As we celebrate Black History Month, Coupa’s Engage employee resource group honors the resilience, creativity, and leadership of Black pioneers whose innovation has shaped technology and artificial intelligence. This year’s theme, “ Innovation and the Impact of Black Pioneers in Tech and AI ,” recognizes trailblazers who challenged barriers, introduced new ways of thinking, and built pathways for future generations. Through the voices of Coupanians across our organization, we celebrate how those legacies continue to inspire us to innovate with purpose, push boundaries, and help shape what’s next at Coupa.

Chien-Yi Tsai’s career hasn’t followed a straight line, and that’s exactly what led him to innovation. Looking back, Chien-Yi doesn’t see a single defining moment that made him an inventor. Instead, he sees a series of questions, challenges, and moments of curiosity that gradually shaped him into the engineer he is today. His focus was never on earning a patent, but on continuous learning, solving meaningful problems, and pushing beyond what felt comfortable. “I never set out with the goal of becoming a patent inventor,” Chien-Yi shares. “I was focused on learning, solving real problems, and pushing myself beyond what felt comfortable.” That mindset ultimately led him to Coupa, and to invention. A Career Built on Curiosity Like many engineers, Chien-Yi’s early career was about building strong foundations: understanding how systems work, weighing technical tradeoffs, and learning how technology can solve real business challenges. Each role added depth such as stronger technical skills, broader systems thinking, and a growing appreciation for collaboration. When Chien-Yi joined Coupa, he entered an environment that actively encouraged curiosity. The challenges weren’t neatly packaged; they were complex, evolving, and deeply connected to real-world supply chain operations. That complexity pushed him to think bigger and approach problems more creatively. Before Coupa, Chien-Yi didn’t consider himself an “inventor.” He saw himself as a problem solver. Over time, he realized the distinction wasn’t as clear as he once thought. “I didn’t think of myself as an inventor but more of a problem solver,” he says. “Over time, I realized those two things aren’t very different.” The Spark Behind the Patent The idea that eventually became a patent began with a simple question: How can supply chains become smarter, faster, and more efficient as new delivery methods emerge? As delivery models continue to evolve, Chien-Yi became increasingly interested in how emerging transportation capabilities could be thoughtfully integrated with traditional logistics networks. That curiosity led to deeper exploration of how different modes of delivery could operate together within a single system. As Chien-Yi thought more about the increasing viability of drones, it became clear to him that they could play a meaningful role in logistics. But integrating aerial delivery with traditional ground transportation introduced an entirely new layer of complexity. What started as informal conversations and rough concepts evolved into a structured exploration of how to model routes that intelligently combine aerial and ground delivery assets, accounting for capabilities, constraints, and user preferences. The challenge wasn’t just technical; it required rethinking how multiple transportation modes could operate as one unified system. Chien-Yi credits his colleague at the time, Hafiz Hasan, as a key partner in the ideation and patenting process. “Hafiz played a major role in shaping the idea and writing the patent,” Chien-Yi notes. “I learned a tremendous amount from working with him.”

Innovation doesn’t always start with a job description. In some cases, it starts with curiosity. For Keerthi Raghavendra, now an Associate Product Manager on Coupa’s AI & Analytics team, that curiosity turned into a passion project, and ultimately, a career-defining opportunity.

So much can happen in one year, especially in your career journey. We shine the light on four Coupanians across the globe who hit their one-year milestone. In the process, they share stories of learning, impact, and the values that unite #AllOfUs. From Bogotá to Pune to the U.S., this foursome reflects on their first year at Coupa and what it means to Shape What’s Next together. Testament to our culture, this journey sparked something unexpected. Two Bogota teammates—Lucas and José—started at Coupa as colleagues and ended their first year as close friends. Their story is a reminder that when we Build Tomorrow Together, relationships are often the greatest win. Let’s meet Lucas, Maddy, José, and Mehnaz and hear what their first year at Coupa has meant to them.

AI Helps. People Hire. How Coupa Keeps Recruiting Human. At Coupa, transformation is part of who we are. Whether it’s using our platform to help businesses run smarter or how people build meaningful careers with us, integrity is at our core. We also understand that the job search can feel both exciting and overwhelming. Generative AI (GenAI) has emerged as a helpful tool in the job hunt, but we want candidates to know one thing clearly: every hiring decision at Coupa is made by real people. AI can support your journey. It will never replace real connection, context, or the value of your lived experience. It’s great if AI tools help you feel more prepared. What matters most is you and what you uniquely bring to an opportunity. Here are a few simple guidelines to help you understand our position on the ethical use of AI throughout your application process. Tips for Using AI in Your Application Journey Use AI as a starting point, not the final version. AI can help brainstorm résumé or cover-letter ideas, but your application should reflect your true experience and voice which is what we care about. Lean into what makes you stand apart. AI can refine words, but only you can share the real story behind your work, impact, and growth. Prep with AI, but don’t script interviews. AI-generated mock questions can help you practice, but we want your thinking, not rehearsed answers. Stay truthful. Using AI to organize your ideas is great. Using it to stretch or fabricate experience isn’t. Show us your authentic self. 

Talent isn’t something we simply acquire but it’s more about the humanity of each current and future Coupanian to help people grow, feel supported and recognized for their efforts. Over the past year, our Talent Acquisition team has stayed focused on one core belief: when people come first, innovation, impact, and growth follow. This year was shaped by transparency, storytelling, and a renewed commitment to building a hiring experience that reflects who we truly are. Here’s a look at the moments that mattered most and how they helped us shape what’s next. Humanizing the Hiring Experience One of our biggest priorities this year was pulling back the curtain on the real Coupa hiring journey. Through our Shaping What’s Next series , we shared authentic, behind-the-scenes perspectives—from first outreach to first day on the job. Rather than focusing on the process alone, we focused on people. We highlighted: New Coupanians taking their leap Recruiters building genuine relationships Hiring managers seeking curiosity, impact, and values alignment By showing how Coupa’s Core Values come to life at every stage, we strengthened trust with candidates and reinforced transparency as a true differentiator. Talent Brand Shaped by Real People Our talent brand -- Help Shape What’s Next – came alive through the voices of the Coupa Village. This year, we amplified employee stories across regions, roles, and career stages, from campus hires to senior leaders. Through people spotlights and regional storytelling, we showcased what growth, belonging, and purpose look like in practice. These highlighted real career journeys. And that authenticity resonated deeply with both employees and future talent. Innovation, Told Through the People Building It Innovation is core to Coupa, and this year, we made a deliberate shift to tell innovation stories through the people behind the work. From engineering breakthroughs to platform evolution, we spotlighted the builders and problem-solvers shaping what’s next. Stories like Stella Lee’s journey highlighted not just technical excellence, but collaboration, leadership growth, and trust. This was reinforced through Salvatore Lombardo’s Architecting What’s Next with AI perspective , which framed AI not as a replacement for people, but as a powerful force that amplifies human capability. His vision underscored how Coupa is responsibly architecting agentic AI, grounded in real customer needs, trusted data, and human judgment.

In an AI-driven job market, metrics often lead the conversation. At Coupa, we believe the most meaningful story lives beyond the data, in the people building, collaborating, and growing together every day. That’s why being named a 2026 Built In Best Place to Work in both Chicago and Boston is especially meaningful recognition as companies shape the future of work. Built In’s data-driven evaluation, based on compensation, benefits, and culture programs, signals to candidates that Coupa invests meaningfully in its people. To bring this recognition to life, we’re spotlighting two Coupanians, one in Chicago and another in Boston whose career journeys reflect what it truly means to grow, belong, and make an impact at Coupa.

At Coupa, our people make the difference. From optimizing complex systems to driving new ideas that power global innovation, we believe in celebrating those who step up, lean in, and go beyond what’s expected. To recognize those exceptional efforts, the Coupa India Leadership Team introduced the Extra Mile Award, a quarterly honor that highlights individuals who demonstrate ownership, creativity, and impact. These are the Coupanians who set new standards for excellence and inspire others to do the same. This quarter, we’re proud to recognize three exceptional engineers—Gyanendra Ojha, Pritesh Mantri, and Akshay Sable—whose technical brilliance and collaborative spirit are helping us build smarter, more resilient systems to shape the future of spend management.

In the world of engineering here at Coupa, I’m reminded of one of our core beliefs: powerful systems should still feel simple. Yet as organizations grow, even everyday tasks such as requesting equipment, submitting a purchase, or finding the right workflow can become more complex than they should. Tracking back to early 2024, our team asked a simple question with big implications: What if we could make the user experience for these requests effortless? What started as one little idea has grown into Smart Intake & Orchestration (SIO), a reimagined way for people to navigate requests across the Coupa platform. How It All Began Coupa has been scaling fast. With more capabilities and more global customers, complexity naturally grows too. We realized that incremental fixes weren’t going to be enough. We needed to transform the entire end-to-end journey. Our goal was clear: Make every request simple, intuitive, and human, regardless of the user or the workflow behind it. Building Something New Together I joined the project early and quickly saw its potential impact. It became one of the most collaborative efforts of my career with Product, UX, engineering, and cross-functional partners all coming together with a shared purpose. We created a flexible, scalable experience framework that supports users today and grows with them for tomorrow. This wasn’t just innovation to gain business efficiency. It was innovation rooted in empathy for our customers using our platform every day. Facing Challenges and Growing from Them With any ambitious initiative, there were moments where decisions had to be made with limited precedent. We made decisions with limited precedent, tight timelines, and alignment across many teams. Some key challenges included: Balancing speed with thoughtful execution Experimenting while staying grounded Ensuring teams worldwide rallied around a shared vision Prioritizing customer needs with long-term strategy in mind These challenges made us better and reminded us to bring people in early, test ideas quickly, and keep the user experience at the heart of everything. Launching, Learning, and Iterating We officially introduced Smart Intake & Orchestration at our Coupa Inspire customer event in May 2025. Since then, we’ve partnered closely with customers to refine, evolve, and expand the capabilities. Today, many Coupa customers are already using SIO, with more on the horizon. Here is a demo and overview of SIO for those interested in learning more. It’s just the beginning and the momentum is exciting.