Conrad Electronic Group, the German distributor of electronics and technical supplies, has acquired Hivebuy, a Berlin startup that makes software for indirect procurement. The deal was reported on November 2, 2026, by VC Magazin and Dealroom, and Hivebuy's website now describes it as a Conrad Electronic company.
The companies did not disclose financial terms. Hivebuy will remain an independent company based in Berlin after the takeover, and its founding team will stay on, deutsche-startups.de reported.
Conrad plans to offer Hivebuy's technology to a much larger base of business customers, according to Dealroom. A Conrad press release titled "Hivebuy is now part of Conrad" is linked from Hivebuy's website.
What Hivebuy built
Hivebuy handles the purchases a company makes outside its core production, such as office supplies, software, services and equipment. Its software covers the full process from a staff member's purchase request through budget approval to checking the supplier's invoice, and it is available in German and English.
The company has added a set of AI agents to the product. A savings agent looks for cheaper offers on each order, an invoice agent checks bills against orders, and an intake agent lets employees file requests through Microsoft Teams, Slack or Hivebuy's own app. AI can also suggest approval decisions. Hivebuy says the savings agent can cut up to 20% from an order and that customers have reported saving 60% of the time spent on purchase requests. These are company figures.
Hivebuy connects to the accounting and ERP systems that mid-sized companies already use, including SAP Business One, SAP S/4HANA, SAP ECC, Microsoft Dynamics 365, NetSuite, d.velop and DATEV. Customers shown on its website include online retailers Tennis Point and Rebuy, chemicals group BÜFA, football club Arminia Bielefeld, electronics chains Media Markt and Saturn, and security firm Securitas. About 70 companies use the software, VC Magazin reported.
Hivebuy's website says customers have reported full transparency over budgets and a return on their investment after 3.4 months on average. The company also says it holds ISO certification.
The founders and the investors
Bettina Fischer, the chief executive, and Stefan Kiehne founded Hivebuy in 2021. The startup raised money from Cusp Capital, Haufe Group Ventures, SIVentures and Tiny Supercomputer Investment Company, according to VC Magazin and Dealroom.
Deutsche-startups.de listed Cusp Capital as the largest outside shareholder with 30%, followed by Haufe Group Ventures with 8.5% and SIVentures with 6.3%. The amounts of Hivebuy's funding rounds were not reported in the coverage of the deal.
For Haufe Group Ventures, the corporate venture arm of Haufe Group, the sale is an exit. It invested in Hivebuy in 2023, making the startup one of the first holdings of the then newly founded fund, VC Magazin reported.
Why Conrad is buying
Conrad Electronic is a German electronics distributor. Dealroom reported that Conrad intends to make Hivebuy's technology available to a much larger customer base than the roughly 70 companies the startup serves today.
The deal turns a supplier of goods into an owner of the software that companies use to order such goods. Neither company has said how Hivebuy's product will be combined with Conrad's own offering, or whether prices for existing Hivebuy customers will change.
Keeping Hivebuy as a separate company in Berlin, with its founders still in charge, means existing customers keep the same team for now, according to deutsche-startups.de.
A busy market for spend software
Software for managing company spending has drawn acquisitions in Germany this year. Dealroom pointed to Deel's purchase of Sastrify, a German platform for managing software subscriptions, in May 2026.
Hivebuy has aimed at mid-sized companies that want a purchasing tool tied to the accounting systems they already run, rather than a large procurement suite. The Conrad deal places one of those startups inside a distributor that sells to many of the same businesses.
