Magentic, a newly launched UK-based AI startup, has emerged from stealth with €4.7 million ($5.5 million) in seed funding to tackle inefficiencies in global supply chains.
The funding round was led by Sequoia Capital, with participation from The Westly Group, First Momentum Ventures, and notable angels from SAP, Airbus, McKinsey & Company, Hugging Face, and Ironclad.
Founded by Robin Van Aeken, a former McKinsey expert in manufacturing, and Odhran O’Donoghue, a PhD in Machine Learning from Oxford with AI experience at OpenAI and NASA, Magentic introduces “Mages”—AI-powered teammates designed for procurement and supply chain teams.
Addressing Hidden Losses and Value Leakage
Magentic’s AI agents promise to automate post-contract processes where value is often lost due to unclaimed credits, supplier non-compliance, or inconsistent data. In one early case, a $30 billion manufacturer used the platform to save 4% on machinery spare parts procurement and is now expanding it across other spend categories.
“Supply chains are the hidden engines of our world,” said CEO Robin Van Aeken. “Procurement teams are at breaking point, overwhelmed by fragmented data, complex global conditions, and increasing compliance demands.”
Magentic’s solution identifies and delivers cost savings—even in chaotic or poorly structured datasets. The company cites McKinsey research estimating that procurement errors and supplier compliance issues lead to 2% waste in average spend, equivalent to $40 million for every $2 billion spent.
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Transparent and Compliant by Design
Security and transparency are built into Magentic’s platform, which complies with SOC2 Type II, ISO 27001, and GDPR. Every action taken by an AI agent is documented with supporting evidence like invoices, clauses, or messages—providing full auditability.
CTO O’Donoghue adds: “For the first time, we can build systems that reliably navigate messy data while following company-specific playbooks.”
Expanding into New Categories and Markets
Magentic’s technology is already in use across sectors such as consumer goods, pharmaceuticals, and advanced manufacturing. The company plans to use the seed funding to grow its engineering team, expand deployments with global manufacturers, and launch new AI agents tailored to combat emerging challenges like tariff-related claims.
With support from top-tier investors and a growing customer base, Magentic is positioning itself as a next-gen solution for one of the most complex and critical aspects of modern commerce: keeping supply chains smart, efficient, and resilient.
