Berlin-based scoutbee, a digital procurement platform, has raised $60 million in Series B funding. The round was led by Atomico with participation from Lakestar and Next47, as well as existing investors HV Holtzbrinck Ventures, 42CAP and Toba Capital.
The company aims to drive digital transformation of global procurement. With the help of AI and big data, the scoutbee platform enables the right purchasers and the right suppliers to connect anywhere in the world.
The business potential for digital procurement is huge. Private sector companies alone spend trillions each year buying from third-party suppliers. External sourcing is often the largest expense category for companies: around 43 percent of total costs, according to Bain & Company. Software for global procurement is a booming market all on its own; it’s expected to reach $7.3 billion by 2022 (IDC).
Headquartered in Berlin and Washington DC, the startup already serves major multinationals including Audi, Airbus, Caterpillar and Bosch, plus over 75 other companies worldwide.
Commenting on the round, scoutbee co-founder Gregor Stűhler said: “The significant new funding, together with our new partnership with Atomico and Lakestar is an exciting milestone. We will leverage every aspect of our combined instinct, expertise and passion to develop our products and capture new markets. scoutbee as a solution is unrivalled in its specific capability for strategic scouting. Perhaps most exciting, today our team mission is stronger than ever - and by 2021, we aim to save global companies $10 billion a year with our intelligent, transparent and fair supplier discovery platform.”
Atomico Partner Hiro Tamura will join the company’s board. He commented: “Using databases and online searches in a vacuum, procurement professionals commonly don’t know what proportion of suppliers they have visibility over, nor the suppliers’ level of quality or experience. The industry requires far more effective information gathering. We are proud to partner with scoutbee’s talented and dedicated team who are focusing on exactly this - a smarter way to find suppliers. We were blown away by their deep knowledge in the procurement space in geographies from Asia, Europe and America, and their product-first approach to solving procurement for the world’s top-tier companies.:
The Series B brings scoutbee's total funding to $76 million. The German startup will focus on its R&D, accelerate customer growth, and explore strategic acquisitions. scoutbee’s team will grow from 120 to around 220 across Berlin, Wurzburg and Washington DC. by the end of 2020, with new roles in engineering, machine learning, product development, sales and marketing.
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