Paris-based startup Crown plans to use e-auctions as a tool for driving win-win outcomes and fairness in the procurement process.

This week, Crown — a Ukranian-founded, Paris-based procurement startup specialising in procurement negotiations using e-auction technology — announced that it raised €2 million in a pre-seed funding round.

Traditionally, procurement professionals have relied on relatively basic tools like Excel and Outlook when negotiating. Crown argues these tools are inadequate for procurement professionals, preventing from “achieving measurable savings.”

Crown’s founder, Mykyta Voytenko, founded the company hoping to create a new approach to procurement technology. Although brown in Kyiv, Ukraine, he is now based in Paris. Voytenko has over 15 years of experience in international supply chain and procurement. He also teaches procurement at KEDGE Business School’s MAI (Master in International Purchasing). 

He previously led strategic initiatives at companies such as Nestlé, Engie, and Sanofi conducting more than 300 eAuctions for top-tier FMCG companies. After training over 2,500 procurement professionals, who reportedly emphasised the need for modern, technology-driven tools to replace outdated methods, he explains that he recognised a clear gap in the industry.

“Procurement is one of the largest cost centres in businesses, yet negotiation—the heart of procurement—remains outdated, manual, and inefficient,” added Voytenko. He plans to address this problem by bringing more capable, yet more user-friendly technology to market in the form of the e-auction. 

Crown’s new take on e-auctions 

Crown is developing a procurement platform that aims to streamline and accelerate the negotiation process using e-auctions. In much the same way as procurement has transitioned from a cost-containment exercise to a form of more holistic value creation, Voytenko hopes that his company will transform the way procurement organisations think of the e-auction. 

“For nearly 30 years, eAuctions have been used solely to drive down prices, often in ways that lack transparency and ethics. At Crown, we see auctions not as a weapon, but as a tool—one that, when used ethically, creates win-win outcomes for buyers and suppliers,” he said. “We believe auctions are the most powerful negotiation tool when their core purpose is achieving fairness, value, and mutual success.” 

Keeping auctions ethical

The e-auction process enables suppliers and buyers to finalise negotiations in just 20 minutes through Crown’s platform. However, the company has layers of key practices to ensure ethical auctions. 

It includes:

  • Structured Processes. Buyers invite qualified suppliers, define clear award criteria, and communicate expectations upfront—removing uncertainty.
  • Supplier Engagement. Suppliers have full visibility on bidding rules, ranking, and decision factors in real-time, ensuring clarity and fair competition.
  • Post-Auction Transparency. Buyers receive detailed reports, while suppliers receive feedback, creating a fair and structured environment that builds trust over time.
  • Code of Conduct. The company collaborates with the clients to develop a Code of Conduct. All parties must accept the code before the eAuction takes place, protecting both buyers and suppliers.

This, reportedly, makes the process especially well suited to serve B2B industries with structured, competitive supplier markets. In these markets, negotiation plays a key role in procurement, so an e-auction is a potentially powerful tool.

Currently, e-auctions are the primary focus of Crown’s go-to-market strategy. However, Voytenko noted that the company’s “long-term vision is to build a full AI-powered procurement suite.”

The funding round was led by Heartfelt. Kima Ventures, Backbone Ventures, Another.vc, Apok Invest, ZAS Ventures, Prequel VC and Bpifrance also contributed. Crown also received contributions from individual investors, including as Dr. Marcell Vollmer, former COO of SAP Ariba; Christophe VIllain, Global Head of Supply Chain & Procurement Technology at Nestlé; and Mario Götze.

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