Lockheed Martin Ventures and RTX Ventures are among the investors in a Boston materials science and additive manufacturing company.
On Thursday, Fortify announced that it landed a $12.5 million funding round from investors, including the venture arms of Lockheed Martin and Raytheon Technologies. A spokesperson for Fortify said this is the first time that Lockheed and Raytheon have made a joint investment in a company.
“Their expertise and global reach in the aerospace and defense industries will be invaluable in helping us to continue to innovate and scale our Digital Composite Manufacturing platform. We are excited to work together to drive the next generation of advanced materials and additive manufacturing,” said Lawrence Ganti, CEO of Fortify, in a statement.
Ganti took on the chief executive role in November. Co-founder Josh Martin, who led Fortify from its beginnings in 2016, moved into the role of chief product officer.
Fortify said the new capital will help further its “Digital Composite Manufacturing” platform. The company said this concept was developed from Martin’s work with Randall Erb at Northeastern University where they studied the development of advanced materials. The pair looked at how biological and architectural principles could create strong and lightweight structures through additive manufacturing techniques. Fortify said it uses software and magnetics to mimic nature with synthetic materials.
The company said its partners and customers cross industries like medical devices, electronics, aerospace and defense. Some customers include Lockheed, Raytheon Technologies, the U.S. Department of Energy and Lawrence Livermore National Labs.
“Lockheed Martin Ventures’ continued investment in Fortify underpins the strategic advantage the company can bring to the defense industrial base,” Chris Moran, vice president and general manager of Lockheed Martin Ventures, said in a statement. “We believe Fortify has the potential to deliver tailored solutions not only to the aerospace and defense industry, but a range of sectors that can benefit from their platforms.”
Fortify’s other investors include Accel, Cota Capital, Neotribe, Prelude, Mainspring and Ocean Azul.
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