Serial Entrepreneurs Behind Multiple Unicorns Raise $3.9M to Build AI Operating System for Electronics Procurement

DELHI, India--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan 29, 2026--

1Buy.AI, an AI-first electronics procurement platform delivering 5–10% cost reductions within months of deployment, today announced a $3.9 million seed round led by 100Unicorns, with participation from FJ Labs (USA), Gruhas (founded by Nikhil Kamath and Abhijeet Pai) and other global investors, including enterprise customers.

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Founded by serial entrepreneurs Nitin Jain, Visham Sikand, and Pradeep Paliwal—who collectively have built multiple unicorn ventures and bring proven operating scale and execution-led leadership—1Buy.AI is creating what it calls the Global Intelligence Layer for electronics procurement. The platform modernizes how electronics manufacturers source, price, and manage components across complex global supply chains, directly improving bottom-line performance through AI-driven cost optimization.

Modernizing a $600B+ Market

Electronics procurement remains one of the least digitized enterprise functions despite being a board-level concern. Manufacturers worldwide struggle with fragmented pricing data, opaque supplier networks, volatile supply conditions, and excess inventory trapped on balance sheets, yet still rely on spreadsheets and manual processes.

1Buy.AI replaces this fragmented approach with an AI-native platform that integrates intelligence with execution, enabling procurement teams to shift from reactive purchasing to predictive, governed decision-making across geographies.

Proven Product-Market Fit

Early deployments have delivered measurable improvements in supplier governance and inventory risk control across active bills of materials. Several early customers—among the largest electronics manufacturers globally—have significantly expanded usage and participated as investors in the round, validating strong product-market fit and tangible economic impact.

"Electronics procurement represents one of the largest yet least digitized enterprise decision surfaces globally," said 100Unicorns. "We backed 1Buy.AI for its ability to combine deep data intelligence with execution-ready workflows. The team's track record of building scaled businesses, coupled with early customer-led validation, positions them to define a new category in AI-driven procurement."

The Platform

1Buy.AI operates across three integrated layers: 1Data, a proprietary AI engine for global pricing, alternates, lifecycle risk, and predictive signals; 1Source, an execution layer for compliant end-to-end sourcing; and 1Xcess, a structured marketplace to monetize excess and obsolete inventory.

Built in India for global scale, 1Buy.AI plans to expand across the United States, Europe, and Southeast Asia, with the plan of becoming the default operating system for electronics procurement worldwide.

Co-founders of 1Buy.AI — from Left to Right: Nitin Jain (Global Business Head), Visham Sikand (CEO & Strategy Head), Pradeep Paliwal (Head of Technology & Product)

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — A collision involving a minibus taxi and a truck killed at least 11 people in South Africa on Thursday, a local government official and emergency services said, just over a week after a similar road crash left 14 schoolchildren dead.

Thursday’s crash happened near the city of Durban in the eastern KwaZulu-Natal province. Provincial transport department official Siboniso Duma said in a statement that 11 people, including a schoolchild, died at the scene, although that was according to preliminary information.

“Witnesses have alleged that the truck driver made a U-turn resulting in a head-on collision,” Duma said.

Garrith Jamieson, spokesperson for the private paramedic service ALS Paramedics, said 11 were dead and several people were critically injured, including the driver of the minibus, who was trapped in the wreckage.

The fatal collision came days after a deadly head-on crash between a minibus taxi being used to transport schoolchildren and a truck.

The driver of the minibus involved in that crash near Johannesburg on Jan. 19 was arrested and charged with 14 counts of murder after authorities alleged he was driving recklessly by overtaking a line of vehicles before crashing into the truck.

The 22-year-old driver was initially charged with an offense comparable to manslaughter, but the charges were upgraded to murder, according to state prosecutors.

On Thursday, South Africa Minister of Transport Barbara Creecy expressed “serious concerns” about the continuous rise in traffic fatalities caused by crashes involving public transportation.

She instructed the country’s Road Traffic Management Corporation, which is responsible for organizing road traffic regulation, enforcement and strategic planning, to collaborate with local authorities to investigate the cause of the most recent collision.

A preliminary investigation report is expected within 48 hours of the RTMC beginning its inquiry, Creecy said.

Minibus taxis are the preferred method of public transport for most South Africans to get to and from work, with estimates that they are used by approximately 70% of commuters.

Africa has a wider problem with road safety, and crashes kill about 300,000 people annually, about a quarter of the global toll. Africa has the world’s highest road traffic fatality rate at 26.6 deaths per 100,000 people, compared with a global average of about 18, according to the U.N. Economic Commission for Africa. This is despite the continent of 1.5 billion people accounting for just about 3% of the global vehicle population.

Imray reported from Cape Town, South Africa.

AP Africa news: https://apnews.com/hub/africa

In this photo provided by ALS Paramedics on Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026, rescue personnel inspect the site of a collision involving a minibus taxi and a truck, near Durban, South Africa. (ALS Paramedics via AP Photo)