Swiss Startup 9T Labs secures $4.3 million for 3D print series production of high-performance carbon fiber parts

29.01.2020 06:00, Stefan Steiner

The Zurich-based ETH spin-off and Venture Leaders Technology 2019 alum 9T Labs has closed a seed financing round of $4.3 million to finish the development of their industrial 3D printing solution for carbon fiber composite parts and scale-up of first mass manufacturing use cases.

This comes only two years after the company’s foundation by Chester Houwink, Giovanni Cavolina, and Martin Eichenhofer. Their mission: “make carbon fiber composite materials as accessible as ordinary metal materials”. Carbon, or more precisely carbon fiber-reinforced plastic (CFRP), is in high demand across various industries from aerospace, automotive, biomedical to leisure, robotics and maritime because it is stronger than steel, but up to five times lighter. Use cases include mountain bikes, formula 1 racing cars, robots as well as medical prostheses and implants. Compared to aluminum or steel, Carbon fiber composite parts are expensive as the manufacturing process is costly and time-consuming: every single component needs a separate mold.

The global market size for Carbon composite materials is currently around $80 billion, but according to experts still lacks standardized automation and software solutions for mass manufacturing. To make the materials easily accessible and ready for mass production 9T Labs, which made it to the TOP 100 Swiss Startup List in both 2018 and 2019, combines advanced software algorithms, 3D printing technology, and post-processing in one workflow. Now the parts are designed on the computer and manufactured directly in the 3D printer. This innovative process drives down both lead times and production costs dramatically.

CEO & Co-Founder Martin Eichenhofer traveled with the Swiss National Startup Team, the Venture Leaders Technology to Silicon Valley last year: "The Venture Leaders Technology roadshow helps us to think bigger, which is now directly reflected in our strategy on how to grow 9T Labs to an international company."  The $4.3 million seed round includes existing investors around Wingman Ventures and new contributions from Investiere and the Technology Fund. Furthermore, 9T Labs is supported by the ESA BIC Switzerland program.