Digital Industrial Manufacturing Firm Divergent Technologies Locks Up $230M Series D

Divergent Technologies raised a massive $230 million Series D to accelerate the commercialization of its digital manufacturing system that uses generative AI and 3D printing.

The round was led by Hexagon AB, which invested $100 million of the $230 million total. New and existing institutional and family office investors also participated in the round.

The Los Angeles-based firm has developed a software-hardware production system for industrial digital manufacturing that replaces traditional design, manufacturing and assembly solutions. Divergent’s system uses in-house developed AI-driven generative design software and 3D printing to create the products and structures used in a variety of industries, including automotive, aerospace and defense sectors.

Divergent already works with automotive customers, including Aston Martin and Mercedes-AMG. In the aerospace and defense industry, the company is actively working with six U.S. government contractors.

“We now have entered the ‘4D Age’ of fully digitized design-manufacturing-assembly as a service, dematerialized products using and requiring less material and energy, distributed regional production, and democratized access to the tools, data and production assets necessary for innovation in our human-built world,” said founder and CEO Kevin Czinger in a release.

Printing money

In general, funding to 3D-related startups has been down this year. In 2021, 3D printing companies raised nearly $1.7 billion, per Crunchbase. That number fell to about $1.2 billion last year and thus far this year such startups have seen just more than $700 million roll their way — although funding numbers have been down in most sectors this year.

Late last month, 3D metal-printing startup Seurat Technologies locked up a $99 million Series C led by NVentures — Nvidia’s venture capital arm — and Capricorn’s Technology Impact Fund.