How to sell to Procurement leads at AI & machine learning companies
Procurement leads in AI & machine learning are primarily measured on cost savings. They respond to outreach when it addresses specific procurement inefficiencies, such as lengthy supplier onboarding processes or challenges in managing vendor relationships. Demonstrating an understanding of their unique needs, like the impact of AI on supplier selection, can prompt a positive response.
Written and maintained by the SoloRiff team, who build outbound software and run outbound with it. The figures below are our own: we measured 561 ai & machine learning company domains over public DNS on 2026-09-03. Last updated 2026-09-03.
What actually hurts
- lengthy supplier onboarding
- vendor relationship management
- compliance risks
- data sourcing challenges
The playbook
- 01
Identify recent funding rounds
Filter your list to include AI & machine learning companies that have recently secured funding. These companies are often looking to scale their operations and may be more open to new procurement solutions. Use sources like Crunchbase or PitchBook to find this information.
- 02
Highlight AI procurement challenges
Craft your outreach to emphasize solutions for procurement challenges specific to AI, such as sourcing high-quality data or managing technology partnerships. This shows you understand their unique landscape and can provide relevant insights that resonate with their current needs.
- 03
Mention compliance and risk management
Address potential compliance risks associated with AI vendors in your messaging. Procurement leads are often concerned about ensuring that suppliers meet regulatory standards. Highlighting your understanding of these risks can make your outreach more compelling.
- 04
Leverage industry events and reports
Reference a recent industry event or report that discusses trends in AI procurement. This not only shows your knowledge of the market but also positions your outreach as timely and relevant, increasing the likelihood of engagement.
- 05
Suggest a specific follow-up timeframe
In your follow-up, suggest a specific timeframe for a call, such as 'next Tuesday at 10 AM.' This creates a sense of urgency and makes it easier for the procurement lead to respond positively. Be prepared to adjust based on their availability.
Can ai & machine learning companies even receive your mail?
We measured the DNS of 561 ai & machine learning companies, sampled evenly across company sizes, to see how many authenticate their own email. It matters in both directions: a domain that does not authenticate is a domain whose team is used to mail going missing — and if your own domain is in the gap, yours is the mail going missing.
Publishes a DMARC policy of quarantine or reject — the domain actually asks receivers to act on failures.
The gap is the finding: 26.3% of 1–10-person companies against 86.2% of the largest — 60 points apart. Small companies are where the unauthenticated domains are, and small companies are who most cold outreach is aimed at.
Where does your domain sit?
Same three lookups, run live against your domain. Nothing is stored and nothing is emailed to you.
How this was measured
Company domains were sampled within employee-count bands, then queried over public DNS for SPF (TXT at the apex), DMARC (TXT at _dmarc.) and MX. One domain per company, deduplicated. Anyone can reproduce any single row of this with dig.
DKIM is deliberately absent. A DKIM key lives under a selector that cannot be enumerated from outside the domain, so a company with flawless DKIM under a name we did not guess would be counted as having none. That would measure our guess list, not the industry.
Domains with no MX record are excluded rather than counted as failures — parked and redirect-only domains would otherwise drag every figure down and make the result an artefact of the sample.
Sampled within bands, so this describes the population of companies, not of employees: a 10-person company counts once, as does a 10,000-person one. Each band is at least 60 domains; bands below that are not published. Figures are percentages of the sample, not of the whole industry, and we publish no company names — only counts.
Measured 2026-09-03. Re-measured monthly.
The full census across every industry — sortable, with sample sizes, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0.
Subject lines that fit
- Streamlining procurement in AI
- Navigating vendor compliance
- Improving supplier onboarding
Questions
- Why do procurement leads in AI ignore cold outreach?
- Procurement leads often receive numerous cold emails, making them selective about responses. They prioritize outreach that directly addresses their specific procurement challenges, such as compliance or vendor management. If your message doesn’t resonate with their immediate needs, it may be overlooked.
- What procurement metrics do AI companies focus on?
- Procurement leads in AI companies typically focus on metrics like cost savings, supplier performance, and compliance adherence. They analyze these metrics to ensure that procurement strategies align with overall business goals, particularly in rapidly evolving tech environments.
- How can I demonstrate value to procurement leads?
- Demonstrating value involves understanding their unique challenges, such as regulatory compliance and data sourcing. Providing insights or potential solutions tailored to these issues can capture their interest and make your outreach more effective.
- What triggers procurement leads to consider new vendors?
- Procurement leads are often triggered to consider new vendors during budget planning cycles, after receiving funding, or when existing contracts are up for renewal. Timing your outreach around these events can improve your chances of engagement.
Or have it run itself
SoloRiff does every step above on its own — finds the companies, finds the people, writes each of them individually, and handles the replies. Drop your URL and watch it work before you sign up for anything.
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