3D printing startup Backflip has emerged from stealth mode with $30 million in funding co-led by NEA and Andreessen Horowitz (a16z). The company, founded by former Markforged executives Greg Mark and David Benhaim, aims to develop AI-powered 3D design tools that can generate printable models from text descriptions or photos.
The San Francisco-based company’s first product is an AI design platform that converts user inputs into high-resolution, 3D-printable models. According to the company, their neural representation technology enables 60 times more efficient training, 10 times faster inference, and 100 times the spatial resolution compared to existing methods.
Notable angel investors in the venture include Microsoft CTO Kevin Scott, Android founder Rich Miner, and AI researcher Ashish Vaswani. The funding round reflects growing interest in combining artificial intelligence with traditional computer-aided design tools used across manufacturing industries.
The founding team brings significant experience from their previous venture, Markforged, where they developed carbon fiber and mixed-metal 3D printing technologies. Under their leadership, Markforged went public in 2021 with a $2.1 billion valuation, and their 3D printed parts are currently used in applications ranging from the International Space Station to U.S. nuclear submarines.
The company’s technology aims to address efficiency limitations in current 3D design software tools. Backflip claims its platform can reduce complex design tasks from days to minutes, potentially allowing smaller teams to compete with larger engineering departments.
The platform is targeting users across various sectors, including aerospace, defense, and transportation industries. Interested parties can learn more about the technology through the company’s website at backflip.ai.