Knapsack, a leading design system platform transforming how enterprises build digital experiences, has announced a $10 million Series A funding round led by Builders VC, with participation from Crosslink Capital, EPIC Ventures, and Mana Ventures. Founded by Chris Strahl, Knapsack enables design and development teams to work in harmony - turning design systems into dynamic, living products that scale effortlessly across organizations.

Scaling Design Systems for the Modern Enterprise

Knapsack’s platform serves as an Intelligent Product Engine, combining design, code, and content into one connected workspace. Instead of treating design systems as static documentation, Knapsack allows teams to continuously iterate and deploy UI components at enterprise speed. The result is faster release cycles, consistent brand experiences, and a direct bridge between design intent and developer execution.

Enterprises today face a massive challenge: fragmented design assets, duplicated codebases, and inefficient collaboration between design and engineering. Knapsack solves this by offering a centralized hub for design tokens, components, and documentation, all synced in real time across teams. This automation not only increases output velocity but ensures every product touchpoint - from mobile to web - stays visually and functionally consistent.

The Rise of the Product Engine Era

The funding marks Knapsack’s next phase of growth, as it cements its position in the evolving world of digital product infrastructure. With AI now infusing every part of the product lifecycle, Knapsack’s mission is to empower design systems that can self-adapt, learn, and evolve with usage data.

The company’s Intelligent Product Engine is already driving results for Fortune 500 enterprises seeking to unify sprawling digital ecosystems. By automating the connection between design libraries and code repositories, Knapsack is helping large organizations ship experiences 3x faster, while eliminating the friction that often delays product launches.

It’s here that founders can take a powerful cue: what Knapsack is doing mirrors a truth about sustainable startup growth - the path to scalability doesn’t come from doing more; it comes from creating systems that make doing more inevitable.

When founders shift from “project thinking” to “system thinking,” everything changes. Knapsack didn’t just build another design tool - they built an ecosystem that scales itself. That’s the ultra value founders need to internalize. Your company’s next growth breakthrough won’t come from hiring faster or building more features. It will come when you design processes that compound efficiency, autonomy, and clarity across your team. Systems outperform hustle every time.

The reason companies like Knapsack attract top-tier investors isn’t only product innovation; it’s operational philosophy. They’ve architected a model where collaboration becomes a product, not a byproduct. That’s the mindset shift that separates startups that grow from startups that scale.

Building Bridges Between Design and Development

As organizations accelerate digital transformation, the divide between design and engineering has become a major bottleneck. Knapsack closes that gap by enabling real-time design system governance, ensuring every line of code directly corresponds to an approved visual asset. The result is faster iteration without creative compromise - something legacy systems rarely achieve.

Knapsack’s CEO, Chris Strahl, has long advocated for the alignment of design and development cultures. He believes that design systems should serve as a company’s digital DNA - a single source of truth that brings clarity to chaos. This principle has shaped Knapsack’s product roadmap, which focuses on extensibility, automation, and deep integrations with enterprise tools.

By blending structured design workflows with flexible coding environments, Knapsack eliminates redundant rework while maintaining creative agility. The company’s ability to bring cohesion to global digital teams is what sets it apart in a crowded market of UI and collaboration tools.

A Vote of Confidence in the Future of Unified Product Creation

For investors like Builders VC and Crosslink Capital, the decision to back Knapsack reflects confidence in the future of system-based product creation. As more enterprises move toward continuous delivery models, the need for flexible design systems that scale with organizational complexity is exploding.

This Series A funding will fuel Knapsack’s expansion into new enterprise verticals, enhance its AI-driven automation layer, and grow its ecosystem of integrations - from Figma to GitHub and beyond. The company also plans to deepen its analytics capabilities, allowing teams to measure the impact of design systems on time-to-market and developer efficiency.

The Next Frontier of Design System Intelligence

In a world where digital products define brand identity, Knapsack is giving companies the blueprint to move faster without breaking consistency. Its Intelligent Product Engine is not just a tool but an enabler of modern digital culture - one where teams design once and deploy everywhere.

The $10 million Series A marks a defining moment not only for Knapsack but for the broader movement toward AI-powered design system intelligence. The company’s journey underscores a universal truth: the startups that win are the ones that turn complexity into clarity - and do it at scale.

With its innovative approach, proven traction, and growing market demand, Knapsack is set to become the backbone of enterprise design operations for the next decade.