Tim Spencer gained a profound understanding of the complexities inherent in manufacturing procurement while at the helm of Markai, an e-commerce startup operating in Asia, during the challenging period of the pandemic.
“We had thousands of suppliers, and we were distributing products into dozens of countries around the world,” Spencer shared with TechCrunch. He recounted how his team was overwhelmed by the manual intricacies involved in identifying and sourcing suppliers, negotiating prices, meticulously tracking orders, and managing payments across this vast network.
“I found myself running this big team that was not really set up for success,” he reflected. Spencer ultimately sold Markai in 2023, a decision made as the transformative potential of generative AI to significantly streamline the most time-consuming procurement obstacles for manufacturers and distributors was becoming increasingly evident.
Later that same year, Spencer co-founded Didero. He was joined by Lorenz Pallhuber, an experienced professional from McKinsey’s procurement practice, and Tom Petit, who previously served as the technical co-founder of Landis.
Didero, established with the explicit mission to automate many of the complex facets of global procurement, recently announced a successful $30 million Series A funding round. This round was co-led by Chemistry and Headline, with notable participation from Microsoft’s venture fund, M12.
“Global trade runs on natural language communication,” Spencer explained, emphasizing the prevalent forms of interaction. “It’s emails, WeChat, phone calls, purchase orders, and packing lists.”
Prior to the emergence of generative AI, these disparate communication elements necessitated human intervention, with personnel dedicating their time to chasing suppliers and manually updating various systems of record. Didero asserts that its platform can effectively ingest and interpret this communication, thereby automating a substantial portion of the procurement workflow.
Operating as an agentic AI layer, Didero integrates seamlessly with a company’s existing Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system. It functions as an intelligent coordinator, capable of reading incoming communications and automatically executing the necessary updates and tasks within the system.
“The goal is to go from ‘I need a good’ to payment without having to lift a finger,” Spencer articulated, highlighting the platform’s ambition for end-to-end automation.
In contrast to solutions like Levelpath, Zip, or Oro Labs, which primarily leverage AI to optimize corporate purchasing processes, Didero maintains a distinct focus on the supply chain. Its platform is specifically engineered to cater to manufacturers and distributors who must source the raw materials and essential inputs required for the production or sale of their goods.
While Didero acknowledges a few smaller competitors capable of handling specific aspects of its comprehensive offerings, Spencer points out key distinctions. For instance, companies such as Cavello and Pietra assist brands with sourcing and price negotiation with manufacturers, but they typically serve small and medium-sized enterprises and do not encompass the entire procurement lifecycle, from the initial quote to the final payment.
Didero currently serves dozens of customers, though only one has been publicly identified: Footprint, a prominent provider of sustainable, plant-based packaging solutions.
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