CPO Rising’s Technology Round-Up Seriesfocuses on the world of Accounts Payable and P2P this week, including several partnership announcements and funding rounds.
If you are a sourcing, procurement, or spend management solution provider and you are continually innovating the way that procurement and supply chain leaders and practitioners drive value, we’d love to hear from you. Please drop us a note at info at cporising dot com. Thanks, and enjoy!
Supplier.io and Scoutbee Form Partnership
CHICAGO & BERLIN, GERMANY — supplier.io, a leading SaaS provider of supplier diversity management, and Scoutbee, a global SaaS company providing a big data and AI-powered supplier data foundation, announced a strategic partnership to accelerate the wide-scale search and usage of supplier diversity statistics.
The company states that the partnership brings additional value for companies across industries such as automotive, fast-moving consumer goods, industrial manufacturing, energy, and utilities that are tracking supplier diversity within their supply chain.
According to Aylin Basom, CEO of supplier.io, “We are excited to partner with Scoutbee to help us further our mission of helping companies grow, manage, and optimize supplier diversity programs. Supplier diversity is not only the right thing to do, it’s a smart business strategy that drives innovation, helps local businesses grow, and contributes to the success of local communities,” Basom said.
“This strategic partnership is going to extend our capabilities to leverage AI technology to scale and expand the adoption of supplier diversity faster.”
The partnership means Scoutbee customers can enrich their suppliers’ database by adding diversity supplier data from supplier.io, states supplier.io.
Read the full announcement here.
Finexio Raises $14 Million in Initial Close of Series B
ORLANDO, Fla. — Finexio, a fast-growing B2B accounts payables (AP) Payments-as-a-Service company, announced the first close of its $30 million funding round at a $100 million pre-money valuation co-led by Mendon Venture Partners and National Bank Holdings Corporation.
Also participating in this growth round are Discover Financial Services, Post Road Partners, The Banc Funds, EOM Investments, and other new and existing investors.
The company states that this Series B funding enables the embedded B2B payments infrastructure company to accelerate the accounts payable and procurement software industry adoption of its B2B Payments-as-a-Service platform, grow its team, and accelerate product development.
According to Ernest Rolfson, Finexio Founder and CEO, said, “CFOs at medium- and large-sized corporations are looking to do more with less, eliminate manual processes to save time, and increase visibility and control of their cashflow. These executives rely on critical infrastructure AP2P software to run their business and make critical decisions,” he said.
“Embedding Finexio’s B2B payments capabilities directly into the software and workflows already familiar to the CFO and their teams makes digital payment adoption the simplest it has ever been, which creates a fantastic buyer and payee experience,” Rolfson adds.
Read the full announcement here.
Paystand Acquires Yaydoo, Forming Largest B2B Commercial Blockchain
SCOTTS VALLEY, Calif. — Paystand, a leader in blockchain-enabled accounts receivable and B2B payments, announced the acquisition of Yaydoo, a leader in accounts payable, cash flow management, and liquidity solutions in Mexico and LATAM.
The company states that the deal represents one of the biggest technology unions in Mexico and LATAM and makes commercial blockchain-based solutions more accessible across the Americas.
According to Jeremy Almond, CEO of Paystand, “Together, Paystand and Yaydoo will redefine the boundaries of B2B fintech across the continent. The combined company will be one of the first global B2B blockchain platforms at a significant scale. The resulting company will have processed over $5 billion in payments, added 300 additional employees, and built a network of over 500,000 connected businesses, the largest of any commercial B2B blockchains in the world,” says Almond.
“DeFi-enabled B2B payment networks that are on-chain can unlock transformative working capital efficiencies and make financial services more fair and open, especially in developing markets like LATAM. And we believe this industry disruption across borders and using DeFi blockchain can shift the balance of power from traditional financial institutions and governments to buyers, and sellers, benefitting business and society,” he adds.
Read the full announcement here.
CentralSquare Technologies Partners with UrbanLeap, Bringing Efficient Process to Public Sector Procurement
LAKE MARY, Fla. — CentralSquare Technologies, an industry leader in public sector technology, announced a strategic partnership with UrbanLeap, an end-to-end procurement solution and service designed by, with, and for local governments. This partnership provides government entities a solution to take control of the procurement process within a single platform to develop, publish, and evaluate bids.
CentralSquare states that government agencies need a simplified way to organize and assess solicitation to support their day-to-day work. Because many do not use procurement software, they face challenges managing the procurement process, leading to lost time, higher costs, and more manual work to properly review and organize vendor proposals. Thus, the partnership provides customers with better outcomes for every financial process, from procure-to-pay and saving time and money to increasing the quality of responses and centralizing the procurement process.
According to UrbanLeap CEO Arik Bronshtein, “This partnership provides a data-driven digital template for any solicitation type, resulting in agencies better managing finances while boosting the quantity, quality, and diversity of inbound vendor proposals,” he explains.
“UrbanLeap and CentralSquare will enable governments to procure the right solutions that best fit their needs and give agencies more time to focus on delivering services to their constituents.”
Read the full announcement here.
Circulor raises $25 million in Series B Funding
London — Circulor announced that it has raised $25 million (20 million GBP) in Series B funding, signaling growing market demand for more transparent and secure industrial supply chains. Circulor provides a proven and mature solution for increasing supply chain visibility. Leading the Series B round is The Westly Group, a venture fund in Menlo Park.
The company states that the new funds will be used to grow its global footprint, with a focus on the North American market. Since completing its Series A in June 2021, Circulor has experienced rapid demand. New customers include BHP, Southwire, Trafigura, Jaguar Land Rover, Blackstone Minerals, Urbix Inc, Element 25, and more.
According to founder and CEO Douglas Johnson-Poensgen, “We are thrilled to have the support of strong financial and strategic investors. Supply chains are at an inflection point — digital transparency with Circulor can empower companies to track their materials through every step of their supply chains, mitigating risks and ensuring societal stewardship,” he said.
Read the full announcement here.
