Fortify Doubles Its Team, Develops Digital Composite Manufacturing Platform

BOSTON — January 15, 2019 — Fortify, a Boston-based additive manufacturing start-up and digital composite manufacturer, announced today a seed round of $2.5 million with strategic funding from Neotribe Ventures, Prelude Ventures, Mainspring Capital, Ocean Azul Partners, and McCune Capital.

Fortify’s patented Fluxprint technology combines magnetics and digital light processing (DLP) 3D printing to produce composite parts with ideal mechanical properties, tailored reinforcement and geometric freedom. Founded on research in composite 3D printing by Dr. Randall Erb and Dr. Joshua Martin, the company has established itself as an innovator in Digital Composite Manufacturing (DCM). Recently they have developed a high-resolution, fiber-reinforced DLP additive manufacturing platform, which includes the patented Fluxprint hardware, innovative materials and INFORM generative design software. With this latest funding round, the team has also more than doubled in size, enabling new capabilities for innovation and partnership development.

“We’re thrilled to count Fortify amongst our partners,” said Kittu Kolluri of Neotribe Ventures. “At Neotribe we place a high value on transformative technology, and Fortify continues to prove themselves as a pioneer in manufacturing for the digital age by democratizing the performance of advanced composites through additive manufacturing.”

In addition to its ground-breaking additive manufacturing platform, Fortify’s team has launched two resins, with one being the strongest resin available on the market. It also filed IP and are engaging in partnerships with leading manufacturers across the country. These innovations are shaking up the traditional additive manufacturing industry, which has failed to bridge the gap between prototyping and production. DCM makes this possible by producing high-quality composite parts that would typically require labor-intensive methods. By pairing high-performance engineering resins with specialty additives, Fortify utilizes DCM to produce the strongest resin available on the market. Fortify’s patented hardware and software processes allow control over the alignment within each printed part — leading to better performance without sacrificing cost or design flexibility.

“Fortify’s 3D printing technology is revolutionary, and we’re excited to be a part of their continued growth,” said Mark Cupta of Prelude Ventures. “The efficiency their platform brings to the manufacturing space is well in line with our commitment to sustainability.”

Fortify is also introducing the Fortify Fiber Platform, inviting materials companies and resin suppliers to develop high-performance resins in conjunction with Fortify material scientists and engineers. This platform is already being embraced by Fortify partners such as DSM, an industry leader in the development of cutting-edge photoactive resins for additive manufacturing.

“By embracing open innovation and an open materials mentality,” says Karlo Delos Reyes, vice president of Business Development at Fortify, “we are giving our customers flexibility and a broad materials palette without the restraints of a single proprietary resin set.”

Looking to 2019, Fortify is seeking an additional round of $8 million in Series A funding while moving into the beta launch of its system. Beginning this upcoming winter, the beta program will focus on delivering the digital composite platform to 10 select partners.

“The support from our investors and partners is affirmation that the technology we’re developing is meeting significant needs in the manufacturing industry,” said Josh Martin, CEO of Fortify. “We are looking forward to continue to be an innovation leader in the space and grow our DCM capabilities and products.”

In addition to its seed round of funding, Fortify has received multiple accolades, including being named Formnext Startup Challenge winners (2019), Best University Startups 2017 (NCET2), JEC Startup Booster Innovation Award (2017) and MassChallenge Gold Winner (2016).

Posted January 16, 2019

Source: Fortify

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