Around 50 percent of the costs of an average industrial company arise from the procurement of production materials. Typically, manual processes and decentralized Excel spreadsheets dominate the increasingly complex management of suppliers and materials. Tacto has therefore developed an “operating system for the supply chain”: a central control center for supplier relationships for industrial mid-market companies. The AI-based software is designed to enable strategic supplier management, straightforward compliance implementation for ESG regulations, and efficient and sustainable materials procurement at optimized conditions.
André Petry, CEO and co-founder of Tacto, explains:
“Increasing regulation and supply chain disruptions present major challenges to our economic backbone, the industrial mid-market: cost bases are rising, material supply is at risk, and business outlook is uncertain. Tacto is developing a software solution with and for the mid-market to enable future-proof supply chains as an answer to the challenges of today and tomorrow.”
50 million euros from Sequoia Capital, Index Ventures and existing investors
In total, Tacto has secured 50 million euros in the now completed funding round. Lead investors in the round are Sequoia Capital and Index Ventures. Existing shareholders Visionaries Club, Cherry Ventures and UVC Partners are also participating in the funding round.
Petry continues:
“The funding round is a vote of confidence in our product, our team and our customers. The additional capital enables us to continue investing in our technology to help our customers remain competitive amid constantly increasing supply chain complexity.”
Benjamin Erhart, general partner at UVC Partners, says:
“About four years ago, we had the opportunity to work with André in our investment team and get to know his skills. It’s great that a startup from the UnternehmerTUM ecosystem is shaping core processes in predominantly family-run companies. That’s exactly what we want to support in our UnternehmerTUM ecosystem.”
Tacto’s customers convinced by the solution
Tacto’s customer portfolio consists of industrial mid-market companies across all sectors. According to its own statements, the startup already manages several billion euros in procurement volume and hundreds of thousands of suppliers with its AI. Customers are satisfied with the solution, as Matthias Schlotter, head of procurement at Schwäbische Werkzeugmaschinen, describes:
“Tacto is our partner for digitizing procurement, from automating supplier management to supporting negotiations for cost savings. Without Tacto, we would have to hire several additional people in times of skilled labor shortage to address disruptions and meet increasing regulatory requirements. With Tacto, we can focus on value-creating topics. For example, we can analyze all supplier data and cost drivers in real-time to prepare for a supplier visit at the push of a button at any time, which results in significant time and cost savings.”
