E-Procurement software Axya raises $5,4M to propel its next phase of growth

Axya, a SaaS enabled marketplace company offering e-procurement solutions for the manufacturing industry founded in 2019, is pleased to announce it recently closed its second seed round of funding within the last year, bringing the total amount invested in its platform to CAD$5,4M in the last 12 months only.

(Left to right) Cofounders Félix Bélisle Dockrill, CEO and Yacine Mahdid, COO.

A new funding round led by BDC Capital

The new round was led by BDC Capital and funds will be used by the company to accelerate the deployment of its software solution with global leading manufacturers clients. Desjardins Capital, Real Ventures, Ecofuel and a group of private investors also participated in the round.

“We are thrilled to have closed this new round of funding. This investment will allow Axya to maintain a rapid pace of development to scale its software solution. It will also support our positioning as a new innovative player in the digital transformation of the outsourcing process in the manufacturing industry” said CEO and co-founder Félix Bélisle Dockrill.

Axya provides large manufacturing enterprises with a fast-to-deploy SaaS powered by AI to streamline and organize their outsourcing process mainly for their custom metal parts. Once the operations are digitized, automated and centralized onto the platform, Axya can unlock an unprecedented level of data to support strategic decisions. In addition, Axya offers a marketplace with a network of over 350 qualified suppliers and payment solutions.

Example of the Axya e-procurement software

“Axya has proven an excellent track record and improvement within a very short time period. We were impressed with the outstanding potential of Axya in responding to today’s manufacturing industry e-procurement needs,” said Guillaume Mercier, Partner, Industrial Innovation Venture Fund at BDC Capital.

A SaaS enabled Marketplace business model to accelerate the digital transformation of manufacturing enterprises

Though it may seem complicated from the outside, and there certainly are plenty of moving parts, the aim of a SaaS enabled marketplace system is to simplify life for everyone who uses it.

A SaaS enabled marketplace (SEM) is a hybrid business model that offers a product which the customer uses to run their business (available as a normal SaaS), but also includes some key marketplace features (the availability of a qualified supplier network in the case of Axya) which connect multiple parties – enabling them to conclude transactions, as well as generate (and benefit from) real network effects.

A formidable evolution since GRAD4

Formerly named GRAD4, Axya was born out of a lack of simple management tools in the complex context of supply chain challenges. Félix Bélisle Dockrill saw the business opportunity after searching for technological solutions to support his day-to-day supplier management tasks during his time at Bombardier and Airbus. Today, the young innovative company employs more than 30 experienced professionals around the globe.