Company provides the tech behind 3D-printed saddles from Fizik, Selle Italia, Trek and others.
REDWOOD CITY, Calif.(BRAIN) Carbon, Inc., which provides the technology behind most of the industry's 3D-printed helmets and saddles, as well as 3D-printed running shoes from adidas, has closed on a $60 million funding round. Participants in the funding include Carbon's current investors Sequoia Capital, Silver Lake, adidas, Baillie Gifford, Madrone, and Northgate.
In an interview with BRAIN last month, a Carbon representative said the company has developed cycling products withFizik, Selle Italia, and Trek, as well as several other brands that prefer not to be named for competitive reasons. It has worked with industry brands to produce or develop saddles, grips, helmets, footwear and chamois pads for cycling. In 2019, it announced that Specialized was among the companies to use its L1 printer.
Carbon manufactures 3D printing machines, materials and software. Although it sometimes sells its machines and technology, it more often acts as a manufacturing partner to enable large-scale production of printed products.
The company said it is close to achieving "cash-flow positive" operations and will use the new funding to scale capacity. The latest funding follows a $260 million round in 2019, which at the time brought Carbon's total fundraising to more than $680 million and valued the company at about $2.4 billion.
Besides its sporting products, Carbon also collaborates with brands across the medical and industrial industries. It recently launched aflexible partial denture product in collaboration with Keystone Industries.
Carbon was founded in 2013 and partnered with adidas in 2017, setting up a production facility in Germany to print shoes including adidas'Climacool running shoes.
Besides the 3D-printed saddles, Carbon has developed products for other sports with brands including Riddell, Rawlings and CCM.
"We believed in Carbon's mission from the very beginning," said Jim Goetz, a partner at Sequoia Capital. "Carbon's print technology, proprietary resins, and design expertise along with their proven success across multiple industries position them to lead and collaborate in shaping the next era of digital manufacturing in the United States."
