Momentum soars as top beauty brands, industrial powerhouses, and Fortune 500 manufacturers choose Valdera to level up their supply chains, launch new products and keep everyone's favorite items in stock; Valdera helps put safe, high caliber, and eco-friendly products in consumer hands by enabling manufacturers to partner with suppliers who meet the highest standards
PORTLAND, Ore., Oct. 3, 2024 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Valdera, the AI-driven sourcing platform for chemicals and raw materials, today announced it has raised $15 million in Series A funding, led by Index Ventures. Valdera's first-of-its-kind platform helps manufacturers – from leading consumer brands to industrial giants – bring products to market faster, safer, and more economically than ever before.
Founded by siblings Sruti and Dheev Arulmani, Valdera has built a pioneering platform that uses machine learning and AI to streamline supplier discovery, qualification, and relationship building. The platform integrates Valdera's proprietary AI technology with real-time market data. Underlying Valdera's systems is the world's most extensive database of chemical and raw material suppliers.
"With rising geopolitical uncertainty and climate risk, manufacturers are constantly forced to reinvent their supply chain. Traditional sourcing methods, like Googling one supplier at a time, just aren't enough," said Sruti Arulmani, Co-founder and CEO of Valdera. "With advancements in AI, I knew we could change that. Valdera helps manufacturers transform their supply chain – be it with speed, resiliency, sustainability, quality, or cost."
Rapidly shifting consumer demands
The demands of today's consumers are evolving faster than ever. Manufacturers' R&D and procurement teams must act quickly to keep up. Strategic, technology-driven sourcing is a company's secret weapon to launching products faster than the competition. Valdera helps these teams discover suppliers and build the high-trust relationships they need to win.
While speed is a top priority, making sure products stay on the shelves is just as critical. Valdera's technology helps companies stay resilient to shortages, inflation, and supply risk.
It all starts with suppliers
Suppliers are at the root of it all. Without exceptional suppliers, we would not have the exceptional products we love today. Core to Valdera's approach is helping suppliers build trusted, lasting relationships. Valdera offers suppliers a streamlined way to reach buyers with privacy and peace of mind.
Valdera's technology provides real-time demand signals, allowing suppliers to refine their offerings and educate buyers based on evolving customer needs.
Tried and tested
Valdera's platform continues to deliver impressive value for its customers, including:
- Shortening product launch timelines by 30-40%
- Meeting quality standards & certifications, such as ISO, EWG, EcoVadis, Ecocert, COSMOS, etc.
- Achieving an average cost savings of 14% across customers
- Reaching sustainability and social impact targets (e.g., carbon emissions, cruelty free, fair labor practices)
- Keeping product on shelves by swiftly responding to supply disruptions
- Eliminating single-points of failures by expanding supply networks by 2-3x
"Prior to Valdera, finding the right suppliers was often a challenge. You never knew what you might find picking a supplier out of a marketplace or cold calling a supplier listed in a database," said John Eustis, SVP of Procurement at Toray Industries, the largest carbon fiber producer in the world. "With Valdera, we can quickly get broader market insights and build relationships with vetted suppliers from Europe, South America, China, or the Middle East. The platform also gives us a true global picture of the market for each specific material."
Valdera's growing roster of customers include some of the world's largest manufacturers, ranging from Fortune 500 industrial conglomerates to household CPG and beauty names. Its largest multinational producers spend >$10 billion in raw materials. Many are drawn to Valdera's ability to widen their aperture of the market and support their goals in supply chain resiliency, localization, diversification, and ESG strategies.
"After being in this industry for over 30 years, I can confidently say that this is one of the most challenging and exciting times we've experienced," said Univar Solutions, one of the largest chemical distributors globally. "The old ways of working are gone. Customers are telling us they need help - supply chains are tight, managing inventory is difficult, regulations are changing. That's why we're so excited to partner with Valdera, a software solution that approaches challenges with fresh perspectives. The innovation they bring to the table is exactly what the industry needs right now."
Such wide success has sparked significant growth, which will be further accelerated by the recent funding. In addition to Index Ventures, previous investors Susa Ventures, Lerer Hippeau, and Box Group also participated in the financing. Notable industry leaders, including current and former executives from Procter & Gamble, Estee Lauder, Unilever, Nestle, Bayer, Henkel, Polycoat, and SAP Ariba have joined as investors and advisory board members.
"There is a massive market opportunity in sourcing, including a $5 trillion industry with Chemicals alone," said Georgia Stevenson, Partner at Index Ventures. "Valdera's data-driven, scalable solution offers procurement teams a simpler way to find and compare suppliers, ultimately driving critical cost and time savings in a complex landscape. Sruti and Dheev are approaching this problem with a fresh perspective and deep empathy for customers - we're excited to be part of their journey ahead."
About Valdera
Valdera is an AI-powered sourcing platform for chemicals and raw materials. Our best-in-class market intelligence empowers manufacturers to diversify supply risk, combat inflation, and drive sustainability. The platform leverages data science and ML to automate the most tedious steps in supplier discovery, qualification, and engagement. Valdera helps companies lower costs, drive supply chain resiliency, and speed up time-to-market. We partner with leading manufacturers, ranging from the world's largest CPG manufacturers to household names in the beauty industry. Learn more at www.valdera.com.
About Index
Index Ventures is a global venture capital firm that backs exceptional entrepreneurs. We help founders turn their bold ideas into global businesses and, through the companies they build, have a long-lasting and positive impact on the world around us. Index-backed businesses are supported by an experienced team of investors, strategists, and an extensive global network built over three decades of startup investing. Working side-by-side through the scale-up journey, we forge deep and long-lasting relationships with founders and their teams across many industries and geographies.
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SOURCE Valdera
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