Valdera

Valdera operates a digital sourcing platform focused exclusively on chemicals and raw materials, connecting buyers (brands and manufacturers) with suppliers and producers worldwide. Buyers submit requests or customized forms for a chemical, raw material or ingredient, receive quotes from a qualified global supplier base, negotiate specifications and contract terms, and then track and manage orders, communications and purchases in a single workspace with dashboards covering cost savings, supply trends and supplier details, including side-by-side quote comparison. Suppliers create an account for free, receive inbound RFQs matched to their capabilities, and send quotes and invoices and fulfill orders; they can respond to requests by email without logging in, and their inventory, prices, products and specs are not disclosed publicly except to buyers they choose to quote.

The company positions itself as neither a distributor nor a marketplace, but as a matching and market-intelligence layer that automates supplier discovery, qualification and engagement using AI, machine learning and data science. Platform features include custom specification matching, automated outreach, shipping and logistics requirements, privacy controls on RFQ disclosure, direct messaging, collaboration for internal stakeholders, and tracking of certifications and documentation for ESG and quality requirements such as cGMP and carbon-neutral grades. Valdera says it serves customers across laundry and cleaning, chemical manufacturing, food and beverage, beauty, pharma, industrial manufacturing, oil and gas, automotive, fragrances, semiconductors, water treatment, construction, nutrition and health, personal care, and printing and packaging.

Founding story

Valdera was founded by siblings Sruti Arulmani, Co-Founder and CEO, and Dheev Arulmani, Co-Founder and COO, who describe themselves as a family passionate about procurement. The CEO has said traditional sourcing methods such as searching for one supplier at a time were insufficient and that advances in AI made a different approach possible.

Business model

Software platform intermediating between chemical and raw material buyers and suppliers. Suppliers can join and receive leads at no cost, with the company stating there are no hidden fees or markups and that it does not act as a distributor or take positions on material.

Traction

The company reports a database of over 400,000 suppliers, 1.7 million unique chemistries/CAS numbers, coverage of 130 countries, and hundreds of buyer-supplier connections facilitated monthly. Press coverage cites customer results of a 30-40% reduction in product launch timelines and average cost savings of 14%. A named reference is the SVP of Procurement at Toray Industries.

Latest developments

In October 2024 Valdera announced a $15 million Series A round led by Index Ventures, with participation from existing investors Susa Ventures, Lerer Hippeau and Box Group, and from current and former executives of Procter & Gamble, Estée Lauder, Unilever, Nestlé, Bayer, Henkel, Polycoat and SAP Ariba, who also joined as advisory board members. The company said the proceeds would fund expansion of operations and business reach.