a16z Podcast: Lio uses multi-agent AI to capture the hidden work outside enterprise systems
a16z Podcast · rss · 2026-10-02
Seema Amble and Elena Burger of a16z interview Lio co-founder and CEO Vladimir Keil on where AI-native startups can win even when incumbents own the customer, the data, and the system of record.
Key points:
- The decisive work happens outside those systems: a final procurement price in an ERP hides hundreds of emails, spreadsheets, supplier conversations, and engineering/legal/finance decisions that legacy software never captures.
- Lio deploys multi-agent systems to take on end-to-end procurement work — sourcing and RFQs, negotiation, shipment tracking, and invoices.
- Other topics: how enterprises build trust in agents for higher-stakes decisions, why the last 20% of an internal AI build takes most of the effort, and what happens when both buyers and suppliers have agents negotiating for them.
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