Freeform Raises $67M for High-Throughput Metal 3D Printing Platform
3D Printing
Metal Components
AI
Nvidia
Fundraising
Manufacturing-as-a-Service
TechCrunch Founder Summit
6
Scaling Up, Not a Revolution
Media Hype
5/10
Real Impact
6/10
What is the Viqus Verdict?
We evaluate each news story based on its real impact versus its media hype to offer a clear and objective perspective.
AI Analysis:
The substantial funding signifies progress in a mature technology area – high-throughput 3D metal printing – but the investment doesn’t represent a transformative shift in manufacturing. Media coverage is moderate, driven by the prominent investors involved, but the underlying technology itself is not a disruptive innovation.
Article Summary
Freeform, a metal 3D printing company founded in 2018 by former SpaceX engineers Erik Palitsch and Thomas Ronacher, has raised $67 million in Series B funding. The company’s technology, centered around the GoldenEye and Skyfall printing systems, utilizes hundreds of lasers to produce metal parts at a significantly higher throughput than traditional industrial methods. This new capital will be used to upgrade the Skyfall platform, further enhancing its manufacturing capabilities. Key to Freeform’s approach is its ‘AI native’ platform, leveraging Nvidia’s GPUs for real-time physics simulations and learning the end-to-end manufacturing workflow. The company’s technology allows for rapid improvements in production quality and quantity through data collected by sensors and simulations. While the company declined to disclose specific customers, it’s already supplying ‘mission-critical’ parts. The funding round highlights the growing interest in manufacturing-as-a-service, exemplified by recent investments in companies like Hadrian and VulcanForms. This investment signals a broader trend toward advanced manufacturing solutions.Key Points
- Freeform secured $67 million in Series B funding.
- The funding will be used to upgrade the Skyfall printing system.
- The company's technology leverages Nvidia GPUs for real-time physics simulations and AI-driven manufacturing optimization.