Montreal's Axya Raises C$17 Million to Pull Manufacturing Procurement Out of Email and Spreadsheets With AI

Factories have been automated for decades. The way many of them buy parts has not.

Axya, a Montreal-based company building an AI-powered procurement platform for manufacturers, announced on Thursday, September 24, that it has raised C$17 million (about US$12 million) in a Series A funding round. The round was led by McRock Capital, with participation from Yamaha Motor Ventures, the venture arm of the Japanese motorcycle and engine maker.

Existing shareholders also supported the round, including the Business Development Bank of Canada's Industrial Innovation Venture Fund and Real Ventures. The company also established a new banking relationship with CIBC, which is providing financing for its next phase of expansion, according to the company's announcement.

The problem: procurement stuck in the past

Procurement — the process of sourcing, quoting and purchasing the parts and materials a company needs — is central to manufacturing. For companies that build complex products such as aircraft components, industrial machinery or vehicles, it can involve thousands of custom parts, hundreds of suppliers and constant changes in specifications, schedules and prices.

Yet in many manufacturing companies, procurement still runs on email, spreadsheets and enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems that do not communicate well with suppliers.

"Despite major investments in digital transformation, procurement remains one of the most fragmented functions within manufacturing organizations," said Félix Bélisle-Dockrill, Axya's founder and chief executive.

In a separate comment reported by BetaKit, he put it more bluntly: "Manufacturers building complex products lose time and money because procurement still runs on email, spreadsheets, and ERPs that don't talk to suppliers."

What Axya does

Axya's platform automates sourcing and purchasing for manufacturers. It combines deep integrations with ERP systems with AI-powered workflows designed to complement, rather than replace, existing procurement teams.

The company integrates with major ERP providers, including Infor, Epicor, Oracle, SAP, Microsoft Dynamics and Sage, connecting supplier networks with ERP data. Suppliers can connect through their existing channels, which the company says helps it achieve a 100% supplier adoption rate — a key advantage, since procurement platforms often fail when suppliers refuse to adopt new tools.

Axya specialises in three customer sectors: aerospace and defence; custom machinery and vehicles; and natural resources and processing. Its customers include MDA Space, the Canadian space technology company, and GE Aerospace.

"Axya's platform connects the data, suppliers, and workflows that drive purchasing decisions, enabling manufacturers to reduce manual effort, improve supplier responsiveness, and build more resilient supply chains," Bélisle-Dockrill said.

A founder from the factory floor

Bélisle-Dockrill founded Axya in 2019, originally under the name GRAD4. He has a background in mechanical engineering and previously worked in supplier quality for two of the largest manufacturers in the aerospace industry, according to BetaKit and PYMNTS.

In those roles, he saw first-hand the challenges of evaluating and managing suppliers, and the difficulty of sharing knowledge and information across complex supply chains. That experience led him to build Axya.

His domain expertise is central to the company's pitch. Industrial buyers must interpret technical specifications, qualify suppliers, compare quotations, handle production constraints and preserve institutional knowledge about vendors and parts. Building software that fits those workflows requires a deep understanding of how manufacturing actually works.

Fundamentals, not hype

McRock Capital partner Udit Bhatnagar, who is joining Axya's board as part of the round, said the venture firm sees "an enormous market opportunity for industrial AI in the everyday work that keeps factories running", singling out manufacturing procurement as an area "where critical decisions still depend on scattered information", according to BetaKit.

Bhatnagar told BetaKit that Axya raised money on "fundamentals, not hype", pointing to strong retention, customers who expand their use of the platform every year, healthy margins and a business operating close to break-even.

That emphasis on fundamentals is notable at a time when AI start-ups are attracting enormous valuations based on future potential. Axya's pitch rests on measurable operational improvements for customers and a financially disciplined business.

Yamaha Motor Ventures' participation adds strategic value. As the venture arm of a major manufacturer, it understands the demands of industrial environments and can help validate whether Axya's software works in real factories.

Where the money will go

Axya plans to use the new funding to deepen its AI capabilities for risk detection, optimisation and automated workflows, and to grow its sales, customer success and engineering teams. It also plans to expand internationally and broaden its ERP partnerships and partner programmes to accelerate adoption among large enterprises.

Why vertical AI is attracting investors

Axya's round is part of a broader trend of investment in vertical AI — software that applies AI to the specific workflows of a particular industry.

While general-purpose AI models are becoming more powerful and cheaper, investors increasingly see value in companies that embed AI deep inside business processes, own relationships with customers and suppliers, and build proprietary data about how those processes work. A model alone does not own supplier relationships or transaction histories; a platform embedded in the procurement process can.

Supply chain resilience

The funding also reflects the growing importance of supply chain resilience. Recent years have shown how vulnerable global manufacturing can be to disruptions, from the pandemic and semiconductor shortages to geopolitical tensions and shipping disruptions. This year, disruption to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has added a new layer of uncertainty to global supply chains.

Tools that give manufacturers real-time visibility into suppliers, flag risks early and help them find alternatives quickly are becoming more valuable as a result.

Lessons for India's manufacturing ambitions

For India, which is seeking to expand its manufacturing sector through initiatives such as Make in India and production-linked incentive schemes, Axya's focus is relevant. As more global manufacturers shift production and sourcing to India, and as Indian companies integrate into global aerospace, defence and industrial supply chains, efficient procurement and supplier management will become critical.

India's growing community of manufacturing software start-ups, as well as its large engineering workforce, could play a significant role in building such tools.

The bottom line

Axya's C$17 million round is a reminder that some of the most practical applications of AI are in unglamorous but essential business functions. By bringing procurement out of email inboxes and spreadsheets, the company aims to help manufacturers save time, reduce costs and build more resilient supply chains.

With strong backing from industrial investors and customers in demanding sectors such as aerospace, Axya is well positioned to test whether AI can modernise one of manufacturing's most stubbornly manual processes.