Date: Jan 16, 2019 Author: Clare Scott Source: (
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Boston-based startup Fortify is an exciting company offering a new Digital Composite Manufacturing (DCM) technology called Fluxprint. Fluxprint combines Digital Light Processing (DLP) technology with magnetics to produce composite parts with geometric freedom and excellent mechanical properties. Today the company announced that it has raised $2.5 million in seed funding, with contributions from Neotribe Ventures, Prelude Ventures, Mainspring Capital, Ocean Azul Partners, and McCune Capital.
Fortify was founded on research in composite 3D printing by Dr. Randall Erb and Dr. Joshua Martin. The company recently developed the first-ever high-resolution, fiber-reinforced DLP additive manufacturing platform, which includes its patented Fluxprint hardware, new materials and INFORM generative design software. With this latest funding round, the Fortify team has more than doubled in size, opening up new opportunities for partnership development.
"We're thrilled to count Fortify amongst our partners," said Kittu Kolluri of Neotribe Ventures. "At Neotribe we place a high value on transformative technology, and Fortify continues to prove themselves as a pioneer in manufacturing for the digital age by democratizing the performance of advanced composites through additive manufacturing."
Fortify has also developed two 3D printing resins, one of which is the strongest resin currently available on the market. The company has achieved this by pairing high-performance engineering resins with specialty additives. One of Fortify's goals is to more effectively bridge the gap between prototyping and production with additive manufacturing, and it sees DCM as the way to do it. The technology is capable of producing high quality composite parts that would ordinarily require much more labor-intensive methods. Fortify's patented hardware and software allow control over the alignment within each printed part, resulting in better performance without sacrificing cost or design flexibility.
"Fortify's 3D printing technology is revolutionary, and we're excited to be a part of their continued growth," said Mark Cupta of Prelude Ventures. "The efficiency their platform brings to the manufacturing space is well in line with our commitment to sustainability."
Fortify is also introducing the Fortify Fiber Platform, which invites materials companies and resin suppliers to develop high-performance resins in conjunction with Fortify materials scientists and engineers. Partners that have embraced the platform so far include DSM.
"By embracing open innovation and an open materials mentality," said Karlo Delos Reyes, VP of Business Development at Fortify, "we are giving our customers flexibility and a broad materials palette without the restraints of a single proprietary resin set."
Fortify is seeking an additional $8 million in Series A funding this year as the company moves into the beta launch of its system, which will begin this winter and will deliver the digital composite platform to 10 partners. Fortify is already building an impressive reputation for itself, having been named 2019 Formnext Startup Challenge winner as well as being honored by Best University Startups 2017 (NCET2), the JEC Startup Booster Innovation Award in 2017 and MassChallenge Gold Winner in 2016.
"The support from our investors and partners is affirmation that the technology we're developing is meeting significant needs in the manufacturing industry," said Josh Martin, CEO of Fortify. "We are looking forward to continue to be an innovation leader in the space and grow our DCM capabilities and products."
