Berlin-based startup Andercore has raised $40 million in equity and debt financing to modernize the heavily manual industrial trade sector. The Series B round, which brings the company’s total capital to $75 million, was backed by Atomico, Project A, Inven Capital, and institutional financing from Commerzbank and KfW.
The big picture: Industrial trade represents tens of trillions in annual wholesale activity, yet remains plagued by fragmented logistics and opaque pricing. Andercore operates an asset-light model that uses proprietary AI to orchestrate the full lifecycle of high-complexity trades in infrastructure, energy, and construction.
How it works:
- Orchestration: AI agents structure requests from phone, email, and WhatsApp into structured orders.
- Execution: The platform manages instant pricing, quality assurance, and end-to-end logistics.
- Integration: Embedded financing and multi-currency payments are synchronized directly within the trade workflow.
The catch: While Andercore aims to “become the industry” rather than just sell to it, its reliance on an asset-light model means it must navigate the extreme volatility of global supply chains without owning the physical infrastructure. Entrusting pricing and risk logic to “agent-based orchestration” in a low-margin sector like advanced manufacturing leaves little room for algorithmic error. Furthermore, displacing deep-seated manual relationships in multi-generational trading families—despite CEO Philipp Andernach’s own industry roots—requires a level of institutional trust that software-centric models often struggle to maintain during market shocks.
Key Details
- Funding: $40M (Series B)
- Lead: Atomico
- CEO: Philipp Andernach
- Sector: Industrial Trade / Enterprise AI
