How This Paris Startup Is Quietly Redefining Interior Design Software

Jan de Vries · 2026-09-29

Let's talk about something that's been bugging interior designers for years. The software. It's either too complex, too expensive, or just... not built for what they actually do. Architects got all the fancy tools. Interior pros? They've been making do. That's where Rayon comes in. This Paris-based company just landed a $10.8 million Series A round. That's serious fuel for their mission to build the drawing layer interior design has been waiting for. ### The Funding Picture The round was led by Partech, with Northzone, Foundamental, and Seedcamp joining in. Total funding now sits around $17.3 million. Angel investors? Pretty impressive names. Think Norman Foster of Foster + Partners, David Basulto from ArchDaily, and Joe Thomas of Loom. What's got investors excited? Réza Malekzadeh from Partech put it perfectly: "What drew us to Rayon is how rare this kind of opportunity actually is. Interior design has been underserved by software for decades... Pairing that foundation with AI at this moment is a genuinely unique window." He's right. This isn't just another CAD tool. It's something different. ### What Rayon Actually Does Founded in late 2021 by Bastien Dolla and Stanislas Chaillou, Rayon lives right in your browser. No downloads, no heavy installations. It brings plans, styling, specs, and schedules together in one shared space. You can import PDFs, images, DWG files... build your own block libraries... take a project from that first "can we do this?" sketch all the way to execution. The magic? The drawing and the data live together. Change the drawing, and the specifications update automatically. No more manual sync headaches. Teams can edit at the same time, too. Share work with a simple link instead of exporting massive files. The platform already offers: - Over 4,000 library items - More than 100 templates - Tools tailored for housing, retail, and office spaces ### From Skepticism to "Wow" Bastien Dolla, the CEO, says people often underestimate it. "People open Rayon in a browser and expect a toy web application," he admits. "But they discover performance and features that beat most legacy CAD software. Our superpower is making professional-grade CAD approachable." The user base tells the story. It's not just indie studios. Large property operators, hospitality groups, even Virgin Atlantic uses it to design their airport lounges. The savings are real: - Hostel group CityHub reports saving over $10,800 a month on in-house feasibility studies. - Coloc Housing saves about $11,900 monthly by testing layouts before bringing architects on board. - Design studio Nolt Mathis switched by canceling a fifteen-year-old CAD subscription. ### The AI Future Is Already Here Rayon isn't waiting around. They already have a floor plan vectorizer that turns a scanned or photographed plan into an editable drawing—walls, openings, zones, all recognized. Another tool generates blocks from photographs. Version 4, coming later this year, promises a full AI suite built right into the 3D environment. No separate tools bolted on. Stanislas Chaillou, the COO, explains the philosophy: "Interior design needs its own approach to AI, not a borrowed one. We're building ours directly into the drawing experience." ### What's Next? The new capital will fuel three big pushes: launching 3D capabilities, deeply integrating AI, and scaling their go-to-market. They've already dropped a mobile-first app, a presentation mode for client meetings, and an expanded template library. The goal? To unlock what Rayon calls a "nearly $54 billion industry" that's been on the sidelines for too long. It's not about replacing designers. It's about giving them the tools to work faster, smarter, and more creatively. And honestly? That's a future worth drawing.