Inkbit™, the developer of the Inkbit Vista™ system, closes a $19M financing round led by Ingersoll Rand (NYSE: IR), with participation from Future Labs Capital, GC Ventures America, iGlobe Partners, Ocado, Phoenix Venture Partners, Stratasys, Zeon Ventures, and other private investors.
The multi-material manufacturing system from the company is based on Vision-Controlled Jetting™ (VCJ), a technology that converges advances in computation, chemistry and process control, to enable rapid manufacturing of products such as complex industrial fluidics and bio-inspired robots.
“From the moment we met with the extraordinary Inkbit team and saw its novel Vision-Controlled Jetting (VCJ) technology, we wanted to be part of the journey to drive commercialization and adoption across life science and industrial applications,” said Vicente Reynal, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Ingersoll Rand. “Together, we can transform how the industry thinks about component manufacturing and accelerate innovation.”
As a reminder, Inkbit’s technology was originally conceived in the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab at MIT. At its core, it is a reimagination of the traditional assembly line. VCJ combines the scalability, reliability and throughput of the original assembly line with the flexibility and intelligence of 3D machine vision-based feedback control. Parts are built layer-by-layer on a platform that moves under several stations, each performing a specific function, such as material jetting, UV curing, inspection, cooling, etc.
Unlike the traditional assembly line, where each subcomponent requires a dedicated production process and supply chain, VCJ builds multi-functional products in one pass, starting from raw materials.
“This new partnership with Ingersoll Rand marks a key milestone in the history of our company. We are evolving from an equipment provider to partnering with manufacturers to develop new materials and processes to enable the acceleration and simplification of product innovation. For me personally, and for our team at Inkbit, being able to learn from and be inspired by some of the most iconic names in the history of American manufacturing is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I look forward to building on this extraordinary tradition of technical ingenuity and operational excellence. Together, we will create the factories of the future,” said Davide Marini, Cofounder and Chief Executive Officer at Inkbit.
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