Five corporates have chipped in for MIT's 3D printing technology developer Inkbit, which hopes to use AI and computer vision to produce complex components at scale.
US-based computer vision-operated 3D printing technology developer Inkbit has closed a $12m round co-led by 3D printer maker Stratasys and DSM Venturing, the corporate venturing arm of life sciences and materials company Royal DSM.
Online grocery delivery company Ocado and construction materials supplier Saint-Gobain both participated in the round alongside 3M Ventures, the corporate venturing arm of conglomerate 3M.
Founded in 2017 to exploit research from Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, Inkbit has devised an additive manufacturing process that utilises artificial intelligence and visual feedback to produce goods in a manner similar to 2D jet printers.
Inkbit claims the technology can print parts without the need to forcibly apply chemical mechanics to smooth and conjoin different materials, meaning components with varied ingredients can be produced at industrial scale.
The company’s target markets include medicine, life sciences and robotics. It has already sealed a commercial partnership with pharmaceutical developer Johnson & Johnson.
Proceeds from the round will support efforts to industrialise and expand the platform ahead of a soft launch for the first Inkbit products anticipated in 2021.
Ronen Lebi, vice-president of corporate development at Stratasys, said: “As pioneers of jetting-based additive manufacturing solutions, we are excited to help Inkbit bring their technology to the factory floor. Vision-based feedback control and artificial intelligence will take additive manufacturing to a whole new level and will help to enable its widespread use for production.”
– This article first appeared on our sister site, Global Corporate Venturing.
