MIT CSAIL spinout Inkbit this week announced that it has raised $30 million. The Series B, led by Phoenix Venture Partners LLC, brings the firm’s total funding up to $45 million. PVP joins existing partners like industrial 3D printing giant Stratasys, DSM Venturing, Ocado, 3M, IMA and Saint-Gobain.
Inkbit was founded in 2017, building on technology developed with a financial assist from DARPA. The company currently holds the exclusive licensing rights to that technology. Its primary differentiator from the slew of existing 3D printers is a vision and AI system designed to identify and correct mistakes during the printing process.
Mistakes can be quite frequent — and costly — in additive manufacturing. Inkbit’s technology uses imaging to scan each printed layer, compare it against the original plan and then adjust accordingly to correct errors on the fly. The latest round of funding follows the February release of the company’s Vista printer, which builds on Inkbit’s Vision-Controlled Jetting (VCJ) closed-loop feedback technology.
“Inkbit is currently experiencing significant growth and we are excited to have the opportunity to continue to build our talented team and scale the company to meet customer demand,” co-founder and CEO Davide Marini said in a statement. “The opportunities for additive manufacturing are growing as adoption of 3D printing for full-scale production increases. We look forward to using our raised capital to continue evolving and innovating within this dynamic industry.”
The round will be used to expand the sales reach of its new printer, both in the U.S. and into additional markets, including Asia and Europe/Middle East/Africa.
