News

Procurement Magazine sits down with Basware's Donna Wilczek and LightSource CEO Spencer Penn on real-time data, explainable AI and what separates procurement modernisation that works from tools bolted onto broken workflows.

Pulse 2.0 interviews LightSource CEO and co-founder Spencer Penn about AI-native direct procurement, covering the company's Tesla origins, $33M Series A, automotive customer results, and the $17T direct-materials opportunity.

Transport Topics reports analysts back TFI International's plan to introduce autonomous Class 8 trucks in LTL linehaul first, with LightSource CEO Spencer Penn quoted on limiting the operational design domain.

Logistics Manager’s September issue examines Britain’s EV battery gap, with LightSource CEO Spencer Penn on how electrification moves the hard part of the automotive supply chain upstream.

Supply & Demand Chain Executive publishes a column by LightSource CEO Spencer Penn on supplier grading: how suppliers silently score their customers, and why that grade shows up in price, capacity, and speed.

Inc. reports on Nvidia's Alpamayo 2 Super open model for autonomous driving, with LightSource CEO Spencer Penn weighing in on how it helps traditional automakers catch up.

Procurement Magazine reports on LightSource's AI Workforce launch, five AI capabilities built to simplify direct sourcing, and the US$33m Lightspeed and Bain Capital Ventures funding behind the platform.

Procurement Magazine reports on the launch of LightSource's AI workforce, five capabilities that automate manual direct sourcing work across data analytics, item ingestion, RFQs and supplier activation.

SupplyChainBrain interviews LightSource CEO Spencer Penn on the 2026 supply chain squeeze, as war-driven inflation, soaring freight rates, tariffs and AI-driven demand push up material costs and supplier delays.

KLAS 8 News Now reports on a Las Vegas crash involving a Waymo autonomous vehicle, with former Waymo employee and LightSource CEO Spencer Penn explaining how the company's cameras and data support crash investigations.

CNET reports on NHTSA administrator Jonathan Morrison's push to drop steering-wheel and brake-pedal requirements for driverless cars, with LightSource CEO and former Waymo product manager Spencer Penn weighing in on autonomy regulation.

The Supply Chainer publishes an opinion column by LightSource CEO Spencer Penn on the pressures procurement teams face right now, drawn from his conversations on the Source Code podcast.

Seeking Alpha interviews LightSource CEO Spencer Penn on why Tesla and Waymo may both win the robotaxi race through very different strategies.

LeaderbookAI examines Gartner's projection that 40% of enterprise apps will run task-specific AI agents by end of 2026, and what it means for executives.

The Telegraph, via MSN, asks whether voice-activated AI in cars will reduce driver distraction or worsen it, with perspective from LightSource CEO Spencer Penn.

Procurement Magazine names LightSource among its top five procurement stories of the week, alongside news from SkySelect, HSBC, and others.

Procurement Magazine interviews LightSource CEO Spencer Penn on the company's vision for AI-native direct materials sourcing.

The Gazette reports why tariff costs are now embedded in the U.S. supply chain, with LightSource CEO Spencer Penn explaining why prices won't fall even as tariffs are struck down.

The Grand Rapids Herald-Review reports why prices won't fall even after the Supreme Court struck down many of Trump's tariffs, with commentary from LightSource CEO Spencer Penn.

Enterprise Apps Unpacked's David Essex talks with LightSource CEO Spencer Penn about how his years at Tesla shaped a platform for direct materials sourcing.

CNBC examines how Anthropic's tensions with the Trump administration could threaten its enterprise-driven business, with perspective from LightSource CEO Spencer Penn.

Spend Matters reveals its 2025-2026 '50 to Know,' '50 to Watch,' 'Future 5,' and Hall of Fame procurement provider lists, naming LightSource among the companies to watch.

The Supply Chainer gathers industry perspectives, including LightSource CEO Spencer Penn, on what the Supreme Court's IEEPA tariff ruling means for manufacturers and global supply chains.

Silicon Valley Business Journal interviews LightSource CEO Spencer Penn on how manufacturers shifted into 'war room' mode after the Supreme Court struck down tariffs.

Infobae Tecno reports on EV makers bringing back physical buttons amid safety rules and touchscreen fatigue, featuring LightSource CEO Spencer Penn.

Business Insider Deutschland reports on carmakers bringing physical buttons back to EVs as regulators and drivers push back on touchscreens, featuring LightSource CEO Spencer Penn.

AI Journal features a LightSource essay on why margins stay under pressure even as AI can automate up to 95% of procurement tasks -- the gap is organizational, not technological.

Business Insider reports on automakers bringing physical buttons back to EVs as drivers and safety regulators push back on touchscreen-only interfaces, with perspective from LightSource's Spencer Penn.

Supply Chain 24/7 features LightSource CEO Spencer Penn on why procurement systems fail to preserve institutional knowledge, and what a new approach looks like.

S&P Global Market Intelligence reports on Apple's record iPhone quarter in China and the memory supply shortage behind it, with commentary from LightSource CEO Spencer Penn.

Procurement Magazine features leaders from SAP, LightSource, and SpendHQ on why data readiness and focused pilots matter more than AI hype in procurement.

Procurement Magazine names its Top 100 Procurement Leaders 2026, recognizing individuals driving impact across supply chain resilience and ethical sourcing, with LightSource featured.

Mergermarket interviews LightSource CEO Spencer Penn on plans for a $100M+ Series B within 12 to 18 months, 300% growth, and nearly 100 customers.

The San Francisco Standard investigates why hundreds of Waymo robotaxis froze during San Francisco's biggest blackout in decades -- with analysis from Spencer Penn, former product manager of simulation at Waymo.

Business Insider Deutschland features LightSource founder Spencer Penn on Elon Musk's leadership style, risk-taking, and the contrasting org structures at Tesla and Waymo.

"I still do demos. If you take your hands off the wheel, things might veer in a direction you don't like."

Inside Supply Management's Best of 2025 roundup collects the year's most impactful procurement and supply chain stories, including coverage featuring LightSource.

CPO Strategy's Nell Walker examines LightSource's Spec to Scale methodology and how CEO Spencer Penn wants it to reshape direct procurement.

Forbes Technology Council members share 20 common reasons promising tech products fail at launch, and how founders can avoid them.

Poets & Quants, via Yahoo Finance, ranks LightSource among the 100 highest-funded startups founded by MBA graduates in 2025.

The term "AI" is everywhere, but for strategic sourcing and procurement leaders, the real question is how to move past the hype and harness its true power.

With these requirements in place to make responsible sourcing a core priority, companies are increasingly turning to digital tools when choosing suppliers, to help find partners who share similar values.

Procurement Magazine's Aaron McMillan interviews LightSource CEO Spencer Penn on agentic AI in procurement and the company's growth after its $33.5M Series A.

Spend Matters publishes a vendor analysis of LightSource's direct materials sourcing platform, covering capabilities, competitors, and analyst takeaways.

Pulse 2.0 reports LightSource raised $33 million at a $130 million valuation, co-led by Lightspeed and Bain Capital Ventures, to modernize direct materials sourcing with AI.

LightSource Labs, an AI-native enterprise procurement platform, will utilise its seed and Series A funding to scale its team and enhance innovation

PYMNTS reports LightSource's emergence from stealth with $33 million in seed and Series A funding to scale its AI-native enterprise procurement platform.

The SaaS News reports LightSource secured $33 million, led by Bain Capital Ventures and Lightspeed, to scale its AI-native sourcing platform for manufacturers.

Tech in Asia reports LightSource's $33M raise as manufacturers turn to AI-powered sourcing amid growing tariff and supply chain risks.

Procurement Magazine examines how LightSource's $33M in Seed and Series A funding, led by Lightspeed and Bain Capital Ventures, fuels its AI-native procurement platform.

LightSource has just closed a $33 million financing, led by Bain Capital Ventures and Lightspeed Venture Partners, with participation from J2 Ventures.

Lightspeed Ventures explains its investment thesis behind LightSource and the opportunity to reinvent direct materials sourcing for manufacturers.

Bain Capital Ventures profiles LightSource co-founders Spencer Penn and Idan Mintz as the company emerges from stealth, and why BCV backed its plan to become the OS for procurement.

CPO Strategy's Sean Galea-Pace profiles LightSource and CEO Spencer Penn on bringing visibility and intelligence to fragmented global supply chains.