Freeform raises $67M Series B to boost AI laser production

Tech investors haven’t given up on the dream of creating physical products with the same speed and ease as writing software.

Executives at Freeformstartup that makes 3D printing machines for metal parts, told TechCrunch that the company raised $67 million Series B to expand its production platform.

Investors include Apandion, AE Ventures, Founders Fund, Linse Capital, NVidia’s NVentures, Threshold Ventures, and Two Sigma Ventures. FreeForm declined to disclose the company’s subsequent financing, which Pitchbook says is $179 million.

CEO and co-founder Erik Palitsch said the funding will allow the company to upgrade its GoldenEye press, which uses 18 lasers to mix metal powder into precise proportions, to a new model. Called Skyfall, the next iteration of the platform could use hundreds of lasers to produce thousands of kilograms of metal every day.

That is the end of the vision Palitsch and co-founder / president Thomas Ronacher launched in 2018. The two met while making a rocket engine at SpaceX, where they discovered that the industrial press metal components are expensive, finicky, and not good for mass production.

Their new company would build its platform from the ground up to achieve more flexibility and flexibility, with an emphasis on software optimization. Palitsch says Freeform’s platform is “born AI,” noting a partnership with Nvidia which allows the company to get high-end GPUs.

“I think we’re the only unnamed company that has H200 clusters in the data center,” Paltisch told TechCrunch. “What are they doing? We’re using real-time virtual reality simulations and studying all aspects of the end to end production.”

The data collected by sensors on the company’s production platform and real time allows Freeform to improve the size and scale of production.

“We have more knowledge about the physics of the metal stamping process than any other company in the world,” said Cameron Kay.

While Palitsch said he would not reveal any specific customers, he said the company is already offering “very important” parts to consumers. Now, the company wants to hire up to 100 new employees and expand its facilities to begin working on the remainder of its contract.

Manufacturing-as-a-service has grown as a category as entrepreneurs have become increasingly interested in the development of cars, robots, and energy systems. For example, Hadrian recently acquired money cost of $1.6B from his investors as he makes it automatic production for security, and VulcanForms and Divergent have received hundreds of millions to develop their metal stamping services.