Logistics giant NX backs AI startup Ricerca to automate purchasing
What's the deal? NIPPON EXPRESS HoldingsDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, through its NX Global Innovation FundDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, has made an early-stage investment in Tokyo-based startup RicercaDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, the maker of an AI ordering platform called RECERQA.
The two firms signed a capital and business alliance on June 25, 2026. Terms were not disclosed.
Founded in 2022, Ricerca bills RECERQA as a next-generation "Agentic ERP." Unlike traditional enterprise systems built for record-keeping, it uses AI to read data, make judgements, and carry out tasks on its own.
Why now? Business-to-business purchasing still leans on paper and PDF forms, forcing staff to enter and check data by hand. Ageing systems and a shortage of people to maintain them are adding pressure.
RECERQA links to existing ERP software and lets companies shift over in stages — without halting operations — starting with procurement, inventory, and sales.
What could go wrong? Agentic AI that acts autonomously on supply-chain decisions raises the stakes if it makes errors. Persuading large enterprises to trust software with live ordering, rather than just digitising documents, remains a tall order.
The signal: Backing an early-stage startup founded in 2022, NX is wagering that agentic AI can untangle the manual, paper-bound corners of supply chains that earlier automation tools left behind. With roughly 78,000 staff across 57 countries, the logistics giant offers Ricerca the real-world scale its chief executive says matters more than the cheque itself.
Read more: PR Times
Image credit: chumlee10 / Flickr
