$48M for Fast Radius

Chicago-based Fast Radius has announced a $48 million Series B funding round set to expand its additive manufacturing platform.

The round was led by UPS, with participation from Drive Capital and previous investors Jump Capital, Skydeck, and Hyde Park Venture Partners.

Fast Radius has long worked with 3D printing technologies, putting its processes to use for major customers. Interestingly, in addition to its sites in Chicago, Atlanta, and Singapore, the company also has a production hub on-site at the UPS Worldport facility in Kentucky. This hub highlights the use of 3D printing in the changing logistics field — and underscores why UPS is investing.

UPS is among the logistics companies that has long considered 3D printing an important part of the supply chain. In 2016, the company released a report that noted the rising opportunity. Indeed, they have publicly said that additive manufacturing is a production solution — and that’s just where the investment in Fast Radius is focusing.

“Additive manufacturing is increasingly becoming the logical direction for future supply chain strategies, blurring the lines between physical and virtual warehousing for products in many industries,” said Scott Price, Chief Strategy and Transformation Officer at UPS. “Fast Radius’ technology platform and additive manufacturing design processes are bringing the virtual warehouse vision to life for their customers, complementing UPS’ global time-definite logistics expertise.”

Fast Radius offers a platform solution for its customers, including its Fast Radius Operating System (FROS) software platform for product lifecycle support. The company has been heralded as a company “best implementing technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution” (so said the World Economic Forum of nine companies last year).

“The new tools of digital design and additive manufacturing power that mission.  Our focus is to help companies imagine new products and bring them into the world,” said Fast Radius Chief Executive Officer Lou Rassey.

The $48 million round is significant, and Fast Radius has some big expansion plans for the influx. The announcement particularly notes goals in team expansion in software, manufacturing technology, and customer engagement, as well as to look into more partnerships across major verticals. That team expansion will be pretty major, doubling the company’s current team of about 45 full-time employees, and will be focused mostly at the Chicago HQ.

The company offers a variety of manufacturing solutions, including:

• Additive manufacturing

  • Carbon DLS

  • HP MJF

  • FDM

  • SLA

  • SLS

  • PolyJet

  • DMLS

• Cast urethane

• CNC machining

• Injection molding

Via Fast Radius