The round was led by Emblem, a French fund specialising in pre-seed investments that has supported leading global scaleups such as Lovable, and includes international VCs such as Pareto (USA), Plug and Play (USA) and Kima Ventures (France), along with Italian VCs.

Pillar is the only software that enables construction companies to know exactly where their money goes and to monitor revenues, expenses, and margins in real time, both at company level and on individual projects. The platform, designed to be simple and intuitive, uses artificial intelligence to automate controls, reconcile banking transactions, and identify anomalies, before they become real problems.

The company was founded by three entrepreneurs with extensive tech and startup backgrounds both in Italy and abroad, with the goal of innovating a key sector for the Italian and European economy, constructions, which is still marked by legacy processes and operational inefficiencies. Construction is a fundamental pillar of the Italian economy: in 2023 the sector accounted for 11.4% of national GDP and contributed about one-third of GDP growth over the past two years (Bank of Italy, Annual Report 2024). However, the adoption of advanced technologies remains limited: according to Censis, only 20% of construction companies use software to manage building sites, while about 60% have yet to adopt any digital solutions.

Pillar’s founders – Gabriel Guinea Montalvo, Paolo Tarsia Incuria, and Lorenzo Demaio – directly experienced this gap between the complexity of construction finance and the potential of fintech technologies, and decided to create a software solution tailored to builders’ needs.

Pillar’s platform allows construction companies to keep business and project costs under control automatically, offering a constantly updated view of profitability. 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, thanks to AI assistants deployed via WhatsApp.

Since launch, Pillar has already witnessed strong traction, with more than 100 clients, 350 projects managed, more than 500 workers tracked, and over 40,000 invoices processed. The team currently has over 15 people. With the new funding, the startup will accelerate product development, strengthen its go-to-market strategy, and grow the team to scale successfully.

“This investment, at one of the highest valuations ever recorded for a pre-seed round in Italy, is an important signal of confidence confirming both the attractiveness and potential of our solution in a traditional and under-digitalised market such as constructions,” said Gabriel Guinea Montalvo, CEO & Co-Founder of Pillar. “The participation of international investors such as Emblem, which had already demonstrated its ability to back successful startups like Lovable, underscores the strength of our vision.”

“The construction industry is huge and currently undergoing a strong push toward digitalisation, driven by generational change, demand for greater efficiency, and the need to navigate increasingly complex regulations," added Guillaume Durao, General Partner, Emblem. "It is fertile ground for mobile applications and AI solutions, but at the same time poses unique challenges for software vendors, as it is highly fragmented and requires a deep understanding of user needs to build an effective go-to-market strategy. To tackle the challenge of innovating this sector, we chose to back the Pillar team for its expertise and qualities, similar to those we’ve seen in many successful teams."

Pillar aims to establish itself as the first true European fintech player for construction, creating an ecosystem for the financial and administrative management of construction companies. The company targets reaching 2,500 companies by 2027 and growing its team to 30 members by that year.

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