Axya raises $17M to automate factory procurement

Montréal procurement software firm Axya has closed a $17-million Series A — $12 million equity plus $5 million in CIBC Innovation Banking venture debt — to push AI into the dullest, costliest corner of Canadian manufacturing: buying parts.

McRock Capital led the equity tranche, with Yamaha Motor Ventures and existing backers BDC’s Industrial Innovation Venture Fund and Real Ventures joining. Total capital raised now sits at $22.4 million. CEO and co-founder Félix Bélisle-Dockrill said the round was priced on retention, expanding customers, healthy margins and a business “operating close to break-even,” calling it a meaningful up round without disclosing valuation.

Axya plugs into manufacturers’ existing ERPs and uses AI on purchase orders, quotes and supplier threads so the same team can clear more work without portal lock-in. The company counts GE Aerospace and MDA Space among customers, claims more than 80,000 suppliers in its network, multi-million ARR (doubling year over year) and net revenue retention near 140%. Proceeds fund product AI for risk and automation, a headcount lift from about 40 to 55 by year-end, and a thicker U.S. footprint.

The inflation angle is operational, not financial engineering. When inputs, tariffs and labour stay expensive, shaving cycle time and late deliveries off procurement is a real cost cut — the kind of industrial software Ottawa keeps praying will show up in productivity stats.