Problem / Solution report

Problem: manual, rigid, and brittle procurement operations

Pollinate identifies a critical gap in supply-chain execution: teams spend excessive time on manual work because Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems are rigid and data is often messy. Consequently, vital processes like invoice reconciliation, order entry, and vendor management frequently occur in spreadsheets and emails rather than integrated systems. Y Combinator notes that supply chains still run on spreadsheets because ERPs cannot handle the complexity and lack of structure in the data.

Solution: ERP-agnostic ontology and AI agents

Pollinate’s solution is to augment existing ERPs rather than replace them. The platform maps a customer’s ERP data structure to an ontology where AI agents can operate. It then generates bespoke front-end apps and agents tailored to specific operational patterns. Key features include automated extraction of supplier invoices from email and three-way matching (invoice, PO, and receipt) across ERP systems. Their agent, "Nectar," specifically handles Bill of Materials (BOM) sourcing and Requests for Quotes (RFQs).

Value proposition and benefits

The primary value proposition is faster time-to-value, with the ability to deploy bespoke tools in days rather than months. By automating data extraction and reconciliation, Pollinate reduces manual labor and errors. Crucially, it allows companies to preserve their existing ERP investments by wrapping them in a more flexible automation layer. This approach addresses the common failure mode of procurement workflows: the inability to handle unstructured inputs like email and PDF invoices.

Market and Competitors report

Market landscape and trends

The procurement software market is characterized by a shift toward ERP augmentation and composability. Customers increasingly prefer "best-of-breed" tools that integrate with existing systems rather than full-scale replacements. The rise of generative AI is expanding the scope of what can be automated, particularly in invoice understanding and supplier discovery. Pollinate’s agent-first approach is well-aligned with these cloud-native and AI-driven trends.

Competitor map

Pollinate competes with several tiers of providers:

• Enterprise Suites: Coupa, Ivalua, and GEP offer broad functionality but often require heavy integration.
• SMB/SME Tools: Precoro and Procurify offer easier deployment but may lack the deep ERP-agnostic sophistication Pollinate claims.
• AP Automation: Tipalti and Airbase focus on accounts payable and payments, overlapping with Pollinate's three-way match features.
• Incumbents: The primary competition for early-stage startups is often the status quo: manual spreadsheets and bespoke internal tools.

Competitive advantages and risks

Pollinate’s main advantage is its product-led, agent-first user experience that avoids the need for costly ERP migrations. Early traction, such as processing over $100k in purchasing volume, suggests practical viability. However, as a small, early-stage team, they face risks regarding security certifications and the ability to achieve feature parity with established giants like Coupa. Winning large enterprise deals will require significant investment in GTM and compliance maturity.

Founders and Background report

Founders and leadership

Pollinate was founded in 2024 and is part of Y Combinator’s Winter 2026 batch. The active founders are Adeep Mitra and Corey Berther. Public bios from Y Combinator and LinkedIn identify both as the founding team; university and regional startup coverage from UQ Ventures indicate they emerged from the University of Queensland entrepreneurship ecosystem.

Adeep Mitra — co-founder

Adeep’s public profile describes him as an operator who previously built and scaled a digital/creative agency to five-figure monthly revenues. He has experience organizing community events with high-profile partnerships reaching over 1 million impressions and has worked on crypto and NFT projects managing significant lifetime volume. His background emphasizes product-market fit, growth, and marketing competence, which are critical for early customer discovery and go-to-market strategies for a B2B supply-chain SaaS startup.

Corey Berther — co-founder

Corey is framed as the technical founder, having been involved in coding camps from an early age. He previously ran an electrical business and a software/marketing agency. Notably, he left a physics degree to focus on building supply-chain technology. This history points to hands-on systems and engineering experience, combined with operational familiarity with physical-product businesses, making him a natural fit for building ERP integrations and automation agents.

Complementary skills and founding thesis

Together, the founders combine growth and market experience (Adeep) with technical and operational knowledge of physical-product supply chains (Corey). Their focus is on ERP-driven procurement workflows, such as three-way matching and invoice capture. The team size is reported as very small (2–10 employees), which is consistent with an early-stage Y Combinator company.