Montréal-based supply chain software startup Axya has secured $17 million CAD in equity and debt Series A funding to automate procurement for manufacturers with the help of AI.
The round consisted of $12 million in equity primary capital and $5 million in venture debt from CIBC Innovation Banking. The equity portion was led by Toronto’s McRock Capital, with support from Yamaha Motor Ventures and existing backers like the Business Development Bank of Canada’s Industrial Innovation Venture Fund and Montréal’s Real Ventures.
Félix Bélisle-Dockrill, Axya
“Manufacturers building complex products lose time and money because procurement still runs on email, spreadsheets, and ERPs that don’t talk to suppliers.”
Axya plans to use this capital to expand its platform, grow its 40-person team to 55 by the end of 2026, and deepen its presence outside of Canada.“This round is about scale,” Axya co-founder and CEO Félix Bélisle-Dockrill told BetaKit over email.
Bélisle-Dockrill said the company is deepening its AI capabilities for risk detection, optimization, and automated workflows, while growing its sales, customer success, and engineering teams. It’s also building a stronger US presence while expanding its enterprise resource planning (ERP) partnerships.
He said Axya raised money on “fundamentals, not hype,” including “strong retention, customers who expand every year, healthy margins, and a business operating close to break-even.” He noted that McRock and Yamaha deeply understand the industrial customers it serves. He did not share Axya’s Series A valuation, but claimed it was “a meaningful up round” that brings the company’s total funding to $22.4 million.
Axya was founded in 2019 by Bélisle-Dockrill, who has a background in mechanical engineering and previously worked in supplier quality for two major aerospace manufacturers. The company (formerly GRAD4) has developed an AI-powered procurement platform for large manufacturing firms. Axya’s offering integrates with manufacturers’ existing enterprise resource planning software and permits suppliers to connect via their existing channels.
courtesy Axya.
“Manufacturers building complex products lose time and money because procurement still runs on email, spreadsheets, and ERPs that don’t talk to suppliers,” Bélisle-Dockrill said. “Axya plugs into the ERP they already use and applies AI to purchase orders, quotes, and supplier communication, so the same team can do more and production stays on schedule.”
Axya caters to GE Aerospace, MDA Space, and other enterprise and mid-market manufacturing customers. The company also boasts more than 80,000 suppliers in its network.
Bélisle-Dockrill claimed the startup’s annual recurring revenue (ARR) is in the “multi-million-dollar” range, noting it currently manages hundreds of millions of dollars monthly through its platform.
Axya’s Series A round comes more than four years after the company closed $5.4 million in seed funding across a $1.5-million initial round and $3.9-million extension.
McRock partner Udit Bhatnagar, who is joining Axya’s board as part of the round, said in a statement that the venture capital firm sees “an enormous market opportunity for industrial AI in the everyday work that keeps factories running,” and singled out manufacturing procurement as an area “where critical decisions still depend on scattered information.”
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Bhatnagar told BetaKit over email that McRock was attracted to the Axya team’s understanding of the tech and this problem, and the progress it has made over the past year.
“Axya has really hit its stride over the past 12 months on two fronts,” Bhatnagar said. “First, AI has become central to what the product can do … second, that product progress is showing up commercially.”
He noted that Axya has grown capital efficiently, doubling its ARR year-over-year while posting net revenue retention near 140 percent. “That combination is what caught our attention,” he said.
Feature image courtesy Unsplash. Photo by Simon Kadula.