Business

nTopology raises $65 million Series D funding to expand generative design platform

Engineering software developer nTopology has closed a $65 million Series D funding round, bringing the total amount raised to date by the firm to $135 million. 

The funding round was led by Tiger Global and saw participation from Oldslip Group and the firm’s existing investors Root Ventures, Canaan Partners, Haystack, and Insight Partners. The proceeds will be used to expand nTopology’s generative design platform into new types of applications and strengthen the company’s global footprint.

“Earlier in my career, I found that most of the engineering software, like CAD, was a bottleneck in driving innovative design,” said Bradley Rothenberg, Co-founder and CEO of nTopology. “Our company was built specifically to solve engineers’ problems, allowing them to fully utilize the power of additive manufacturing processes and fill the gaps left by these old legacy design tools.”

The DfAM program enables engineers to keep parts safe and clean throughout the manufacturing process. Image via nTopology.
nTopology’s DfAM program enables engineers to keep parts safe and clean throughout the manufacturing process. Image via nTopology.

nTopology’s generative design platform

nTopology was founded in 2015 with the goal of enabling engineers and designers to create any 3D geometry, no matter how complex, and meet the demands of high-performance products. The company serves more than 300 customers, including the likes of car manufacturer Ford, defense contractor Lockheed Martin, and manufacturing conglomerate Honeywell.

Since commercializing its nTop Platform in 2019, nTopology has continued to raise funds to further develop its software, raising $40 million in Series C funding last year. A couple of months later, the firm partnered with 3D printer manufacturer Stratasys to launch the FDM Assembly Fixture Generator, designed to streamline the Design for Additive Manufacturing (DfAM) process for jigs, fixtures, and other tooling.

In April this year, the partnership continued further with the addition of a new Masking Fixture Module engineered to remove design bottlenecks and maximize manufacturing efficiency during the DfAM process. 

Around the same time, the firm launched nTopology 3.0, which introduced GPU acceleration to reduce the visualization time of highly complex structures from minutes to seconds.

The Masking Fixture Module automates the design work required for 3D printed fixtures. Image via nTopology.
The Masking Fixture Module automates the design work required for 3D printed fixtures. Image via nTopology.

Securing $65 million

Upon closing its Series D funding round, nTopology has raised a total of $135 million to date. The latest $65 million addition will be used to expand the types of applications the company’s nTop platform can serve within the product development process, and will also help the firm to strengthen its global footprint. 

nTopology’s software is leveraged by designers and engineers working within the aerospace, automotive, medical device and industrial design sectors. The software is built on three main technologies: implicit modeling, field-driven design, and the block system. 

Last month, the company released a connector that streamlines nTopology’s integration into PLM systems in order to give customers a clear roadmap for enhancing their product development software stack with generative design capabilities. 

Now, the company has received continued backing from its existing investors and caught the attention of investment firm Tiger Global, which has previously invested in geometric deep learning specialist Physna and 3D printing rocket manufacturer Relativity Space.

“nTopology customers use this software to design the most critical parts of their products,” said John Curtis, Partner at Tiger Global Management. 

“We’re excited for nTopology to emerge as the new leader in engineering software as advanced manufacturing continues to push the boundary of how products are made.”

With its new capital, nTopology is seeking to roll out its generative design software to more engineers. To do this, the company has grown its headcount by 40 percent over the past year and has reportedly doubled its revenue.

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Featured image shows the Masking Fixture Module automates the design work required for 3D printed fixtures. Image via nTopology.

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