Freeform’s jump from lab machine to factory floor

Freeform completed a $67 million Series B backing to fund a production-scale upgrade of its laser-based metal additive platform. The company intends to move from a development-grade printer to a multi-laser system built for sustained, high-volume output.

Leadership frames the effort as integration of intensive compute and sensing: on-site GPU clusters run physics simulations while factory sensors feed closed-loop controls that refine process fidelity. That software-and-data emphasis is designed to speed iteration, reduce scrap and raise per-shift throughput.

The immediate engineering milestone is a new product family codenamed Skyfall, which replaces the current tool that uses a small number of lasers with a concept that scales to many times that beam count and greater daily metal output. Management says the upgrade will transform the unit economics of their shop floor.

Investors in the round included venture firms and strategic backers, providing both capital and industry connections. A market-data provider cited a post-money valuation figure; the company itself did not publish that number.

Operationally, Freeform reports it is already delivering several hundred mission-critical components and expects to expand capacity to meet an existing contract backlog. To do that it plans a hiring push and physical expansion of its production footprint.

This financing arrives amid growing investor interest in manufacturing-as-a-service offerings, where startups are building vertically integrated stacks that combine hardware, software and fractional production for customers in aerospace, defense and industrial markets.

• Key technical elements: expanded laser arrays, dense sensor networks and real-time simulation on powerful GPUs.
• Near-term commercial steps: scale throughput, staff up to ~100 new roles, fulfill contracted parts orders.
• Strategic positioning: differentiate with data-driven process control rather than purely mechanical improvements.