Physna Inc., which describes itself as a cross between Google and Github for 3D images, has raised $56 million in venture capital – just five months after a $20 million round – toward engineering its AI-powered free geometric search as well as paid professional suite.
New York-based Tiger Global Management LLC led the round, with participation from the actual Google's investing arm GV and returning investor Sequoia Capital, the legendary Silicon Valley firm that led the January Series B. That marks the third Columbus startup that Tiger Global has invested in from the Drive Capital portfolio, including participation in last week's record-breaking $400 million round for Olive AI Inc.
Physna also last week announced a new capability for Thangs, its free 3D search engine. More than 250,000 registered users have uploaded a combined 2.5 million digital 3D models on Thangs, with 1 million of those just since mid-May. The new feature, Instant AR, converts 3D models to augmented reality formats, so users can "place" the object in a photo.
The mission is to "index the physical world," founder and CEO Paul Powers said in a release.
The round brings Physna’s total financing to more than $86 million. The company moved its headquarters to Columbus last year, but maintains an office in Cincinnati where it was founded in 2016.
The first software that searches objects in three dimensions, hence "physical DNA," Physna can help designers find replacement parts because many industrial components are identical shapes under different manufacturers' names. Customers have reported saving 40% on supplies.
Physna also has a repository of shapes and parts that designers can copy to plug into a design, similar to the Github software repository of sections of code. The fast-selling enterprise version has more robust ways to search and collaborate.
“Its technology will help companies solve incredibly complex, previously unsolvable problems that have massive economic implications,” John Curtius, partner at Tiger Global, said in a news release. “Physna’s a pioneer and leader in this space, with a lot of opportunity in front of it.”
An attorney with degrees in astronomy and astrophysics, Powers founded the company at first to help with patent searches and quickly grasped the wider uses. CTO Dennis DeMeyere was recruited mid-pandemic from Google.
