Electronics and manufacturing company Desktop Metal closed $115 million in Series D financing from a series of investors, including New Enterprise Associates, GV, GE Ventures, Future Fund, Lux Capital, Vertex Ventures, Tyche Partners, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, and Saudi Aramco Energy Ventures.
Desktop Metal was founded with the goal of making metal 3D printing accessible for engineering teams. In 2013, CEO Ric Fulop began collaborating with world-leading experts in materials science, engineering, and 3D printing. Their work during the subsequent two years drew multiple independent inventions together to form the basis for Desktop Metal’s business: two metal 3D printing systems for the full product life cycle, from prototyping to mass production.
Unlike laser-based systems that selectively melt metal powder, the Desktop Metal printer extrudes bound metal rods – similar to how a plastic FDM printer works. This eliminates the safety requirements associated with metal 3D printing, while opening up new alloys and enabling new features like the use of closed-cell infill for lightweight strength.
In its announcement, the company said the funding will fuel the company’s speed to market, expand its sales programs, and accelerate advanced research and development.