Milan-based Pillar, a fintech digitizing construction finance, has closed a €3.2 million pre-seed round. Emblem led the investment, joined by international backers Pareto, Plug and Play, and Kima Ventures, as well as Italian investors B Heroes, Vento, Eden Ventures, and IAG.
Prominent entrepreneurs also participated, including the founders of Aria, Convelio, Mobile First Company, 1000farmacie, Sibill, Futura, and Lexroom, alongside business angels such as Paola Bonomo, Ignazio Rocco Da Torrepadula, and Enrico Pandian.
Founded by three entrepreneurs with deep tech and startup experience, Gabriel Guinea Montalvo, Paolo Tarsia Incuria, and Lorenzo Demaio, Pillar targets a core sector of the Italian and European economy that still relies on legacy processes. Construction remains central to Italy’s growth, accounting for 11.4 per cent of GDP in 2023 and roughly one-third of GDP growth over the past two years, yet advanced technology adoption is limited.
The founders saw firsthand the gap between the complexity of construction finance and the potential of fintech, and set out to build software tailored to builders’ needs.
Pillar gives construction companies a precise, real-time view of where money goes, tracking revenues, expenses, and margins at both the company level and for each project. Designed to be simple and intuitive, the platform uses AI to automate controls, reconcile bank transactions, and flag anomalies before they become real problems.
Its key differentiator is its ability to integrate data from different sources (from tax records to bank accounts), while also automatically capturing information generated directly on site, such as delivery notes, hours worked, completed tasks, and progress reports.
Since launch, Pillar has gained strong traction, with more than 100 clients, 350 projects managed, more than 500 workers tracked, and over 40,000 invoices processed.
With the new funding, the company will accelerate product development, strengthen go-to-market efforts, and expand the team to scale.
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