What Material Exchange does

Material Exchange is a Stockholm-headquartered B2B SaaS company, operating as Material Exchange Ventures AB, that digitises the fashion supply chain by connecting fashion brands and manufacturers with textile and material suppliers, sales representatives, and sourcing teams. Founded in 2017 with 51-100 employees, the company targets fragmented early-stage sourcing workflows where product development, T1 and T2 suppliers typically coordinate through emails, spreadsheets, and physical samples, and aims to compress the cycle from brief to material decision.

The platform is built around three interconnected products: the Material Exchange Marketplace (MP) for supplier digital catalogues and discovery; the Digital Sourcing Platform (DSP), a three-app system comprising Supplier App, Sales App, and Brand/Buyer App with digital Showrooms for sales representatives; and the Sourcing Hub (SH), the unified ecosystem for sourcing, negotiation, and ordering. Frank AI, launched in August 2024 and positioned as the first AI sourcing assistant for fashion, acts as an agentic co-pilot that structures briefs, identifies suppliers and materials, surfaces missing cost or compliance data, and flags gaps before decisions move downstream. Digital Scanning Services extend the platform into physical-to-digital material capture via ME-operated and partner scanning hubs. The underlying AI stack relies on third-party LLMs (disclosed in the Sourcing Hub Terms), with NLP, recommendation, and computer vision capabilities.

The business model combines freemium buyer access (brands register and use the marketplace free of charge) with paid supplier monetisation through annual subscription packages and transaction fees calculated as a percentage of order value on the Sourcing Hub. Pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed; supplier subscriptions auto-renew annually without pro-rata refunds. Go-to-market is enterprise-led with a 'Book a demo' funnel and invite-only onboarding, supplemented by an indirect sales-representative channel and trade-body partnerships (FDRA for footwear, India leather program). Revenue figures are not publicly disclosed; the company has raised approximately €31-32M cumulatively across five rounds from 2017 to 2022, with the largest being a €25M Series A led by Molten Ventures in April 2022, and acquired Italian textile firm Studio M.V. in November 2022. The company is GDPR-compliant and headquartered at c/o Convendum, Birger Jarlsgatan 57A, Stockholm.

Name

Material Exchange

Legal name

Material Exchange Ventures AB

Website

https://material-exchange.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Material Exchange is a Stockholm-based B2B SaaS platform that digitises fashion supply chain sourcing, connecting brands, suppliers, and sales representatives through its Marketplace, Digital Sourcing Platform, and Sourcing Hub, with Frank AI as an agentic sourcing co-pilot.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Fashion Sourcing Software

NAICS

Computer and Computer Peripheral Equipment and Software Merchant Wholesalers (423430)

SIC

Wholesale-Apparel, Piece Goods & Notions (5130)

akta.pro primary industry

B2B Marketplaces & Wholesale Platforms (BPAMAGAD)

Keywords

• Fashion sourcing platform
• B2B SaaS marketplace
• Material digitization software
• Supply chain sourcing
• AI sourcing assistant

Headquarters

HQ city

Stockholm

HQ country

Sweden

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Supplier Subscription Fees: Annual subscription packages for suppliers to access and use the marketplace platform. Suppliers must pay subscription fees to use the platform in accordance with their chosen subscription package.
2. Transaction Fees: Fees charged to suppliers based on bookings/transactions made via the Sourcing Hub, calculated as a percentage of total order value excluding taxes, duties, and shipping costs. Also applies if supplier enters into contract outside of Sourcing Hub for products initiated through the platform.
3. Customer Access: Customers (brands/buyers) can register and use the marketplace platform free of charge. Some services are provided at no charge while others require subscription fees.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Material Exchange provides a B2B SaaS platform that digitizes and structures the fashion industry supply chain by connecting material suppliers, sales representatives, and brand buyers. Its core offerings include the Marketplace (MP) for supplier catalogs, the Digital Sourcing Platform (DSP) with supplier/sales/buyer apps, and the Sourcing Hub (SH) for AI-assisted sourcing, negotiation, and ordering, supported by Frank AI and Digital Scanning Services.

Product overview

Material Exchange is a B2B SaaS company that operates multiple interconnected platforms for digitizing the fashion supply chain. The core offerings include the Material Exchange Marketplace (MP) for supplier catalogs and material discovery, the Digital Sourcing Platform (DSP) with three apps (Supplier App, Sales App, Brand/Buyer App) for managing digital products and sales networks, and the Sourcing Hub (SH) as a unified ecosystem for Brands and Suppliers to collaborate on sourcing, negotiation, and ordering. Frank AI serves as the AI-powered agentic co-pilot across these platforms, providing automated supplier matching, natural language interactions, and data-driven sourcing recommendations. Additional services include Digital Scanning Services for material digitization and Sample Request functionality for physical sample management.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Material Exchange Marketplace (MP) A B2B SaaS marketplace platform that allows material suppliers to build and manage digital product or service catalogs and present them to engaged customers, either publicly or within private supplier-controlled communities. Customers (brands/buyers) can discover new suppliers, request to join supplier communities, and request material samples.
• Digital Sourcing Platform (DSP) A B2B platform with three distinct applications: the Supplier App for creating and managing digital product libraries, the Sales App for sales representatives to manage connections between buyers, brands, and suppliers, and the Brand/Buyer App for brands to access products and engage with suppliers through digital Showrooms.
• Sourcing Hub (SH) A B2B digital platform and ecosystem connecting Brands and Suppliers for efficient sourcing, negotiation, and collaboration. Includes AI-powered sourcing, bulk inquiry and ordering, sample requests, and integration with Digital Scanning Services and Frank AI.
• Frank AI An AI-driven agentic sourcing co-pilot that operates within the Sourcing Hub, providing automated supplier matching, structured brief creation, gap analysis on cost/compliance data, and data-driven insights for Brands and Suppliers.
• Digital Scanning Services A service that provides accurate physical appearance and measurements of materials before they are digitized and uploaded to Material Exchange platforms. Users can send products to ME's scanning hubs or partner alliances for digitization.

Quantifiable outcome

• ~50% faster sourcing timelines in structured pilot workflows
• +2 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

AI capability7 records

Feature5 records

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• Worldly: Sustainability data and analytics platform for the apparel and textile industry. Comparable because Material Exchange has an active integration with Worldly and serves overlapping sustainability-focused buyers; also a partner ecosystem participant.

Emerging players

• Textile Genesis: Fiber-to-garment traceability platform using blockchain for textile supply chains. Comparable as a niche B2B platform addressing sustainability and compliance for the same fashion material supplier/brand buyer base.
• Browzwear: 3D fashion design and digital product creation platform used by apparel brands and suppliers. Comparable as a digital-tooling peer targeting the same fashion sourcing/product development buyers that Material Exchange serves.
• Sourceful: B2B sourcing platform focused on sustainable packaging and materials with sustainability data emphasis. Comparable as a younger B2B sourcing marketplace targeting brand procurement with sustainability/traceability value propositions.
• Style3D (Keqiao): Digital fashion and 3D garment simulation platform serving apparel brands and manufacturers. Comparable as a digital fashion-tech peer targeting product development and material digitization workflows.

Broad incumbents

• Centric Software: Provides PLM and digital transformation tools for fashion, retail, and consumer goods. Comparable to Material Exchange's product development/sourcing workflows and overlapping customer base, though broader in scope (PLM, merchandising, supply chain).
• Lectra: Long-established fashion-tech incumbent offering CAD/CAM, PLM, and material optimization solutions to apparel and textile manufacturers. Comparable as an enterprise software provider digitizing fashion supply chains and material workflows.
• SAP Ariba: Enterprise procurement and supplier management platform from SAP. Comparable as a horizontal B2B platform that brands and large suppliers may use for sourcing, though not fashion-specific.
• Esker: Cloud platform for procurement, order management, and invoice automation. Comparable as a broader B2B SaaS provider overlapping in supplier-buyer transactional workflows within fashion/apparel accounts.

Direct peers

• JOOR: Global B2B wholesale marketplace connecting fashion brands and retailers with suppliers. Most directly comparable to Material Exchange because it operates a SaaS-enabled marketplace for fashion/apparel sourcing and ordering.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/materialxchange

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds5 records

Investors6 records

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

M&A1 record

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Material Exchange