Markforged launches innovation center for Blacksmith software in Cambridge, MA
3D printer manufacturer Markforged is continuing its rapid expansion journey with the opening of a new office in Kendall Square in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The facility, based at the Cambridge Innovation Center, will span 2,000 square feet and will function as the company’s new central hub for further developing Blacksmith, Markforged’s artificial intelligence software for adaptive manufacturing.
Kendall Square has a reputation in the tech world, as it is home to a number of MIT buildings—including the Stata Center—as well as various tech companies. It is a fitting location, then, for Markforged’s newest location, which plans to expand its software and AI teams significantly to ramp up development.
As David Benhaim, CTO and Co-Founder of Markforged, said: “Kendall Square is the perfect environment for expanding our R&D team, and we’ll be able to take advantage of the top-tier AI developer talent in the area. Our Kendall team will transform manufacturing with Blacksmith. These developers will enable factories to run and fix themselves—ultimately reducing the cost of everything we buy.”
Announced in May, Markforged’s Blacksmith is marketed as the first AI-powered software that enables additive manufacturing systems to automatically adjust their programming to ensure consistent and faultless parts. The innovative software platform achieves this by closely analyzing a CAD design and comparing it to the printed part, which is scanned by inspection equipment. The software then dynamically adapts the end-to-end process in order to produce in-spec components—an overall process Markforged refers to as “adaptive manufacturing.”
Aside from launching Blacksmith and opening its latest software development center in Kendall Square, Markforged has had a pretty exciting year, which kicked off in March with it raising $82 million in a Series D financing round. With the capital, the company opened its first European headquarters in Dublin, Ireland, launched the innovative software platform and introduced a new flame retardant composite material, Onyx FR.
The company’s continued growth and success have resulting in a number of recent accolades. For instance, Markforged was featured on a list of Deloitte’s fastest growing companies and was included on Forbes’ Next Billion-Dollar Startup list.
Markforged is currently seeking applicants for its new Kendall Square office.
