Procurement technology startup 1Buy.ai has raised Rs 32.5 crore in its first institutional funding round, led by 100 Unicorns, with participation from Nikhil Kamath’s Gruhas and noted equity investor Ashish Kacholia. Visham Sikand, founder of Goals101, launched the company, while Nitin Jain, cofounder of OfBusiness, later joined as a cofounder.
The startup is building an advanced technology stack that enables electronics manufacturers to improve procurement efficiency and gain deeper visibility into their vendor ecosystems. Notably, Sikand previously sold his data analytics firm, Goals101, to infrastructure firm M2P Fintech for approximately $30 million in 2023.
While Sikand initiated the formation of 1Buy.ai, Jain formally joined the venture after exiting OfBusiness in November last year. Emphasising the company’s vision, Visham Sikand said, “AI presents a once-in-a-generation opportunity to rethink how sourcing decisions are made. With 1Buy.ai, we are bringing data and AI directly into the core of electronics procurement.”
Highlighting early traction, Sikand added, “Our first 2 clients were amongst the biggest players in the country, and they started saving costs in millions within weeks of signing up. We have increased business by more than 10 times with them, and they have come as investors in this round. This proves our product market fit. Over-subscription of the round by 4 times & funding from such marquee investors validates our core thesis: that procurement must evolve from a fragmented, manual process into an AI-driven, strategic function.”
Meanwhile, Pradeep Paliwal, formerly associated with EbixCash and RateGain, serves as the company’s third cofounder and chief technology officer, strengthening the leadership team with deep enterprise and fintech expertise.
Speaking about the use of funds, Jain said, “We will use the fresh capital to expand our product stack and invest in team building. We are currently a 25-member outfit and plan to significantly scale our sourcing engines to support clients.”
According to Jain, 1Buy.ai operates three integrated platforms that help original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) lower procurement costs, identify global supply chain risks such as tariffs and environmental disruptions, and track lifecycle risks associated with electronic components.
At present, the company works with nearly 15 clients in India, primarily across the automobile and consumer electronics sectors. Additionally, the startup is actively engaging with potential customers in the United States and Israel. Jain further explained the company’s implementation strategy, stating, “We are layering our platform on top of our clients’ existing enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems to drive incremental efficiency using AI.”
Commenting on the investment, Dr. Apoorva Ranjan Sharma, Co-Founder of 100Unicorns, said, “1Buy.AI exemplifies the kind of deep tech-first, globally ambitious companies that define the next wave of enterprise innovation. 100 Unicorns Fund II is focused on founders who are solving large, complex enterprise problems using proprietary technology, data moats, and scalable execution—not point solutions. 1Buy.AI is re-architecting electronics procurement with an AI-native platform that combines intelligence with execution, making it globally relevant across supply chains.”
He further added, “Our conviction comes from the founding team’s proven ability to build and scale meaningful businesses. These are experienced operators who have built unicorn-scale companies, delivered successful exits, and held senior leadership roles. That operating depth gives us strong confidence in their ability to solve a problem of this scale.”
Moreover, Sharma noted that early adoption by large electronics enterprises reinforces the company’s tangible business impact. He concluded that 1Buy.ai has the potential to become a category-defining, global procurement platform emerging from India.
Looking ahead, the startup plans to scale its operations aggressively as its clients collectively source electronic components worth nearly Rs 4,500 crore annually. Jain also highlighted the broader market opportunity, noting that India’s electronics manufacturing sector, valued at around $150 billion, continues to expand rapidly, creating substantial growth potential for AI-driven procurement solutions.
