Closing the first round of series D funding, Carbon, the company behind high-speedContinuous Liquid Interface Production (CLIP) 3D printing, has raised a total of $200 million.
Estimates now place the valuation of Carbon at $1.7 billion – creating the second3D printing unicorn of 2017.
The money has been contributed by a number of strategic investors including Hydra Ventures (the corporate capital fund backed by adidas) andGE Ventures.
Expanding additive for end use production
As discussed inour interview with Carbon CEO and co-founder Joe DeSimone, the company’s goal is “to change the way people design, engineer, make and deliver the product to the customer.” He adds,
“Carbon is really focused on production, and I think we’re uniquely positioned in that regard.”
This year, Carbon has been ramping up its efforts to achieve additive manufacturing at scale. At the start of the year the company announced thehigh profile Futurecraft 4D sneaker projectwith adidas, and later it launchedthe SpeedCell system作为一个总-one industrial post processing solution.
Funds from this round will reportedly be used to “fast-track” the company’s “product roadmap.” This includes further integration with cloud-based product lifecycle management solutions, cemented bya partnership with Oracle Cloud.3D scanning, sensor and simulation technologies will also find further use with CLIP and, according to DeSimone, Carbon will be looking toward the production of personalized products “that have been previously impossible to produce.”
Global expansion
Carbon has also set its sights on a global expansion. Investment partner JSR Corporation, a chemicals company headquartered in Tokyo, has been helping Carbon reach Japan and the Asia Pacific region. “We believe Carbon’s digital light synthesis technology will play a crucial role in transforming manufacturing in multiple industrial sectors,” comments Nobu Koshiba, President of JSR, “We are looking forward to continuing this momentum together.”
本轮的其他投资者包括美国的富达管理与研究公司，香港的Archina Capital，Emerson Elemental和苏格兰投资公司Baillie Gifford。贝利·吉福德（Baillie Gifford）的投资经理彼得·单赫斯特（Peter Singshurst）说：“碳正在以长期但难以捉摸的3D制造业的承诺来表现出来，”
“Coupled with an innovative business model and a first-class team, we believe that Carbon has the makings of a large, valuable, and important business.”
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Featured image shows Carbon co-founder and CEO Joe DeSimone presenting CLIP 3D printing in an introductory TED Talk. Photo by Bret Hartman/TED
