Paris, France Feb 27, 2025 (Issuewire.com) - Crown, a Paris-based startup modernizing procurement negotiations through ethical eAuctions, has raised €2 million in pre-seed funding. The round was led by Heartfelt, with participation from Kima Ventures, Backbone Ventures, Another.vc, Apok Invest, ZAS Ventures, Prequel VC, and Bpifrance. Strategic business angels such as Dr. Marcell Vollmer (ex-COO, SAP Ariba), Christophe Villain (Nestlé), and Mario Götze also contributed.
Procurement accounts for up to 60% of an industrial company’s turnover, yet negotiations remain slow, manual, and inefficient. Crown replaces outdated methods with a structured eAuction process, allowing buyers and suppliers to finalize deals in 20 minutes while ensuring fairness and transparency.
Crown was founded by Mykyta Voytenko, a procurement expert with 15 years of experience at Nestlé, Engie, and Sanofi. Having led over 300 eAuctions for top-tier FMCG companies and trained 2,500 procurement professionals, he recognized the industry’s need for a more efficient and ethical approach to negotiations.
Since launching in 2024, Crown has:
- Implemented eAuction programs with four clients, enabling them to route nearly 50% of their spending through auctions.
- Organized dozens of eAuctions involving hundreds of suppliers.
- Delivered 9% average savings for clients.
Born in Kyiv, Ukraine, and now based in Paris, Voytenko has built Crown as a company rooted in resilience and global collaboration, with half of its team based in Ukraine.
While eAuctions are Crown’s first step, the long-term vision is to develop an AI-powered procurement suite to further enhance efficiency and decision-making.
Investors back this vision:
- Heartfelt: “Crown isn’t just optimizing processes—it’s transforming how procurement delivers value.” – Joerg Rheinboldt
- Prequel VC: “Crown’s modern, software-driven approach to eAuctions unlocks huge savings potential.” – Mathias Bosse
- Kima Ventures: “Crown is redefining procurement negotiations.” – Alexis Robert
With this funding, Crown is set to expand across European B2B sectors, including manufacturing, FMCG, pharma, and construction.
For more information, visit www.crown.ovh or follow Crown on LinkedIn.
Media Contact
Crown Procurement *****@crown.ovh https://www.crown.ovh/
