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Dive brief:
- Icona, which creates large robots that print 3D structures, raised $200 million in a Series D funding round, according to a company announcement on Tuesday. The round was co-led by investment management firm Baillie Gifford with funds managed by BlackRock.
- Icon’s 3D printing technology is aimed at customers both residential and non-residential construction. Its upcoming Titan multi-story machine, which has a list price of $899,000, will be able to 3D printing structures with a build height of 27 feetaccording to their website.
- With the funding, Icon will begin production and manufacturing of the Titan at its factory in Austin, Texas, according to the announcement. It will also open a large-scale research and development center in the city.
Diving knowledge:
Icon divides its business into three segments: Build, which is responsible for construction; Tech, which manages its software and construction platform; and Prime, which is its defense and space division that serves military and government agencies.
Icon’s offerings also include its proprietary FormCrete, the material used to build its structures, which is priced at $620 per cubic yard on its website, along with BuildOSthat manages the company’s construction system.
According to the announcement, Icon has built more than 270 homes and structures in five states and two countries. The US military hired the company in January 3D printing of 10 barracks at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas for $62.8 million. Icon said the development was the largest deployment of robotic construction technology in the history of the Department of Defense. He previously built a 3,800-sq.-ft barracks at Camp Swift Training Center in Bastrop, Texas for the National Guard.
Icon has also worked with the federal government on space programsespecially his plan to return to the Moon via the Artemis program. In 2022, NASA awarded the company $57.2 million for his research on the use of lunar regolith, or moon dust, as a 3D printing component.
“Construction automation has moved from potential to proven reality,” Jason Ballard, co-founder and CEO of Icon, said in the announcement. “This round puts that reality in the hands of builders: more Titan systems deployed across the country, deeper capability in housing, commercial and defense, and continued work on the technology that will one day build humanity’s first structures beyond Earth.”
Indeed, large-scale 3D printing has piqued the interest of not only governments and homebuilders, but major private sector retailers.
Last November, another 3D printing giant, Alquist, announced that it would expand its portfolio more than a dozen projects for retailers including Walmart.
