What Volition does

Volition is an online industrial parts marketplace and search engine founded in 2019 in San Francisco. The platform aggregates over 49 million products from more than 9,000 OEMs through partnerships with major industrial distributors, providing engineers, purchasers, and hardware teams a single interface to discover, compare, and source components across the full hardware lifecycle — from early prototyping and Bill of Materials (BOM) procurement through production operations and maintenance. Named users span automotive (General Motors), electric vehicles (Lucid), aerospace and defense (NASA, U.S. Navy, U.S. Air Force, Los Alamos National Laboratory), education and research (MIT, UCLA), and industrial manufacturing (Kodak), indicating broad cross-vertical enterprise and government adoption.

The company's core technology is an AI-powered search engine purpose-built for complex industrial products, accepting text queries for part numbers, specifications, and lead times and operating over a proprietary data system that combines the scalability of modern data infrastructure with human curation to handle parts catalog complexity. The platform is delivered through a self-service web interface organized into 24 major industrial categories (motion control, power transmission, fastening, electronics, hydraulics, pneumatics, optics, robotics, etc.), supplemented by a BOM Upload tool for batch sourcing and a Purchasing Intelligence feature that layers live, internet-wide pricing and availability on top of the curated catalog.

Volition monetizes via marketplace commissions and transaction fees when buyers purchase parts from listed suppliers, with distribution spanning self-serve web onboarding for the long tail and dedicated sales/service support (typical 1-hour response time) for enterprise accounts. The company raised approximately $14.7 million in seed funding across 2019 and 2023, and in 2025 was acquired by Siemens and integrated into its Supplyframe business unit, accelerating the platform's role in industrial digital sourcing.

Name

Volition

Legal name

Volition

Website

https://govolition.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Acquired

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Volition is an AI-powered industrial parts marketplace that helps engineering and hardware teams search, compare, and source components from over 9,000 OEMs. It serves automotive, aerospace, defense, EV, research, and manufacturing organizations across prototyping, production, and maintenance workflows, and is now part of Siemens' Supplyframe business.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Industrial Parts Marketplace

NAICS

Industrial Supplies Merchant Wholesalers (423840), Hardware Merchant Wholesalers (42371)

SIC

Wholesale-Industrial Machinery & Equipment (5084), Wholesale-Electronic Parts & Equipment, Nec (5065)

akta.pro primary industry

Automotive Parts, Tools & Accessories Marketplaces (CRAFABAJ)

akta.pro secondary industry

Meta-Search & Search Aggregators (BPAMAAAC)

Keywords

• Industrial parts marketplace
• AI-powered parts search
• BOM sourcing platform
• Industrial components catalog
• Supplier procurement platform

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Marketplace Transactions: Volition operates as an online industrial parts marketplace connecting buyers with industrial distributors. Revenue is generated through marketplace transactions when buyers purchase parts from suppliers through the platform.
2. Transaction Fees: The platform facilitates sourcing for hardware development by providing access to a catalog of products from industrial distributors, earning transaction fees on completed purchases.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Volition operates an online industrial parts marketplace that uses an AI-powered search engine to help engineers and purchasers discover, compare, and source components from a catalog of over 49 million products spanning more than 9,000 OEMs. The platform connects buyers with vetted industrial distributors and supports part-number search, spec-based search, lead-time comparison, BOM (Bill of Materials) batch sourcing, and live pricing/availability across multiple suppliers.

Product overview

Volition is an online industrial parts marketplace and search engine offering access to over 49 million products across more than 9,000 OEMs. The platform consists of the core AI Power Search engine as its primary product, supplemented by BOM Upload for batch sourcing, Purchasing Intelligence for real-time pricing and availability, and a Supplier Marketplace for vendors. The AI Power Search serves as the main interface for discovering and comparing industrial components, while the supplementary tools support end-to-end procurement workflows for hardware teams.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• AI Power Search AI-powered search engine specifically designed for complex industrial products. Enables engineers and purchasers to search the entire internet plus Volition's catalog of 49M+ products by part number, specifications, lead time, and other requirements to discover, compare options, and find the perfect part faster.
• BOM Upload Tool for uploading and managing Bill of Materials (BOM) to source multiple parts across suppliers in a single operation, supporting the full BOM sourcing workflow for hardware teams from prototyping through production.
• Supplier Marketplace Marketplace platform enabling vetted industrial suppliers and distributors to list and sell products to buyers, promoting authentic products and ensuring quality experience for engineering and purchasing buyers.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 49 million products across over 9,000 OEMs available on the platform
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability3 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Industrial Distributors (Major)coreTechnology or IntegrationVolition has built partnerships with major industrial distributors to create the world's largest catalog of components (49M+ products from 9,000+ OEMs). These partnerships enable access to private supplier data and live pricing/availability information.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• DigiKey: DigiKey is one of the largest global distributors of electronic and industrial components, with a catalog of millions of SKUs and a self-service web platform. It is directly comparable to Volition as both operate as broad-line component marketplaces serving engineers and purchasers across prototyping and production.
• Mouser Electronics: Mouser is a major global distributor of electronic components and industrial parts with a deep online catalog and design-in support. Comparable to Volition as both serve engineers with broad SKU marketplaces for prototyping and production sourcing.
• McMaster-Carr: McMaster-Carr is a leading direct-mail and online distributor of industrial hardware and components with a famously deep catalog. Comparable to Volition as both are category-defining industrial sourcing destinations for engineers, though McMaster is inventory-led and single-supplier while Volition is a multi-supplier marketplace.
• Thomas (ThomasNet): Thomas is a long-standing industrial sourcing platform connecting buyers with North American suppliers and distributors across MRO and OEM categories. Comparable to Volition as both serve industrial procurement with online supplier discovery, though Thomas is more directory-led while Volition emphasizes AI search and live pricing.
• RS Components: RS Components (RS Online) is a major global distributor of electronic and industrial components serving engineers and procurement teams. Comparable to Volition as both operate broad-line online component marketplaces with global reach and similar buyer personas.
• Element14 / Farnell: Element14 (Farnell) is a global distributor of electronic and industrial components operating community-augmented online marketplaces. Comparable to Volition as both serve engineers with broad SKU catalogs, online search, and design-support content.

Broad incumbents

• Grainger: Grainger is a large MRO industrial distributor with a comprehensive online catalog and broad enterprise customer base. Comparable to Volition as both serve industrial sourcing for MRO and operational buyers, though Grainger is a broad-line incumbent with owned inventory while Volition is a multi-supplier marketplace.
• Supplyframe: Supplyframe is a B2B industrial sourcing platform now part of Siemens, and is the acquiring parent for Volition's technology. Comparable to Volition as both address electronic and industrial component sourcing with data-driven discovery tools, though Supplyframe operates at greater scale and across the full design-to-procurement workflow.

Emerging players

• Xometry: Xometry operates an online marketplace for on-demand manufacturing services and custom parts. Comparable to Volition as both are digital marketplaces serving hardware teams and overlapping on the buyer persona of engineers sourcing parts and components.
• Hubs (Protolabs Network): Hubs is an online manufacturing platform offering CNC, 3D printing, and injection molding services through a distributed supplier network. Comparable to Volition as both serve the engineer-buyer persona sourcing custom or specialty components through a multi-supplier digital marketplace.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/govolition
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/go-volition

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors5 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Volition