Scoutbee is a buyer/supplier network helping businesses find and evaluate the right suppliers faster, smarter, and more efficiently. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Scoutbee CEO Gregor Stühler to learn more about the company.
Gregor Stühler’s Background
What is Gregor Stühler’s background? Stühler said:
“After earning a degree in computer science and electrical engineering, I worked as a project and sales engineer, but I always knew I wanted to build something of my own. That drive led me to pursue an MBA focused on supply chain and procurement, where I began exploring startup ideas and launched my first ventures. One was a B2C marketplace inspired by China’s Pinduoduo; another was a small consulting business that helped fund Scoutbee. Those early years weren’t easy: I sold my car, my bike, even my life insurance, and walked 90 minutes to the office each day. But those walks gave me time to reflect and double down on my vision, Scoutbee.”
Formation Of Scoutbee
How did the idea for Scoutbee come together? Stühler shared:
“The idea for Scoutbee came from my own experience in procurement and supply chain management. Back in 2011, I was working on medical devices when the Tōhoku earthquake hit Japan. That event exposed just how fragile and opaque global supply chains could be. It was incredibly difficult to find alternative suppliers quickly, and I realized there had to be a better way. After earning my MBA, I decided to build a company that would use AI to help organizations discover and manage suppliers more intelligently, making supply chains more resilient and transparent. That’s how Scoutbee was born in 2015.”
Primary Responsibilities
What are your primary responsibilities at the company? Stühler noted:
“I’m fortunate to be working with truly the best people in the market. I’m sure that no one has a better team in the industry (challenge me!). Our people in Product, GTM, and Ops have built and scaled products across consumer electronics and consumer apps like Instagram. They’ve grown some of the fastest-growing B2C marketplaces and deployed software with the biggest companies in the world.”
“So, it’s hard to be truly valuable for such a team. That’s why I see my primary responsibility in keeping our team happy and providing direction.”
“I’m an engineer at heart and was essentially the first developer at Scoutbee. My heart has always been close to tech and AI in particular. I’m an odd fish in that I somehow stumbled into procurement, so I’ve been lucky to see both the tech and the user side of things. That helps me give direction to a team that now outperforms me in pretty much everything else.”
Favorite Memory
What has been your favorite memory working for the company so far? Stühler reflected:
“That’s a damn good question—and honestly one I should ask myself more often. Startups give you new favorite (and least favorite) memories pretty much every quarter.”
“If I had to pick one, it’d be the moment I realized I now have a team that’s better than I am—and that I don’t need to be on top of everything anymore. I remember that day! I was on a walk in the forest when I reflected on it. That realization gave me ASMR.”
Core Products
What are the company’s core products and features? Stühler explained:
- Scoutbee helps procurement teams solve one of the most time-consuming problems in sourcing: finding and qualifying the right suppliers. Most tools support only basic search or managing existing suppliers, but they don’t help you collect the non-public data needed to evaluate new ones. Scoutbee combines AI-powered discovery with automated outreach and data collection, so teams can build qualified supplier pools in days, not months.
- Procurement teams simply share their sourcing needs, and Scoutbee delivers a curated list of relevant suppliers, each enriched with data on capabilities, certifications, ESG, and more. This enables faster shortlisting, better negotiations through more qualified options, and stronger supply resilience. We call it Always On Procurement: a proactive, scalable way to keep your supply base ready for whatever comes next.
Challenges Faced
What challenges have Stühler and the team face in building the company? Stühler acknowledged:
“AI has advanced rapidly, especially around search. We built one of the first functional LLM models for supplier discovery back in 2017, but today, search alone is no longer the hard part. The real challenge is qualification: teams are stuck with manual RFI processes that slow everything down.”
“To address this, we focused our AI efforts on automating supplier engagement and data collection, turning weeks of work into a few clicks. “
Evolution Of The Company’s Technology
How has the company’s technology evolved since launching? Stühler noted:
“We started as a smarter way for brands to find suppliers. Today, Scoutbee is an AI-powered network that helps buyers and suppliers connect faster and more effectively.”
“For buyers, we automate the time-consuming work of supplier discovery and qualification, turning weeks of manual research into structured, decision-ready results in days. Each search triggers dozens of AI-powered queries, reviews hundreds of supplier sites, and fills in missing data through direct outreach, so teams get supplier pools enriched with capabilities, certifications, ESG data, and more.”
“On the other side, suppliers gain access to active opportunities from global brands by completing a single profile and providing key data points. Instead of chasing RFPs, they can be discovered by the right buyers and engage directly with decision-makers, getting a seat at the table without the gatekeeping. The result is a living, always-on network that makes sourcing faster, smarter, and more transparent for everyone involved.”
Significant Milestones
What have been some of the company’s most significant milestones? Stühler cited:
“Scoutbee was founded in 2015 to modernize supplier discovery through AI. By 2017, the team had already built and deployed a large language model to power smarter supplier matching, years before the technology became mainstream.”
“From 2018 and 2020, Scoutbee secured early funding, gained recognition from Gartner and the World Procurement Awards, and onboarded global brands like Audi, Siemens, and Unilever, marking a strong product-market fit and growth phase.”
“From 2021 to 2023, the company expanded globally, entered a strategic partnership with SAP, and expanded its product offering to supplier data collection. Scoutbee also joined the Gartner Hype Cycle, formed a Strategic Advisory Board, and was named one of Procurement Magazine’s Top 100 companies.”
“In the past year, Scoutbee introduced its next-generation platform for always-on supplier discovery and qualification, developed with Walmart and Unilever. The company also moved its headquarters to San Francisco to be closer to the customers, talent, and ecosystem that will shape the future of AI-powered supply chains.”
Customer Success Stories
When asking Stühler about customer success stories, he highlighted:
“One of our most widely recognized successes is our work with Unilever, which highlighted Scoutbee in their annual report as a key partner in enhancing supplier diversity and strengthening resilience. They used Scoutbee to embed diversity into supplier searches and accelerate discovery across global regions, enabling a more agile and inclusive supply network.”
“In another case, an automotive manufacturer faced a potential line stoppage due to a critical supplier issue. Using Scoutbee, they identified and qualified new suppliers in just a few weeks—a process that used to take months. With our latest product, this now takes days.”
“When a Canadian buyer encountered a major brown mustard seed shortage due to drought, Scoutbee analyzed billions of data points and surfaced 24 qualified suppliers (including 19 previously unknown ones) from outside the affected region. RFPs were issued immediately, allowing production to resume with no long-term disruption.”
“We also helped a team urgently source rare-earth-free magnets from US-based suppliers. Within seconds, they received a vetted shortlist of 21 suppliers with enriched data like revenue and certifications, eventually onboarding 18 to strengthen resilience while cutting sourcing time dramatically.”
“Across these use cases, Scoutbee consistently proves that when supply chains are strained, smarter discovery and faster qualification make the difference between reacting late and staying ahead.”
Funding
When asking Stühler about funding details, he revealed:
“We’ve raised over $80 million to date, including a $60 million Series B round led by Atomico. Over the years, our platform has supported more than 150 enterprise customers globally, including leaders in retail, manufacturing, automotive, and consumer goods.”
“While revenue is becoming more important, our primary focus remains network growth, and that momentum is strong. Since the start of the year, we’ve seen healthy double-digit growth in both buyers and suppliers, further reinforcing Scoutbee as a growing hub for smarter, faster procurement.”
Total Addressable Market
What total addressable market (TAM) size is the company pursuing? Stühler assessed:
“The total addressable market (TAM) for new supply chain solutions software, often referred to as the supply chain management (SCM) software market, is substantial and rapidly growing. Estimates for the global SCM software market size in 2025 range from about $35.3 billion4 to nearly $65 billion1, depending on the scope of solutions included (such as transportation management, warehouse management, planning, procurement, and manufacturing execution systems).”
“Looking forward, the market is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) between 10.5% and 14.6%, reaching between $89.6 billion by 20344 and $96.7 billion by 20291. This growth is driven by the increasing complexity of global supply chains, the need for digital transformation, adoption of cloud and AI technologies, and rising demand for supply chain visibility, risk management, and sustainability solutions.”
“In summary, the TAM for new supply chain solutions software in 2025 is estimated to be $35–65 billion globally, with strong double-digit growth expected over the next decade.”
Differentiation From The Competition
What differentiates the company from its competition? Stühler affirmed:
“Scoutbee helps procurement teams solve one of their most time-consuming challenges: finding and qualifying the right suppliers—quickly, confidently, and at scale.”
“Most solutions today fall into two buckets:
– Search-only tools that help you find suppliers but leave you on your own to qualify them
– Management systems that help you track suppliers you’ve already chosen
Scoutbee bridges this gap. We combine a decade of procurement expertise, proprietary data on tens of millions of suppliers, and cutting-edge AI to deliver what we call Always On Procurement: a new, proactive way of building and maintaining decision-ready supplier pools.”
“By automating supplier discovery, outreach, and data collection, Scoutbee turns a traditionally manual process into a strategic advantage, helping companies reduce cost, move faster, and boost supply chain resilience with minimal effort.”
Future Company Goals
What are some of the company’s future goals? Stühler emphasized:
“Our mission is to connect buyers and suppliers as seamlessly as possible, driving more resilient, sustainable, and profitable supply chains. To do that, we’re building the world’s largest and most data-rich procurement network to serve as the go-to platform where global brands and their buyers actively connect with vetted, high-quality suppliers.”
“For procurement teams, that means automating 90–95% of the manual work behind supplier discovery and qualification, so they can focus on driving innovation, improving resilience, and staying competitive. The result: faster time to market, reduced costs, and better control of inflationary pressure.”
“On the supplier side, we help capable vendors grow their visibility and access real opportunities, unlocking new revenue streams and creating a more open, dynamic global supply ecosystem.”
Additional Thought
Any other topics you would like to discuss? Stühler concluded:
“I’m especially passionate about the long-term role procurement can play in driving global sustainability and innovation. At Scoutbee, we believe resilient and transparent supply chains are critical, not just for business continuity, but for supporting environmental goals and enabling economic opportunity worldwide.”
“As global trade dynamics shift, it’s more important than ever to keep channels of collaboration open. That’s why we partner with leading companies and academic institutions like MIT to rethink how procurement can foster innovation, reduce emissions, and make supply chains more agile and future-ready.”
“I also think that B2B networks are fundamentally misunderstood. In multisided platforms, the hard side to solve is usually supply, like getting drivers for Uber or listings for Airbnb. But in procurement, the “supply” is the buyer: they supply needs, projects, and demand into the network (i.e., what’s on the “shelf” for suppliers to respond to). The industry adopted the Amazon Marketplace model and over-indexed on onboarding suppliers, but that’s not what unlocks network value. This is precisely why most B2B networks are stuck, acquiring more and more suppliers for the network but not actually providing network value (nothing on the “shelf”). If you focus on attracting buyers and their demand, the suppliers will come and—more importantly—stay. That’s the foundation we’re building Scoutbee on.”
