LightSource named a finalist for DPW's 2026 Startup Growth Award. SAN FRANCISCO-(BUSINESS WIRE)-LightSource, the direct materials operating system purpose-built to connect engineering, procurement, and suppliers, today announced that it has been named a finalist for DPW's 2026 Startup Awards in the Growth Stage category. "We're honored to be named a finalist for the DPW Growth Award, especially in such a competitive category," said Spencer Penn, Co-Founder and CEO of LightSource. "LightSource has achieved incredible growth over the past few years as we've continued to innovate and build technology for direct materials, which remains one of the most underserved segments of the procurement technology industry." The growth stage award recognizes procurement and supply chain tech startups with annual recurring revenue of $2M to $10M that are building, scaling, and innovating in the industry. LightSource's AI-native platform automates the entire supply-management lifecycle, including sourcing potential suppliers, managing requests for quotes, comparing bids, and helping teams collaborate. One of the more unique aspects of DPW's Growth Award is the live pitch. LightSource will present on stage at the Startup Arena to plead their case by showcasing growth milestones and the company's journey. After the timed presentation will be a Q&A with the esteemed judging panel, followed by putting it to a vote. For Growth Stage finalists, judges weigh market traction and business potential most heavily, alongside innovation, team strength, and competitive differentiation. Last year, LightSource grew 300% and expects to grow at a similar rate this year, with 200% growth projected for 2027 and 2028. To date, the platform has processed more than $1B in spend. LightSource serves original equipment manufacturers and manufacturing businesses, including Fortune 500 and Global 2000 organizations and private equity-backed companies. Customers include Amazon, Canada Goose, Conair, and HelloFresh. LightSource will present live on Sept. 30 and winners will be announced the following day, Oct. 1, at center stage. For more information about DPW, visit dpw.ai About LightSource LightSource is the direct materials operating system purpose-built to connect engineering, procurement, and suppliers, so innovators always know what their products cost and launch faster. Unlike legacy suites built for indirect spend, LightSource is built for direct materials and NPI velocity. Trusted by Amazon, Conair, Canada Goose, and Shure. For more information, visit lightsource.ai More News From LightSource SAN FRANCISCO-( BUSINESS WIRE )-LightSource, an operating system for direct materials sourcing for enterprise procurement, today announced the launch of LightSource AI Workforce, five new capabilities that eliminate the manual work of sourcing in stages where time is spent most: data analytics, item ingestion, RFQ's, and supplier activation. Now procurement teams can instead focus on strategic work, bringing products to market faster at lower cost.More than 20 years after the first sourcing soft... SAN FRANCISCO-( BUSINESS WIRE )-LightSource, an AI-powered sourcing platform built for enterprise procurement, announced today that it has been named to The Hackett Group's 2026 50 to Watch as part of its annual assessment of the global procurement technology market. The program recognizes emerging, leading and enduring solution providers shaping the procurement technology market. The lists are compiled by The Hackett Group's Solution Intelligence analysts, formerly the Spend Matters(TM) analyst t... SAN FRANCISCO-( BUSINESS WIRE )-LightSource, an AI-powered sourcing platform built for enterprise procurement, today announced its selection to the 2025/26 ProcureTech100 list... LightSource. Release Versions

LightSource's AI Workforce to transform direct sourcing. July 30, 2026 LightSource unveiled five AI capabilities designed to automate manual sourcing tasks, letting procurement teams focus on strategy and speed LightSource has announced the arrival of its AI workforce, showcasing five new capabilities which aim to wipe out the manual work of sourcing in stages where time is most spent - data analytics, item ingestion, RFQs and supplier activation. It believes that these new tools will allow procurement teams to instead focus on strategic work, bringing products to market faster at lower cost. LightSource, which is an operating system for direct materials sourcing for enterprise procurement, says that even though it has been more than 20 years since the first sourcing software, only 18% of procurement teams use a professional sourcing tool. The firm says its platform is built for the 82% left behind, an AI-native operating system for direct materials sourcing that connects engineering, procurement and suppliers from first concept to award and gives AI the ability to act, not just advise. "The direct procurement professional has been under-tooled for decades," said Spencer Penn, CEO and Co-Founder of LightSource. "We built LightSource to fix that. These new capabilities give CPOs the ability to act, not just advise, across the full sourcing cycle." "The direct procurement professional has been under-tooled for decades " Spencer PennCEO and Co-Founder of LightSource Five new capabilities target the full sourcing cycle. Ask LightSource: Get instant answers without digging through spreadsheets. Users can ask plain-English questions about spend, suppliers, pipeline or sourcing history and receive data-grounded answers that standardise reporting and surface actionable insights for teams. Item Ingestion & Data Clean-Up: Turn any file into clean item data. Drawings, spreadsheets, PDFs and images can simply be dropped in, with LightSource extracting and enhancing new and existing item properties and merging data to create consistency across items and BOMs, with relationships kept intact. RFX Setup: Go from two weeks to 15 minutes. AI-built quote format templates create a standardised structure that boosts efficiency, cuts formatting time and can be reused across teams for future RFX events. Supplier Activation: Suppliers respond without the chase. Questions are answered instantly, deadline reminders go out automatically and quotes arrive clean regardless of the format suppliers submit in. Award Optimisation: Award with confidence. Users describe their requirements in plain language and set custom constraints, from cost to location to lead times, then optimise every scenario with outputs ready for negotiation and award. "Every sourcing cycle, supplier interaction and award decision makes the system sharper," adds Idan Mintz, CTO and Co-Founder of LightSource. "That compounding context is the difference between a tool that assists and one that changes how a team works." "Every sourcing cycle, supplier interaction and award decision makes the system sharper " Idan MintzCTO and Co-Founder of LightSource Built on trust, proven at scale. With more than 3,300 items processed and upwards of 250 quote formats created in the first two months, LightSource AI Workforce is live and built on an architecture that separates AI reasoning from data operations. The platform, which is trusted by Amazon, Conair, Canada Goose and Shure, requires user approval before anything executes, creating a meaningful distinction for teams who have been burned by AI that fabricates figures. The mission to help support direct procurement has always been at the heart of LightSource. Speaking to Procurement Magazine, Spencer outlines that he believes in modern manufacturing, digital transformation often stumbles at the boundary between direct and indirect procurement. Indirect spend, the tail-spend category covering office supplies and travel, has seen substantial innovation. Direct materials, by contrast, remain stuck in manual processes. Spencer describes this disparity through a vivid analogy: "The way I describe it is that indirect procurement is like UPS when it picks up a package. It has to route it and drop it off. It's a one-time flow and it's done. And then direct materials are much more like the plumbing in a building. You have to set it up right."

LightSource, an operating system for direct materials sourcing, has launched LightSource AI Workforce, featuring five capabilities designed to automate procurement tasks. The platform targets the 82% of procurement teams still relying on email and Excel, offering tools for data analytics, item ingestion, RFQs, and supplier activation. The AI Workforce includes Ask LightSource for instant data queries, automated item ingestion from various file formats, RFX setup reducing preparation time from two weeks to 15 minutes, supplier activation with automated follow-ups, and award optimisation with custom constraints. In its first two months, the platform processed 3,300-plus items and created 250-plus quote formats. LightSource requires user approval before executing any actions. The company serves clients including Amazon, Conair, Canada Goose, and Shure.