Why SpendHQ is Investing in Agentic AI for Procurement

SpendHQ, a leading provider of enterprise procurement intelligence solutions, has announced a strategic investment in Sligo AI, a pioneer in procurement-specific agentic AI.

Working together, the pair will launch the first Agentic Enterprise Procurement (AEP) platform, which is set to harness the power of SpendHQ's US$10tn+ spend intelligence with Sligo AI's agentic AI agents, giving procurement leaders a fast and safe way to put AI to work at enterprise scale.

Procurement teams across the globe are facing a barrage of challenges, putting them under pressure to deliver cost savings and supply chain while reducing risk – all with limited resources. AI has been promised by many to provide the necessary support, but most initiatives fall short due to poor data foundations and security concerns.

Uniting SpendHQ's clean, centralised analytics and Sligo's AI agents could provide a solution which is data-ready by default, secure by design and purpose-built for procurement.

Scott Macfee, CEO at SpendHQ, says: "Clean, centralised data is the foundation of every successful AI program. Making this strategic investment in Sligo AI allows us to leverage our US$10tn data foundation with Sligo AI's autonomous agent technology to deliver an unmatched offering to the industry.

"This partnership turns procurement from a reporting function into an execution engine, helping leaders move faster, reduce risk and deliver measurable impact."

Deployment options for every enterprise

SpendHQ's funding will enable Sligo AI to expedite the launch of Sligo 2.0, featuring three deployment options designed to match diverse procurement team requirements:

• Sligo Enterprise provides a fully on-premises agentic AI solution within organisations' Virtual Private Cloud infrastructure, ensuring complete control over data security and regulatory compliance.
• Sligo Cloud delivers a comprehensive managed service on an enterprise-grade cloud platform, complete with dedicated infrastructure and guaranteed service level agreements.
• Sligo API offers secure integration capabilities, allowing organisations to embed agentic AI functionality directly into their existing technology stack and third-party tools.

Matt McCarrick, Founder & CEO at Sligo AI, adds: "Too many procurement AI initiatives remain experiments that never deliver.

"With SpendHQ, we're combining trusted data with proven agentic technology to give procurement leaders something truly practical, AI that works securely, scales quickly, and makes their jobs easier from day one."

Agentic AI designed for the enterprise

With the joint solution, procurement leaders can finally trust their AI outputs, accelerate decision-making and demonstrate clear business impact. 

• Data-ready by default: SpendHQ's clean, centralised spend analytics provides the foundation for reliable AI outputs and measurable results, while Sligo's agents convert that data into actionable insights and results.
• Procurement-specific agents: Pre-built agents with specialised functions and guardrails minimise hallucinations and deliver value across sourcing, supplier risk, contract review, compliance and more.
• Secure enterprise deployment: Data can be securely hosted with SpendHQ or deployed inside a company's firewall, ensuring compliance and protecting sensitive data.
• Human-centred design: Agents act as teammates, not replacements, offloading repetitive tasks to accelerate sourcing cycles, while professionals stay in control of strategy.
• Rapid ROI: Current SpendHQ customers can deploy in as little as 4-6 weeks, achieving immediate productivity gains while retaining the flexibility to expand and customise.

"The future of procurement is an agentic AI workforce where every professional is supported by intelligent agents," says Pierre Laprée, Chief Product Officer at SpendHQ.

"With Sligo AI, we're giving procurement leaders a practical way to accelerate decisions, strengthen compliance and deliver measurable outcomes, without the risks of generic copilots or failed pilots."

SpendHQ and Sligo AI will showcase the combined solution to global procurement leaders at DPW Amsterdam on 7-9 October.