- Prolo, a London construction procurement startup, has raised £4.2 million in an oversubscribed Seed round led by Triple Point Ventures.
- The startup combines AI-powered sourcing with up to 90 days of flexible credit, helping small contractors overcome cash-flow challenges that limit access to larger projects.
- According to Prolo, supply chain disruptions and manual workflows cause approximately 40% of construction projects to run about five months behind schedule, citing the Chartered Institute of Building.
James Morris-Manuel initially aimed to improve procurement, not create a lending platform. However, Prolo introduced a key feature: offering contractors 90 days of credit to address payment delays that often last months.
Prolo secured £4.2 million in seed funding, its first external capital since founding in June 2024. Triple Point Ventures led the round, joined by Anamcara Capital, Concrete VC, Foundation Ventures, Haatch, Koro Capital, Love Ventures, and Portfolio Ventures. The round was oversubscribed, with eight investors forming a broad syndicate for this stage.
“For decades, SME contractors have been penalised by a lack of price transparency and inefficient ordering, often paying a premium simply because they lack the time and purchasing power of the Tier-1 giants,” says Morris-Manuel, founder and CEO of Prolo.
Why procurement is construction’s most expensive blind spot
Smaller contractors often incur costs that larger firms can negotiate away. Grand View Research estimates the procurement software market will reach about $10 billion in 2025, growing nearly 10% annually. However, most spending targets enterprise solutions for large buyers, not SME contractors who may order materials through platforms like WhatsApp.
Morris-Manuel has previously addressed similar market gaps. He founded Virtual Walkthrough, a PropTech company that became a European market leader before its acquisition by Matterport, where he later led the EMEA business from London. With Prolo, he is now focused on improving construction procurement through software.
The startup provides site managers a single point of contact via WhatsApp, email, or phone, connecting them to an outsourced procurement team of AI systems and human staff. This team accesses a network of over 185 suppliers to secure trade pricing on materials, equipment, and plant hire, rates usually available only to Tier 1 contractors. Site managers can quickly get quotes and place orders for bulk timber or urgent plant hire without contacting multiple merchants.
The platform also lets contractors defer payments for up to 90 days and integrates a credit feature similar to embedded finance.
Only a few competitors combine sourcing with credit
Prolo is not the only startup leveraging AI in construction operations.
Pillar raised €12 million to develop a financial and operations platform for contractors, while MeltPlan secured $14 million to apply AI to pre-construction planning. US-based Adaptive raised $6.5 million from a16z to auction back-construction office finance, and Parspec completed a $20 million Series A to help distributors bid on and supply construction products using AI.
While most platforms focus on digitising workflows, bidding, or planning, Prolo uniquely combines sourcing and credit into a single product. This approach is more challenging to underwrite but offers contractors a compelling reason to return.
Triple Point Ventures has backed Skin Analytics, LendInvest and Capital on Tap before, so it’s not new to either vertical software or embedded finance, and this deal sits squarely at the intersection of both.
“Procurement remains one of the most manual and margin-sensitive parts of running a construction business, and Prolo has a huge opportunity to change that. By using AI to help firms automate procurement, find the right products at the best prices, and improve their margins, Prolo is solving a real and urgent problem for the industry,” says Sam Stone, investor at Triple Point Ventures.
According to the company, the £4.2 million will fund go-to-market sales, marketing, and product development as Prolo expands its base of SME contractors. The company currently employs about 13 people, according to Crunchbase.
While sourcing is straightforward, the credit feature warrants attention. Extending 90-day payment terms to subcontractors introduces a different risk profile than simply matching them with cheaper suppliers. It remains to be seen which direction Prolo will take.
