Pomegra
Paris-based Rayon raised a €10M Series A led by Partech, with Northzone, Foundamental and Seedcamp returning, to add 3D and AI to its browser-based CAD tool.
Key Takeaways
- Rayon closed a €10M Series A led by Partech on September 29, 2026; valuation was not disclosed.
- Northzone, Foundamental and Seedcamp returned, bringing total funding to about €16M.
- The money funds 3D, more AI features and go-to-market expansion, with a V4 release due by December 2026.
Lead
Rayon, the Paris-based maker of browser-based drawing software for interior designers, raised €10M in Series A funding on September 29, 2026. Partech led the round. Existing backers Northzone, Foundamental and Seedcamp participated again. The company did not disclose a valuation.
The raise follows a €4M seed round in September 2023, co-led by Northzone and Foundamental, and a €1.7M pre-seed round in 2022 led by Seedcamp. Total funding now stands at roughly €16M. Rayon says users have created more than 4 million drawings on the platform.
What Does Rayon Actually Sell?
Rayon sells a CAD application that runs entirely in the browser and targets interior and experiential design rather than architecture or engineering. Users import PDFs, images and DWG plans, build custom component libraries, and keep plans, specifications and schedules in one shared workspace. Several people can edit the same project at once through shareable links.
The current V3 release includes a vectorizer that converts scanned or photographed floor plans into editable drawings. It also generates CAD blocks from photos and offers an AI assistant and a library search agent. Co-founder and CEO Bastien Dolla says people expect "a toy web application" when they open Rayon, then find performance and features better than legacy CAD software.
What Will the €10M Pay For?
The funding goes to three areas: launching 3D, expanding the AI features, and scaling sales and international reach. A V4 release is planned before the end of 2026. It is expected to bring 3D modeling, generative tools and agentic AI for task automation, plus a mobile-first app, a client presentation mode and a larger template library.
The company employs about 35 people. Its named customers include Virgin Atlantic, which uses Rayon for airport lounge planning, and the hostel group CityHub. Rayon says CityHub saves €10,000 a month on feasibility studies, and that the housing company Coloc Housing saves €11,000 a month. Those figures come from the company's own case studies and have not been independently verified.
How Crowded Is the Field Rayon Is Entering?
The field is crowded at both ends. Incumbents Autodesk (ADSK), Trimble (TRMB) and Nemetschek own the desktop CAD and BIM tools most design firms already use. Browser-native startups such as Snaptrude and Arcol, and AI drawing tools such as Synaps, are chasing the same shift away from installed software.
Rayon's bet is narrower than its rivals'. It builds for interior designers, a group that has typically worked in tools designed for architects. Dolla previously worked at Spacemaker, the Norwegian startup Autodesk acquired in 2020, so the founding team has seen the incumbent-acquires-startup outcome up close.
What Does the Round Say About the Last One?
The round shows that the seed-stage thesis held up, though the evidence is thin. A €4M seed in 2023 produced a 35-person company, a 4-million-drawing usage figure and a lead investor in Partech. Rayon has not disclosed revenue, paying-customer counts or retention, and the drawings figure measures activity rather than income.
The gap between the seed and the Series A is about three years. That is a long time for a venture-backed software company and suggests Rayon spent it building V3 and finding a niche before raising again. The decision to keep the same three investors, rather than replace them, points to insider conviction. It also means the Series A price was set with limited outside competition, or at least none that was made public.
Northzone partner Michiel Kotting has described architecture and design as long-time laggards in adopting new technology. The observation explains the investor appetite but not whether designers will switch. CAD files, plugins and habits are sticky, and DWG compatibility only removes part of that friction.
What Comes Next?
The next test is the V4 launch. If 3D ships on schedule by December 2026 and the agentic features work on real projects, Rayon closes a feature gap with rivals that already model in three dimensions. If the launch slips, larger competitors with more engineering staff can copy the AI features faster than Rayon can build out 3D.
International expansion is the other open question. Rayon has not said which markets it will prioritize, or how many of the 4 million drawings come from outside France.
Outlook
Rayon enters its next stage with about €16M raised in total, a specific customer niche and a V4 release due within months. The Series A gives it room to compete with Autodesk and Trimble on features and with Snaptrude and Arcol on speed, but the missing revenue and valuation figures leave the strength of the round hard to judge. The December 2026 release is the first hard checkpoint.
