Freeform, a manufacturing technology startup developing AI-enabled metal 3D printing systems, has raised $67 million in Series B funding to scale its production platform and accelerate next-generation industrial manufacturing.
The round included investors such as Apandion, AE Ventures, Founders Fund, Linse Capital, Nvidia’s NVentures, Threshold Ventures, and Two Sigma Ventures. The company is focused on redesigning metal additive manufacturing infrastructure to enable higher throughput, flexibility, and software-driven production, positioning itself within the growing manufacturing-as-a-service segment.
What The Company Does
Freeform builds integrated 3D-printing systems designed specifically for high-volume metal component manufacturing. Its proprietary platform combines hardware, software, and real-time simulation to improve precision and production efficiency compared to conventional industrial metal printers.
The company’s current GoldenEye system uses 18 lasers to fuse metal powders into complex components with high accuracy. Unlike traditional additive manufacturing machines, which are often costly, slow, and difficult to scale, Freeform’s architecture is designed for continuous learning and automated optimization. The platform collects sensor data throughout the printing process and feeds it into physics-based simulations to refine quality control and output over time.
According to CEO and co-founder Erik Palitsch, the system is fundamentally built as an AI-native manufacturing platform. Through its partnership with Nvidia, Freeform operates advanced GPU clusters on site to run real-time simulations across the full manufacturing workflow. Palitsch noted that the company is using this computing infrastructure to simulate physical processes and learn from production data at scale.
This data-centric approach allows the company to iteratively improve both production quality and manufacturing speed, an area that has historically limited the adoption of metal additive manufacturing for mass production.
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Market Context / Industry Background
Interest in automated and scalable manufacturing technologies has grown significantly as investors and industrial companies seek faster production cycles for sectors such as aerospace, robotics, energy, and defense. Manufacturing-as-a-service platforms, in particular, are gaining traction as they offer flexible, software-driven production capabilities without requiring customers to build their own facilities.
Metal additive manufacturing remains a technically complex and capital-intensive segment, with traditional systems often optimized for prototyping rather than large-scale production. This limitation has created opportunities for startups focused on throughput, automation, and software integration.
Several companies in the broader advanced manufacturing space have recently secured substantial funding, reflecting renewed venture interest in physical production infrastructure. Firms such as VulcanForms and Divergent have raised large rounds to develop metal-printing services, while automation-focused manufacturers like Hadrian have achieved multi-billion-dollar valuations tied to defense and industrial applications.
Within this context, Freeform’s emphasis on AI-controlled manufacturing and real-time simulation aligns with a broader shift toward digitized production systems that mirror the iterative speed of software development.
Founder / Investor Commentary
Palitsch, who previously worked on rocket engine development at SpaceX, founded Freeform in 2018 after identifying structural inefficiencies in industrial metal printing systems. He observed that many legacy machines were expensive, difficult to operate, and not suited for scalable manufacturing environments.
“I think we’re the only quote-unquote manufacturing company out there that has H200 clusters in a data center on site,” Palitsch said, highlighting the company’s use of high-performance computing to run real-time physics-based simulations across its production workflow.
Head of talent Cameron Kay emphasized the strategic importance of proprietary data collection within the platform. He stated that the company has accumulated extensive datasets on the physics of metal printing processes, enabling continuous improvements in both output quality and reliability.
While the company has not publicly disclosed its customer base, leadership confirmed that Freeform is already delivering hundreds of mission-critical parts to buyers each week, suggesting early commercial validation of its manufacturing model.
Growth Plans / Use Of Funds
The newly raised capital will primarily be used to develop the next iteration of Freeform’s manufacturing system, known as Skyfall. This upgraded platform is expected to incorporate hundreds of lasers, significantly increasing production capacity to thousands of kilograms of metal components per day.
In addition to product development, the funding will support facility expansion and workforce growth. The company plans to hire up to 100 new employees as it works to execute on an existing backlog of manufacturing contracts and scale operational capacity.
Freeform also intends to deepen its integration of AI and simulation capabilities, further enhancing real-time process optimization and automated quality control. By combining hardware scaling with software intelligence, the company aims to transition from specialized production to broader industrial-scale manufacturing.
About Freeform
Freeform is an AI-driven manufacturing technology company focused on metal additive manufacturing systems. Founded in 2018. Headquartered in Los Angeles. The company’s core mission is to modernize industrial production through high-throughput, software-controlled 3D printing platforms designed for scalable and precision metal component manufacturing.
