Alloy Enterprises raises $26 million for aluminum AM, at scale
Bringing the total funding to $37 million
Alloy Enterprises, the world’s first Digital Aluminum Fab, has completed a $26 million oversubscribed Series A funding round, led by Piva Capital, and joined by new investors Unless, Flybridge Capital, MassMutual Catalyst Fund, Robert Downey Jr.’s Footprint Coalition, and existing investors Congruent Ventures and Riot Ventures – bringing the total raised to $37 million.
The gap
According to Alloy Enterprises, a gap exists between the demand for complex aluminum components and the supply. Demand for aluminum has been escalating, driven by lightweighting for e-mobility across the transportation sector, and the need for more sustainable materials. Aluminum is infinitely recyclable, has twice the strength-to-weight ratio of steel, is an incredible material for lightweighting, and will be part of the electrification journey of everything that moves.
However, in recent history, the United States has lost a third of its foundries. Traditional manufacturing processes, such as casting, are not keeping pace with the speed of innovation, and US manufacturers need on-demand capacity – at scale – locally. Alloy Enterprises is filling the void with a fast, cost-effective manufacturing method that streamlines the production of aluminum parts.
A unique solution
The company supplies complex aluminum components to its customers, via its’ unique solution – the first process specially designed for aluminum that does not use aluminum powder. Using a combination of laser cutting and diffusion bonding, the team can produce production volumes through its machines, cost-effectively, while maintaining the advantages of 3D printing, such as reducing lead times, iterating designs quickly, avoiding expensive tooling, and digitizing inventory.
“The Alloy team has proven out a highly efficient process for delivering aluminum components quickly and at scale,” said Maria Buitron, Principal at Piva Capital. “This is a breakthrough for the industry that addresses the need for reasonable lead times, major cost reductions, and on-demand manufacturing, delivering direct benefits to EV, industrial, and heavy equipment. We have been so impressed with the Alloy team and look forward to partnering with them to help them scale as the need for their solution ramps up.”
“Alloy is poised to transform key industries at a critical time for companies concerned with building more resilient supply chains and reducing their carbon footprint,” said Liz Reynolds, Partner at Unless, and Former Special Assistant to the President for Manufacturing at the National Economic Council. “We are at the beginning of an industrial transformation in which the country is reindustrializing. Alloy’s unique technology will help companies accelerate through this transformation.”
Aluminum AM
Increasingly, manufacturers want the advantages of 3D printing, including complex geometries, the ability to iterate designs, and freedom from expensive tooling. But aluminum, especially alloys such as 6061, can be difficult and expensive to print using powder bed processes. The company developed its selective diffusion bonding process specifically for aluminum, with scale production in mind. Its novel feedstock is already scaled and is produced in 10-ton runs. This summer, Alloy Enterprises will start delivering production volume parts. The company is actively evaluating and qualifying new customer applications and has the capacity for volume production.
“We have an incredible team with the ability to continuously solve hard R&D challenges while staying focused on the customers’ needs,” said Ali Forsyth, CEO of Alloy Enterprises. “We went from invention to commercial sales in less than two years. With this sizeable fundraise, we’ve added great partners to the table to help us take Alloy to the next level.”
“We’ve made rapid progress and have garnered Fortune 100 manufacturing customers in three major market verticals: automotive, industrial, and heavy equipment. We’ve proven our manufacturing process and are already qualifying customer production parts. We will use this funding to ramp production capacity, further develop our software suite, and apply next-gen automation. We’re open for business and scaling rapidly, including hiring across the board in sales, marketing, applications, software, operations, and manufacturing,” continued Forsyth.
