The procurement team, responsible for sourcing and pricing the services the company buys, can introduce significant barriers to enterprise startups. Sellers must navigate a thicket of data concerns and increasing price sensitivities, among other issues, with procurement teams that may have little familiarity with AI. Enterprise software deals are taking longer to close compared with last year, per a September survey from New York-based SAAS financing startup Capchase. "That's leading procurement teams to ask sellers 'what works here, tell me where I could have unanticipated outcomes?'" Nemeth said procurement teams want to be educated and help see deals through.

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Persons: Samir Kumar, Kumar, Barack Obama, Obama, Reuters Kumar, Obama's, Miguel Fernandez Larrea, Fernandez Larrea, Tola, Sheila Gulati, Charles Cotugno Gulati, Rachael Nemeth, Nemeth Organizations: Microsoft, Qualcomm, Touring Capital, Companies, White House, Reuters, Enterprise, Vanderbilt University Locations: United States, New York