What Freeform does

Freeform Future Corp. is a privately held metal additive-manufacturing company founded in 2018 by former SpaceX engineers Erik Palitsch (who ran the Merlin and Raptor programs) and Thomas J. Ronacher, headquartered in Los Angeles with manufacturing operations in Hawthorne, California. The company has built an AI-native manufacturing platform it describes as the only one of its kind: a vertically integrated stack combining in-house compute, sensors, controls, software, and machine learning — branded "Physical AI" — that autonomously senses, learns, predicts, and controls metal formation in real time across a network of laser-based additive factories. Its current commercial system, GoldenEye, operates 18 high-power 1kW lasers in a 24/7 assembly-line architecture and produced tens of thousands of mission-critical metal parts in 2025, up from fewer than 100 in 2024. The next-generation Skyfall platform, scheduled for first-half 2026 deployment, is designed to scale throughput by approximately 25x and broaden material offerings by over 10x using hundreds of coordinated lasers and on-site NVIDIA H200 GPU clusters for real-time physics simulations, targeting production of thousands of kilograms of metal parts per day.

Freeform operates a contract manufacturing-as-a-service model, producing parts on behalf of advanced enterprise customers rather than selling printers. Its go-to-market is enterprise field sales targeting aerospace, defense, advanced energy, consumer electronics, transportation, motorsports, marine, and robotics buyers. Named and disclosed customers include SpaceX (rocket engine components for the Merlin and Raptor programs) and Frontier Technology Programs (defense and aerospace applications); the company also references Formula 1 manufacturers among its end markets. Pricing is not publicly disclosed, and revenue is generated on a per-part contract basis rather than via a disclosed subscription or SaaS model.

The company has raised approximately $126 million across funding rounds since 2023, including a $45 million round in early 2023 (Two Sigma Ventures led, with Founders Fund, Threshold, and 10x Founders participating), a $14 million strategic investment from NVIDIA's NVentures and AE Ventures in October 2024, and a $67 million Series B in February 2026 at a reported $179 million post-money valuation (PitchBook). Series B investors include Founders Fund, NVentures, Two Sigma Ventures, AE Ventures (Boeing's venture arm), Linse Capital, Threshold Ventures, and Apandion. Freeform was named to Fast Company's 2026 list of World's Most Innovative Companies and is currently expanding its Hawthorne facility and hiring up to 100 additional employees to support the Skyfall rollout.

Name

Freeform

Legal name

Freeform Future Corp.

Website

https://freeformfuture.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Freeform Future Corp. is a Los Angeles-based metal 3D printing company building AI-native, autonomous manufacturing systems that produce mission-critical metal components for aerospace, defense, and industrial customers including SpaceX.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Metal Additive Manufacturing Services

NAICS

Metalworking Machinery Manufacturing (3335)

SIC

Metalworkg Machinery & Equipment (3540)

akta.pro primary industry

Metal 3D Printers (LPBF/SLM/DMLS, Binder Jetting, DED/LENS/WAAM) (IMAAAAAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Large-Format & Industrial Production 3D Printers (High-Throughput Systems) (IMAAAAAK), Metal 3D Printing Service Bureaus (SLM/DMLS, EBM, Binder Jetting) (IMAAADAB), Machine Control, Firmware & Print Management (IMAAACAD), Additive Manufacturing for Metals (Metal 3D Printers & Post-Processing) (IMAHADAG)

Keywords

• Metal additive manufacturing
• Laser powder bed fusion
• AI-native manufacturing systems
• Aerospace component production
• Autonomous factory printing

Headquarters

HQ city

Los Angeles

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Infrastructure, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Metal 3D Printing Manufacturing Services: The company operates as a manufacturing-as-a-service provider, producing mission-critical metal components for customers using its proprietary AI-driven metal 3D printing systems. Currently delivers hundreds of mission-critical parts weekly and is scaling to produce thousands of kilograms of metal parts per day with the Skyfall platform.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Freeform operates an AI-native metal 3D printing manufacturing service, producing mission-critical metal components for enterprise customers using its proprietary GoldenEye system (18 high-power 1kW lasers in a 24/7 assembly-line architecture) and the next-generation Skyfall platform (hundreds of coordinated lasers with on-site H200 GPU clusters). The company's Physical AI architecture vertically integrates compute, sensors, controls, software, and ML to autonomously sense, learn, predict, and control metal formation in real time for aerospace, defense, Formula 1, and advanced industrial applications.

Product overview

Freeform is an AI-native metal 3D printing company offering a unified manufacturing platform. The current product is the GoldenEye system with 18 high-power 1kW lasers, which the company is upgrading to the next-generation Skyfall platform featuring hundreds of lasers and on-site H200 GPU clusters. Both systems are powered by the company's proprietary Physical AI technology that integrates sensors, compute, controls, and ML to enable fully autonomous metal part manufacturing. The architecture follows a single unified system approach where software and real-time data loops are organically linked with hardware, allowing increased laser counts to simultaneously improve process quality and productivity.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Skyfall: Next-generation factory platform using hundreds of coordinated lasers and on-site H200 GPU clusters for real-time physics simulations, designed to produce thousands of kilograms of metal parts per day.
• GoldenEye

Products and services

• GoldenEye AI-native metal 3D printing system using 18 high-power 1kW lasers in a 24/7 assembly-line architecture, producing high-quality mission-critical metal parts quickly and cost-effectively for aerospace, defense, and industrial customers.
• Skyfall Next-generation AI-native factory platform using hundreds of coordinated 1kW lasers and on-site NVIDIA H200 GPU clusters for real-time physics simulations, expected to scale manufacturing capacity by 25x and produce thousands of kilograms of metal parts per day for mission-critical applications.
• Metal 3D Printing Manufacturing Services Manufacturing-as-a-service offering that produces mission-critical metal components for enterprise customers using Freeform's proprietary AI-driven metal 3D printing systems, currently delivering hundreds of mission-critical parts weekly with capacity scaling toward thousands of kilograms of metal parts per day.

Quantifiable outcome

• 25x production capacity increase with Skyfall platform
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability7 records

Feature4 records

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Velo3D: Direct competitor in laser powder-bed fusion metal 3D printing, explicitly targeting mission-critical aerospace, defense, and rocket engine components — the same customer set Freeform serves with SpaceX.
• Sciaky: US metal 3D printing specialist using electron-beam additive manufacturing (EBAM) for large aerospace and defense parts, including rocket engine components — directly comparable mission-critical applications to Freeform's SpaceX work.

Broad incumbents

• Nikon SLM Solutions: Established multi-laser metal 3D printer maker (LPBF) with deep aerospace and automotive deployments; competes head-to-head in large-format laser metal AM but without Freeform's AI-native closed-loop architecture.
• EOS GmbH: Global incumbent in industrial metal and polymer 3D printing systems with a large installed base in aerospace, medical, and automotive; broadly comparable product category but a much larger, portfolio player.
• 3D Systems: Diversified additive manufacturing incumbent with metal printing offerings, large customer base, and regulatory certifications in aerospace and medical — competes as part of a broader portfolio rather than metal-AM-only specialization.
• Desktop Metal: Public additive manufacturing platform with metal binder jetting and production systems, competing in industrial metal AM with a broader product portfolio than Freeform's laser-based stack.
• Trumpf: Industrial laser and machine tool giant with a metal 3D printing business built around high-power TruPrint systems, serving aerospace and automotive — overlapping technology and customers but operating as a broad industrial conglomerate.
• Renishaw: Established metal AM systems supplier (RenAM series) with a strong position in aerospace, medical, and energy markets, competing on multi-laser LPBF rather than AI-native autonomy.

Emerging players

• Aconity3D: Smaller European metal 3D printer maker focused on high-temperature alloys and process monitoring — overlaps with Freeform's mission-critical metal AM niche but at a much earlier commercial scale.
• Markforged: Industrial 3D printing platform with metal (bound metal deposition) and composite offerings targeting defense and industrial customers — adjacent technology and overlapping industrial customer base.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/freeform_future
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/freeformfuture

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds5 records

Investors10 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Freeform