company’s reusable supply chain logic library. Lyric plans to strengthen its AI-based automation, experimentation, and simulation capabilities while growing its customer success and onboarding teams.

    “Our goal over the next few years is to grow our customer base by ten times, to move from serving nearly 30 leading enterprises to potentially thousands worldwide” Ganesh Ramakrishna stated. The company identifies a global market opportunity among more than 10,000 organizations requiring adaptable, AI-powered supply chain decision platforms.

    Competitive Landscape

    Lyric operates in a market where established players like SAP and Kinaxis offer supply chain solutions, though the startup emphasizes its adaptive approach versus legacy enterprise software platforms. Traditional systems often struggle with the complexity and volatility characteristic of modern supply chains, creating opportunities for more flexible alternatives.

    The funding round reflects growing demand for intelligent supply chain platforms that can adapt to changing business conditions. Lyric Studio currently powers dozens of analytical applications across major global enterprises, demonstrating the practical application of AI in supply chain decision-making.

    Through advanced modeling and analytics, the platform enables companies to enhance supply chain operations management and improve forecasting accuracy. The composable architecture allows organizations to customize solutions based on their specific operational requirements while maintaining integration with existing technology infrastructure.

  • Salasa secures $30M series B for AI logistics platform

    Salasa secures $30M series B for AI logistics platform

    Salasa has raised $30 million in Series B funding to transform its e-commerce fulfillment operations with artificial intelligence technology. The Saudi Arabian logistics company secured the investment round through lead investor Artal Capital, alongside SVC, Wa’ed Ventures, 500 Global, Alsulaiman Group, and additional strategic backers.

    The Riyadh-based company, established in 2017 by co-founders Abdulmajeed Alyemni and Hasan Alhazmi, provides comprehensive logistics solutions encompassing warehousing, inventory oversight, final-mile delivery, bonded storage facilities, and international shipping services. The fresh capital will fund the company’s evolution into an AI-driven platform while expanding its network of fulfillment centers and bonded zones throughout Saudi Arabia and the broader Gulf Cooperation Council region.

    AI Integration Drives Operational Evolution

    The funding enables Salasa to embed predictive analytics and automation across its operations. The company plans to deploy machine learning algorithms for demand forecasting, inventory optimization, and supply chain management. This technological enhancement aims to reduce delivery times and improve accuracy for merchant partners.

    “We’re embedding AI across planning, inventory, and fulfillment to create predictive, self-optimizing logistics” said Hasan Alhazmi, Co-Founder and CBO of Salasa. The AI implementation represents a strategic shift from traditional logistics approaches toward data-driven decision making.

    Market Performance and Client Portfolio

    Since launching, Salasa has processed over 50 million product shipments for both domestic and international destinations. The company serves more than 1,000 merchants, including established brands such as Noon, Amazon, Cenomi, Boutiqaat, Laverne, Sharaf DG, and Alothaim Retail.

    The platform maintains technical integrations with major e-commerce systems including Salla, ZID, Amazon, Trendyol, and Shopify. Delivery partnerships span Aramex, DHL, Saudi Post, and over 40 additional logistics providers, creating comprehensive coverage for client shipping needs.

    Funding History and Investor Perspective

    This Series B round follows Salasa’s $8.6 million Series A financing completed in late 2020, which was led by AlSulaiman Group with participation from SVC and 500 Global. The funding progression demonstrates sustained investor confidence in the company’s growth trajectory.

    Wassim Moukahhal, Head of Alternative Investments at Artal Capital, emphasized the strategic importance of reliable logistics infrastructure in regional e-commerce development. “Salasa is solving one of the biggest challenges in regional e-commerce: reliable, scalable logistics infrastructure” Moukahhal stated.

    Regional Expansion Strategy

    The investment will accelerate Salasa’s geographic expansion across the Gulf region while enhancing its international shipping capabilities. The company plans to scale its dark store network and bonded zone operations to provide merchants with improved access to regional and global markets.

    CEO Abdulmajeed Alyemni outlined the company’s transformation goals: “We’re scaling across fulfillment, technology, and talent to become a tech-first logistics company” The expansion strategy includes both physical infrastructure development and technological advancement.

    Market Context and Growth Opportunity

    Saudi Arabia’s e-commerce market continues expanding with double-digit growth rates, reaching SAR 86 billion by 2024. This market expansion creates opportunities for logistics providers capable of supporting increased transaction volumes and delivery demands.

    The funding positions Salasa to capitalize on this growth while supporting the Kingdom’s broader digital economy development. The company’s AI-enhanced platform aims to provide the infrastructure necessary for sustained e-commerce expansion across the region.

  • Suplyd raises $2M to expand restaurant tech platform

    Suplyd raises $2M to expand restaurant tech platform

    Suplyd has secured $2 million in pre-Series A funding to advance its digital procurement platform serving Egypt’s restaurant industry. The Cairo-based startup attracted investment from 4DX Ventures, Camel Ventures, and Plus VC, alongside participation from Seedstars and current backers.

    The 2022-founded company operates within Egypt’s $10 billion HORECA supply chain, connecting restaurants directly with suppliers through its digital platform. Founders Gohar Said, Karim Selima, and Ahmed ElMahdy developed the solution to address supply chain fragmentation and delivery reliability issues affecting small and medium-sized restaurants.

    Growth Trajectory Following Initial Funding

    Since completing its $1.6 million pre-seed round in 2022, Suplyd reports achieving 20x growth across key metrics including restaurant customer base and goods delivery value. The platform now serves more than 5,000 restaurant customers while expanding its operational tools and backend workflow services.

    The company’s growth reflects broader digitization trends within Egypt’s food and beverage sector, where traditional procurement methods have historically created inefficiencies for restaurant operators managing daily supply needs.

    Platform Capabilities and Market Approach

    Suplyd’s platform replaces fragmented daily ordering processes with a unified digital solution. Restaurant operators gain access to hundreds of products alongside real-time analytics and procurement insights. The system creates digital transaction records designed to reduce waste, lower costs, and improve supply chain predictability.

    The startup focuses on serving the long tail of restaurants often overlooked by traditional suppliers, establishing supplier relationships that support diversified revenue streams. This approach has generated what investors describe as strong early traction within the market.

    “Over the past four years, we’ve built Suplyd into a critical part of Egypt’s restaurant infrastructure” ~ Gohar Said, Founder and CEO.

    Investment Perspective and Market Opportunity

    4DX Ventures Partner Peter Orth highlighted the company’s focus on addressing inefficiencies within Egypt’s substantial HORECA supply chain. The investor emphasized Suplyd’s supplier relationships and revenue diversification as factors reinforcing investment conviction.

    “Suplyd’s digital procurement platform serves the long tail of restaurants that are often overlooked” ~ Peter Orth, Partner at 4DX Ventures.

    Plus VC’s Hasan Haider characterized the company as a key enabler in the digital transformation of Egypt’s food and beverage sector, transforming fragmented procurement into streamlined, technology-driven operations.

    Future Development Plans

    The fresh capital will support Suplyd’s expansion beyond core procurement services into new service verticals. The company plans to deepen its presence across Egypt’s restaurant market while developing additional operational tools for restaurant owners.

    Suplyd reports achieving one of the highest technology adoption rates among business-to-business supply chain players in the region, suggesting potential for continued growth with reduced implementation friction. “There’s so much more to build, and we’re here for the long haul” Gohar Said added regarding the company’s expansion plans.

    The funding round positions Suplyd to capitalize on ongoing digitization within Egypt’s restaurant industry while expanding its comprehensive infrastructure approach to restaurant operations. The company’s progress from startup concept to serving thousands of daily restaurant customers demonstrates market validation for digital procurement solutions in the region.

  • Magentic raises €4.7M to deploy AI agents in supply chains

    Magentic raises €4.7M to deploy AI agents in supply chains

    London-based Magentic has emerged from stealth with €4.7M ($5.5M) in seed funding led by Sequoia Capital to address a multibillion-pound problem: supply chain waste caused by procurement compliance failures. The startup’s AI agents, dubbed “Mages,” target post-contract processes where traditional tools fall short.

    The funding round included participation from The Westly Group, First Momentum Ventures, and notable angel investors from SAP, Airbus, McKinsey & Company, Hugging Face, Ironclad, and Rosberg Ventures. Magentic plans to accelerate product development and expand deployments with leading global manufacturers.

    The Hidden Cost of Procurement Failures

    Research from McKinsey & Company reveals that 90 per cent of Chief Procurement Officers identify supplier compliance issues as major operational challenges. This translates to an average waste of 2 per cent of total spending—approximately $40 million for every $2 billion spent. Internal analysis by Magentic’s partners found that one in four procurement documents contained errors that directly impacted profits.

    These figures highlight a fundamental gap in how companies manage supplier relationships after contracts are signed. While traditional procurement software focuses on sourcing and negotiation phases, significant value leakage occurs through unclaimed credits, compliance gaps, and fragmented supplier data.

    AI Agents Target Post-Contract Waste

    Magentic’s approach differs from conventional procurement tools by deploying domain-specific AI agents directly into operational workflows. These agents identify, prioritise, and capture savings opportunities within complex, unstructured data environments where master data remains incomplete or inconsistent.

    “Today, the best AI companies are selling outcomes, not seats. In the old world, SaaS sold the promise of ROI. In the new world, AI delivers it,” said Julien Bek, Partner at Sequoia Capital, explaining the investment rationale.

    The company’s early results demonstrate substantial impact. A $30 billion manufacturer achieved 4 per cent savings on machinery spare parts procurement and is now expanding Magentic’s AI agents to additional spending categories. For large enterprises, this approach can unlock tens of millions in previously missed savings annually.

    Experienced Team Tackles Complex Challenge

    Co-founder and CEO Robin Van Aeken brings experience leading teams at McKinsey & Company focused on global manufacturers. His co-founder, Odhran O’Donoghue, serves as CTO and holds a PhD in Machine Learning from the University of Oxford, with previous roles at OpenAI, NASA, and the Crick Institute.

    “For the first time, we have the technology to understand all our data across previously incompatible systems,” O’Donoghue explained. The technical foundation enables AI agents to operate across traditionally siloed procurement systems while maintaining human oversight.

    Van Aeken contextualised the opportunity: “Supply chains are the hidden engines of our world, responsible for every phone, medicine, and plane in our lives.” The startup addresses mounting complexity from global conflicts, tariffs, and increasingly demanding operational requirements.

    Security and Compliance Foundation

    Magentic’s platform maintains “secure by design” architecture with full compliance across SOC2 Type II, ISO 27001, and GDPR standards. Each action taken by AI agents includes traceable documentation—whether referencing contract clauses, invoices, or communication threads—ensuring transparency in critical business workflows.

    Current customers span consumer packaged goods, pharmaceutical, and advanced manufacturing sectors across the United States and Europe. The company continues developing AI agents to handle emerging challenges including supplier tariff claims and end-to-end operational processes.

    The funding enables Magentic to expand beyond its initial success in identifying compliance gaps and unclaimed credits. As procurement teams face increasing pressure from supply chain complexity, AI agents represent a shift from promise-based software solutions to outcome-driven implementations that deliver measurable financial returns.