Freeform, a startup pioneering advanced 3D-printing systems for metal components, has successfully raised $67 million in a Series B funding round. The capital injection is earmarked for scaling the company’s AI-native manufacturing platform, which aims to bridge the gap between digital software speed and physical product fabrication.
Strategic Backing for Advanced Manufacturing
The funding round attracted a high-profile group of investors, including Nvidia’s NVentures, Founders Fund, Apandion, AE Ventures, Linse Capital, Threshold Ventures, and Two Sigma Ventures. While the startup opted not to confirm its post-money valuation, PitchBook data indicates the company is valued at approximately $179 million.
From SpaceX Roots to “Skyfall” Scale
Founded in 2018 by former SpaceX engineers, Freeform was born out of a frustration with the slow, inconsistent nature of existing industrial metal-printing machines. CEO Erik Palitsch noted that the company’s current system, “GoldenEye,” utilizes 18 lasers to fuse metal powders into precision parts.
The new funding will accelerate the development of “Skyfall,” a next-generation platform designed to deploy hundreds of lasers simultaneously. This upgrade is expected to enable the production of thousands of kilograms of high-precision metal components daily.
AI-Native Physics Simulations
Freeform differentiates itself through an “AI-native” approach, leveraging on-site H200 GPU clusters from Nvidia. According to Palitsch, the company is likely the only manufacturing entity operating such advanced data centers on-site to run real-time, physics-based simulations.
By integrating sensor data with these simulations, the company claims to possess the world’s most comprehensive dataset on the physics of metal printing. This allows for rapid iteration, significantly improving both production quality and throughput for complex, mission-critical components.
Scaling Operations and Market Context
Although the company keeps its client list confidential, it is currently delivering hundreds of mission-critical parts weekly. To meet its growing contract backlog, Freeform plans to aggressively expand its workforce, aiming to hire up to 100 new employees and increase facility capacity.
Freeform’s growth aligns with a broader surge in “Manufacturing-as-a-Service” investments. As venture capital shifts toward the automation of defense, robotics, and energy systems, competitors such as Hadrian, VulcanForms, and Divergent have also secured significant funding to modernize industrial metal production.