For many organisations, procurement remains one of the least visible yet most financially significant parts of the business. Vendor selection, invoice processing, purchase approvals, and payments are often managed through disconnected emails, spreadsheets, and manual follow-ups. This lack of visibility can create duplicate payments, billing mismatches, weak vendor controls, and revenue leakages that accumulate over time. Kraya, founded by CA Pratik Loya and Dr. Swar Gattani, is working to address these challenges through procurement automation, audit intelligence, and a growing network of verified vendors. A Chartered Accountant by profession, Pratik Loya brings an audit and financial-control perspective to procurement technology. His objective is to help organisations detect problems before money leaves the business and turn supply-chain operations into a strategic strength.

From Audits to Procurement Technology

Pratik’s entrepreneurial journey began with an earlier startup, Jugaadubaba. While the venture provided valuable lessons, he realised that the model was not sufficiently scalable to grow in the way he envisioned. His experience as a Chartered Accountant later gave him a close view of how businesses spend money. During procurement audits, he repeatedly encountered organisations managing large purchasing operations through emails and Excel sheets, with limited system-level monitoring. “So much money was moving around, and almost no system was watching it.” This observation became the foundation for Kraya. The goal was not simply to digitise procurement workflows, but to create a system that could bring visibility, control, and accountability to the entire purchasing process.

The Problems Hidden in Traditional Procurement

Traditional procurement processes often operate without a complete view of what has been ordered, received, billed, and paid. During audits, Pratik identified several recurring challenges:

• Limited transparency for stakeholders.
• Vendor choices based on familiarity rather than objective evaluation.
• Manual processes that created avoidable errors.
• Duplicate payments.
• Differences between purchase orders and invoices.
• Revenue leakage that remained unnoticed over extended periods.

These were not isolated incidents. They were structural problems occurring across organisations. Kraya was designed to remove guesswork from purchasing and introduce checks before payments are processed. “We built a system that brings visibility, removes the guesswork, and checks everything properly before money goes out.”

Why the Name Kraya?

Kraya is a Sanskrit word meaning “to buy.” Swar suggested this name as it reflects both the company’s core function and its Indian identity. “We are a proudly made-in-Bharat company solving a very Indian problem, so the name had to reflect that.” Although procurement is the company’s starting point, Pratik sees Kraya’s long-term role extending across the complete supply chain covering what enters a business and what leaves it. The larger vision is to make the movement of goods, services, information, and money more transparent and dependable. “Buying is just where we start. The bigger picture is for Kraya to sit across the whole supply chain and make that entire flow clean and reliable.”

Validating the Problem Before Building the Product

Kraya did not begin by building a product and immediately taking it to market. The team first conducted procurement audits manually, reviewing invoices, vendor records, and payment histories to understand exactly where businesses were losing money. This process helped uncover small discrepancies that often appeared insignificant individually but became substantial over time. Examples included duplicate payments and mismatches between what had been ordered and what had been billed. The insights from these audits became the basis for developing and testing multiple prototypes. The team discarded features and approaches that did not solve the underlying problem and refined the platform based on real findings. “That gave us a real picture instead of assumptions.” This audit-led approach helped Kraya develop a solution rooted in actual procurement behaviour rather than theoretical workflows.

Winning Enterprise Trust

For a young company handling supplier information, payment data, and financial records, credibility was a significant challenge. Enterprise customers are naturally cautious about giving an emerging technology provider access to sensitive information. Kraya addressed this by focusing on data protection, consent, agreements, and clear rules governing how information would be accessed and handled. “In our line of work, trust is basically everything.” Pratik’s background as a Chartered Accountant also helped him establish credibility with prospective customers. He understands the financial controls, audit requirements, and operational concerns businesses face. “When I sit across from a company, they can tell they’re talking to someone who actually understands their world not just a tech person selling software.” The company has also built a network of more than 1,000 verified vendors, creating additional value for organisations using the platform.

Early Enterprise Validation

One of Kraya’s early breakthroughs came when the Haldiram Group agreed to support and work with the company. The implementation is ongoing and has provided valuable insight into how a large organisation manages procurement and how the platform can be improved for enterprise use. For Kraya, working with a recognised business created a shift in customer conversations. “Once you have a name like that willing to work with you, every conversation after it starts with proof instead of promises.” This early validation helped the company demonstrate that its platform could move beyond an idea and operate within a complex, real-world business environment.

Starting with Personal Savings

Kraya was initially funded through the founders’ personal savings. As a Chartered Accountant, Pratik says he approached spending with discipline and focused capital on building the core technology. The company prioritised:

• Product and technology development.
• Testing the platform in real enterprise environments.
• Onboarding initial customers.
• Refining the product based on live usage.
• Building the vendor network.

Rather than spending heavily on branding or broad marketing, Kraya focused on proving that its system could detect procurement issues and help organisations prevent financial leakage.

Raising Seed Capital

Kraya has raised more than $113,000 in seed funding. Pratik says the company intentionally raised a modest amount at the beginning to test whether the team could use external capital responsibly. The company also received support from family offices that trusted Kraya with both their funds and their business relationships. Early backing from groups such as Haldiram’s helped strengthen the company’s credibility. The most important fundraising milestone came when Kraya progressed from an idea to a working platform that could identify fraud, uncover mismatches, and create measurable savings. “Once investors saw that, the conversation changed.” Although procurement may not be viewed as the most exciting technology category, Pratik believes its scale and importance make it an attractive opportunity. Every organisation buys goods or services, yet many continue to rely on outdated processes. Kraya is now raising a larger round to expand its technology, customer base, and market presence.

Using Capital to Build Network Effects

The company is directing its funding towards three primary areas. First, Kraya is improving the platform and making it easier to integrate with the systems enterprises already use. Since every organisation has different workflows and technology environments, seamless integration is essential. Second, the company is expanding its network of verified vendors and enterprise users. A larger network can increase the utility of the platform for all participants. Third, Kraya is working to accelerate customer onboarding so that businesses can begin identifying savings and control gaps more quickly. “The quicker customers see results, the better it is for us and for them.”

AI and the Future of Procurement

Pratik believes artificial intelligence will significantly transform procurement. Most organisations currently identify errors or fraud after a payment has already been processed. AI can shift procurement from a reactive function to a preventive one. Instead of discovering a duplicate invoice or suspicious transaction later, intelligent systems can identify anomalies before the payment is released. Routine activities such as checking, matching, follow-ups, and reconciliation can increasingly be automated. This would allow procurement and finance teams to focus on strategic decisions rather than repetitive administrative tasks. “With AI, the system catches the problem before the payment even goes out.” Kraya aims to become the intelligent layer operating quietly beneath an organisation’s procurement systems, monitoring transactions and preventing issues before they become financial losses.

From Cost Centre to Strategic Strength

Pratik wants to change how organisations view procurement. The function is often noticed only when something goes wrong, even though it influences costs, supplier relationships, cash flow, compliance, and business continuity. His ambition is to make procurement and supply-chain operations a source of competitive advantage. “I want a company’s supply chain—everything coming in and going out—to become one of its strengths instead of just a cost it lives with.” This means building a connected system where organisations know what they are buying, from whom they are buying, at what price, under which terms, and whether the final transaction matches the original decision.

Building Trust Into Every Transaction

Kraya’s long-term vision is to make buying and selling cleaner, more transparent, and more reliable. The company aims to reduce fraud, prevent money from slipping through unnoticed gaps, and give stakeholders a clearer view of procurement activity. For Pratik Loya, the mission is ultimately about fixing a problem that many organisations have accepted for too long. “We are taking something everyone had accepted as broken, and we are fixing it.” By combining audit expertise, automation, AI, verified vendors, and enterprise-focused technology, Kraya is positioning procurement as more than a back-office function. It is working to make procurement a dependable operating layer—one that protects capital, strengthens supplier relationships, and helps businesses make smarter decisions.

Interview By : Sejal Thakur