Knapsack Secures $10M to Streamline Design-Engineering Handoff

Bridging the Divide Between Design and Engineering

Aligning design and engineering teams on digital product creation and implementation remains a significant hurdle for many organizations.

Numerous companies struggle with fragmented information, frequently relying on shared spreadsheets to manage design specifications and guidelines.

Designers often utilize platforms such as Figma, while engineering teams employ source code management systems like Git.

Challenges in Large Organizations

This disconnect is amplified within larger enterprises that oversee multiple brands and numerous websites.

Ineffective communication can quickly accumulate, leading to wasted resources and reduced productivity.

Introducing Knapsack: A Collaborative Solution

Knapsack emerges as a solution, offering a collaboration platform tailored for enterprises seeking to resolve discrepancies between UI designers, product managers, and engineers.

It establishes a centralized workspace that integrates with tools like Figma and Git.

This integration ensures that all design modifications and code updates are consolidated, displayed, and compared within a single environment.

Maintaining Brand Consistency

This approach guarantees that all elements remain current, preserving brand consistency across all digital products.

For instance, if a button’s size is defined as 60 pixels, this specification is documented within the system, preventing any sizing errors.

Recent Funding and AI Integration

On Thursday, the company announced a $10 million Series A funding round, increasing the total funding received to $20.8 million.

Alongside this investment, Knapsack is introducing new artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities.

This includes a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server, based on Anthropic’s open-source standard.

The MCP server is designed to improve AI models’ ability to deliver more pertinent responses by providing access to a company’s design and brand guidelines.

Currently in limited beta, this addition allows teams to leverage AI agents, such as ChatGPT and Gemini, while upholding brand and guideline adherence.

Streamlining System of Record Creation

Furthermore, an upcoming “ingestion engine” aims to simplify the creation of a system of record.

A system of record is a comprehensive collection of data or information for an organization.

Traditionally, establishing these systems can take months, but Knapsack anticipates the new engine will reduce this timeframe to just a few days.

This will facilitate quicker onboarding for new teams or projects.

Real-World Impact

“We collaborate with a major pharmaceutical company that develops numerous websites for each of its drug brands,” stated CEO Chris Strahl in an interview with TechCrunch.

“Previously, launching a new drug-related website took approximately 15 months.

Now, utilizing Knapsack, the process takes between two and three months.”

Strahl indicated that the new engine is expected to further accelerate this process.

Enhanced UI Exploration and Code Generation

Another feature, scheduled for release later this year, will enable teams to rapidly explore user interfaces (UIs) and generate functional webpages using actual code.

Company Overview

Launched in 2022, Knapsack currently serves dozens of Fortune 1000 companies, though their identities remain undisclosed.

Strahl refrained from disclosing subscription pricing, noting that it is “an enterprise product with enterprise pricing.”

The company presently employs nearly 30 full-time staff members, with 14 additional hires made possible by the recent funding.

Investor Details

The funding round was spearheaded by Builders VC, with participation from Crosslink Capital, Epic Ventures, Mana Ventures, and Lorimer Ventures.

Previous investors include Alumni, Ascend, Gradient Ventures, Parade Ventures, Founder Collective, Salesforce, and Slack Fund.

Future Vision

Strahl expressed his aspiration for Knapsack to become a comprehensive platform for all types of digital experiences.

This is particularly relevant as the capabilities of agentic AI continue to expand.

“Imagine a scenario where you’re purchasing a pair of shoes and tell a personal AI agent, ‘I’d like new running shoes to help me run more often,’” explained Strahl to TechCrunch.

“The agent would then analyze your preferences based on your history and recommend a suitable pair of shoes, integrating the purchase into your preferred app.”

“I believe that experience should be powered by Knapsack,” he added.

“There’s a vast, unexplored potential in how organizations can express their brand through agentic apps and systems, and I want Knapsack to be at the forefront of this evolution.”

Note: This article has been updated since its initial publication.