Divergent Technologies, developer of a digital production system for industrial-scale manufacturing, has raised $160 million in a Series C funding round.
Along with the new capital, John Thornton, former president of Goldman Sachs, will join Divergent’s board.
Divergent Technologies said it aims to make the vehicle manufacturing process more efficient and less wasteful using additive manufacturing, colloquially known as 3D printing.
The Los Angeles-based company said it will use the new financing to industrialize its fully integrated platform, combining generative design, additive manufacturing and automated assembly. Divergent, which employs more than 180 engineers and scientists, also plans to expand operations and meet the growing demand among automotive OEMs for design and production of vehicle structures using the company's digital production technology.
In previous funding rounds, Divergent Technologies raised roughly $200 million from investors including Horizons Ventures and Altran Technologies.
In other L.A.-area tech news:
- Sanrio, which bases its North American headquarters in L.A., has launched its “My Hello Kitty Cafe” game on Roblox. The experience was created in partnership with the game development studio Rock Panda. In the game, members can build, manage and expand their virtual cafe, unlock multiple characters from Sanrio, explore Hello Kitty City and visit a friend’s cafe.
- We the Culture, a Florida-based creative agency focused on blockchain, and Authentic Brands Group, a New York-based brand development, marketing and entertainment company, have created a partnership to digitally connect the skate, snow and surf brand Volcom and its fans to the metaverse by way of a non-fungible token. The partnership, Volcom’s Stoneland, is the first of its kind to do NFT minting from a fashion brand gamification activation in the metaverse, the companies said. Costa Mesa, California-based Volcom is owned by Authentic Brands.
- Decentralized Pictures, a blockchain-based nonprofit co-founded by Roman Coppola, Leo Matchett and Michael Musante to support independent and aspiring filmmakers, has launched a limited NFT collection on Rarible. The FilmCrew collection features 56 original designs by Lithuanian director and artist Robertas Nevecka and mirrors a deck of playing cards, with each “card” illustrating an individual or component on a film set.
Funding
- SoundMint, a generative platform for music NFTs, has raised a $1.7 million seed round led by Animoca Brands, with participation by Castle Island Ventures, Focus Labs, Sfermion, Sky Vision, Tess Ventures and Goodwater Capital. The raise comes on the heels of a $30 million appraisal of SoundMint.
- Coral Tree Management, an investment firm focused on media, entertainment, communications and related business services sectors, has closed its first fund, Coral Tree Partners, with total committed capital of $470 million. The L.A.-based company said the fund was significantly oversubscribed above its original hard cap and exceeded its target of $350 million. The fund received support from institutional investors, including endowments, foundations, insurance companies, pension plans, institutional family offices and funds-of-funds.
