Kraaft raises €13M to expand internationally and enhance Its "WhatsApp for Construction"

Riding the wave of success with its communication app tailored to construction professionals, Kraaft is aiming for international growth following a €13 million funding round. The investment will also support the development of new features for the platform.

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Obsessed with simplifying communication for construction teams facing diverse challenges and jargon, Marc Nègre and his co-founders launched Kraaft in 2019. After an initial €3.2M round to strengthen its presence in France, this latest funding marks a new milestone. “Our two goals are internationalisation and feature development,” summarises Marc Nègre, Kraaft's president and co-founder.

Backed by established and new investors

Kraaft secured this funding with support from its existing investors and two newcomers. “Dawn Capital led the round, demonstrating its expertise in helping startups expand internationally. We were also joined by Brick & Mortar Ventures, a construction industry specialist,” explained Nègre.

The startup already serves over 1,000 clients across France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and parts of francophone West Africa. Clients include local subsidiaries of major construction firms like Vinci and Bouygues, as well as SMEs with more than five employees. Before expanding further, Kraaft’s leadership carefully considered their strategy. “In 2024, we were profitable for several months and could have grown without raising funds. However, while we were ahead of the curve three years ago, the construction software market is now heating up. It’s the perfect time to accelerate and avoid falling behind.”

Two key ambitions

1. International Expansion: Kraaft is targeting English-speaking markets like the UK and Ireland as stepping stones to the United States, a future aspiration. Additionally, the company is eyeing Germany. "We aim to penetrate these markets quickly. Since we began prospecting in September, we’ve already gained about ten clients in each region,” said Nègre. The goal is to replicate their French success and secure 50 new clients per month by the end of 2025.

2. Feature Development: Dubbed the “WhatsApp for construction,” Kraaft already provides tools for data collection via chat, data structuring through automated reports, and data distribution by extracting information for clients or stakeholders.

To enhance its offering, the company plans to focus on three major areas:

Scheduling: Helping SMEs allocate teams across projects efficiently.
APIs: Ensuring seamless integration with other platforms.
AI Enhancements: Advancing automatic classification of construction site data.

This dual focus on global growth and technological innovation positions Kraaft to not only scale rapidly but also maintain its edge in the competitive construction software market.