Los Angeles-based Freeform, founded in 2019 by former SpaceX engineers Erik Palitsch and Thomas J. Ronacher, has secured a solid $14 million funding from NVIDIA’s NVentures and AE Ventures to invest in its AI-driven metal additive manufacturing.
Freeform’s platform is a cutting-edge combination of artificial intelligence, hardware-accelerated computing, and autonomous factory design that delivers top-quality metal parts, tackling the challenge of intelligent process control in conventional manufacturing. With this funding, Freeform will make full use of NVIDIA’s computing technology potential while joining the NVIDIA Inception program for startups.
Freeform’s AI technology uses predictive control over the physics of metal 3D printing, which is revolutionary for the technique as it allows real-time outcome adjustments and guarantees precise, digitally verified parts. According to Freeform’s CEO Erik Palitsch, “Building on NVIDIA’s technology allows us to push the boundaries of what metal 3D printing can achieve.” On NVIDIA’s side, it was noted that Freeform’s process controls are setting new standards in metal additive manufacturing.
Boeing, one of other start-up’s investors, plans to certify Freeform’s parts for aviation and defense. As Eugene Kim of AE Ventures put it, “Freeform is light years ahead, offering flexible solutions the aerospace industry has been waiting for.”
While developing the first AI-native, autonomous metal 3D printing factory with advanced sensing and process control, Freeform aims to guarantee scalable, accurate production in applications from aerospace to defense to energy.
