A 3D printing startup based in Skokie, Illinois, has raised $15 million to bring "limitless scale," "unmatched speed" and "superior materials" to manufacturers.
Azul 3D, which manufactures 3D printers to quickly print highly customizable structures, announced the Series A close this week from existing and new investors including DuPont, Beta Lab and GS Futures.
"When people see existing customers like DuPont be a lead investor, I think that gives them a ton of confidence that this isn't just a PowerPoint presentation," Azul 3D CEO John Hartner told Chicago Inno.
Originally developed at Northwestern University, Azul's High-Area Rapid Printing technology converts liquid plastic into solid objects using ultraviolet light, enabling users to build objects with precise thermal control. Azul 3D says its printers print at 20 times the scale, 100 times the speed and 2,000 times the throughput of industry leaders, to ease the transition from prototyping to mass-manufacturing.
Beta Lab CEO Abdulrahman al Olayan said Azul 3D is "unlike anything" he has seen in the 3D printing space before.
Before joining Azul 3D as its CEO in June, Hartner was an early investor and member of the company's board of directors since 2020 and recognized how the 3D printing technology could be a game-changer for manufacturers. Hartner is the former CEO of 3D printing company ExOne.
"Traditionally 3D printing and additive has been focused on the prototype markets. Our technology can allow engineers to do very innovative things, and complex designs, that can be done at scale," Hartner told Chicago Inno.
While he didn't want to get into specifics, he said Azul is being used in the electronic space and for personalized medical devices.
"We're a fairly early-stage company, so more of the innovations around our technology are around the corner," Hartner said. "What we're excited to see over the next few years is how those get translated into new products for customers out there in the field."
The funding will be used to help scale production into new markets like manufacturing specialty components for electronics applications and personalized devices.
