The Borken-based (North Rhine-Westphalia) start-up "conmeet" has developed an AI-powered management system specifically for craft and construction companies with ten to several hundred employees. (Photo: © conmeet/AI-generated with Midjourney)
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September 2, 2026
"conmeet" has developed an AI control system specifically for medium-sized businesses. The entire project is at the heart of the system. AI agents and AI assistants can take over many tasks.
The market for software for tradespeople is large – and it continues to grow. In recent years, numerous new companies have joined the established developers – primarily startups offering streamlined solutions for micro and small businesses. However, one segment seems to have been neglected. "There is no modern ERP system for medium-sized craft businesses," Benedikt Kisner observed after selling his shares in the IT service provider "netgo" and subsequently consulting for companies. In 2023, he set out to fill this market gap. He founded " conmeet " together with Lennart Eckerlein and Leandro Ananias.
“The old IT companies built their software around document types like quotes, orders, invoices, or delivery notes. We focus on complete projects,” Kisner explains. He sums up the difference in six words: “We are process-oriented. Others are document-oriented.” In his view, this approach is more efficient. Surprisingly, it manifests itself in a long-established relic of office organization – the hanging file system. “Many experienced tradespeople complain that information is now scattered everywhere. In conmeet, we consolidate all information in a clean and consistent data structure within a virtual hanging file system.”
At its core, conmeet consists of four process types: inquiry, quick project, project, and maintenance contract. They differ primarily in the number of available functions. "Processes in the trades are highly complex. Our software can handle them, yet remains easy to use," says the startup's CEO.
However, this requires users to familiarize themselves thoroughly with the software settings. The guiding principle is: those who structure the process chains well from the outset benefit later from a high degree of automation. "If a customer accepts an offer, an order confirmation can be automatically prepared or sent directly. If the stock level of a vehicle falls below a certain threshold, the employee in the office is notified and can order more. If a customer is behind on payments, a customized dunning process is initiated," says Benedikt Kisner, citing three examples.
Operations management
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Operations management
"Communication plays a very important role in conmeet," he emphasizes. Emails can be edited and sent directly from within the software.
There's an app for technicians. It shows them, for example, upcoming appointments at the company and on the construction site. They receive detailed work instructions, access all information relevant to a job (such as contact details, maintenance history, plans, and checklists), can record working hours, submit vacation requests, track services rendered, and order materials and arrange for them to be picked up from the supplier. Colleagues and customers can be contacted via chat or email. "So there's no need for WhatsApp or Teams," explains the managing director of conmeet.
Conmeet users can also invite other companies. This allows them to, for example, jointly maintain a construction diary, log defects, exchange documents, or send messages in a project chat. Further features of this kind are planned to improve collaboration between trades. Benedikt Kisner has a vision: He hopes that "Let's have a conmeet!" will become a common phrase on construction sites.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is a central component of conmeet. "With us, AI can consciously control everything a user can control." However, to prevent the digital assistants from becoming autonomous, they receive clearly defined instructions that they must meticulously follow step by step. "Humans can allow assistants and agents to work autonomously in the background, but they alone decide what rights they have and who retains final control."
An employee from the office of a craft business can instruct an AI assistant to enter customer data into the system, create a quote, or create a task. An AI agent can schedule appointments or inquire about material prices or product data from wholesalers. It accesses their online catalogs via an interface such as IDS Connect or OMD. If this isn't possible, it either sends an email with a link to a form, or the AI telephone assistant calls a supplier directly. "Everything flows into a single table, and the supplier's material data is automatically linked to the company's data," Kisner emphasizes, adding: "Conmeet allows you to build various agents, such as a quote calculation assistant, a time tracking assistant, or an inventory management assistant, which can even interact with each other."
The AI agent could also order materials directly, but this is currently limited. The reason: many interfaces are outdated. Kisner hopes that the API interface will soon become the standard across the board.
More experienced users will likely find the MCP server useful. It establishes a connection between AI models and AI agents with external sources. This allows CRM systems such as HubSpot or Pipedrive to be securely integrated with the AI control system.
Investors: The conmeet founders Benedikt Kisner, Leandro Ananias, and Lennart Eckerlein developed their software using their own funds from mid-2023 to the end of 2025. At the beginning of 2026, they raised external capital for the first time. As part of a €1,3 million pre -seed financing round, the venture capital fund May Ventures invested in the IT company from Borken (North Rhine-Westphalia). The founding trio also contributed their own capital. At the beginning of August, they secured € 6 million in seed funding from the venture capital investors Smedvig Ventures and Reimann Investors.
There is no free demo version of conmeet. Interested parties can get a first look at the software's features during an approximately one-hour appointment. Others can join later. Those who like the product commit to a minimum one-year contract. There is a right of withdrawal within the first two months. "Most companies sign a long-term contract to secure financial advantages," says Benedikt Kisner.
The price for using conmeet depends primarily on the number of users. AI agents will be charged separately. A basic fee is planned. Token consumption will also be billed additionally.
The conmeet team provides "very intensive" support to its clients during data migration. The longest migration took eight days – "for a company with a three-figure number of employees," according to Kisner.
First, key users of the software are familiarized with its system logic. This training takes approximately two half-days. "Experienced users with basic business knowledge can easily get to grips with conmeet after two productive four-hour sessions, are able to work with it immediately, and pass on their knowledge," says the startup's CEO. In some cases, individual modules were also covered in additional training sessions during the implementation phase, each lasting one to two hours.
A digital assistant is available at all times, drawing its knowledge from a document pool of 4.500 pages. New functions added via updates are explained in writing or via video.
AI in the Trades: On handwerksblatt.de you will find further current application examples for the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the trades – for example in our 16-part special feature " Artificial Intelligence in the Trades – an Assistant called KaI " or, for example, in the online articles " Creating and recalculating offers with AI " (software "das programm"), " 'Kiki' is always available " (AI telephone assistant from "Heykiki"), " Chatbot from handz.on provides support in the office and on the construction site " (chatbot from "handz.on") or " Bundling all communication channels in one system " (AI system from the software company "plancraft").
Conmeet users access the AI control system via a web browser and an app. This system is located in the cloud across various data centers in Europe. "So even if some locations fail, we're still online," emphasizes Benedikt Kisner.
The start-up places the highest priority on the security of its customers' data. Relevant certifications (ISO 9001, ISO/IEC 27001, 27017 and 27018) are intended to ensure trust. "To my knowledge, this currently makes us the most certified provider of software for tradespeople on the market."
Conmeet currently relies on Anthropic's artificial intelligence models, hosted on a dedicated instance. "We guarantee our customers that the AI will not use their data for training purposes," Kisner points out, referring to corresponding contractual agreements. In the future, he plans to offer users additional AI solutions that are similarly powerful but less expensive than Anthropic.
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