Fracktal Works Raises Seed Funding from Aarin Capital, MEMG

Bengaluru, November 2024. Fracktal Works, one of India’s first homegrown 3D printing companies, has received seed funding of an undisclosed amount from Mr Mohandas Pai of Aarin Capital and Dr Ranjan Pai of MEMG (Manipal Education and Medical Group) Family Office LLP. The company will work jointly with the Ministry of Heavy Industries and IISc Bangalore to create India’s first indigenous SLS 3D printer, backed by a grant of Rs 8.5 crore.

With this investment, Fracktal Works, jointly with the Ministry of Heavy Industries (MHI), will fund the development of India’s first indigenous Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) 3D printer in partnership with the Society for Innovation and Development (SID) at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore, with a grant of Rs 8.5 crore under the Scheme for Enhancement of Competitiveness in the Indian Capital Goods Sector, Phase II.

In addition, C.N. Raghupathi, Director of MILES (Manipal Centre for Innovation Leadership and Entrepreneurship), has come on board as Chairman of Fracktal Works. The company will draw on his decades of sales experience and his guidance to scale, with a focus on expansion and go-to-market strategy.

About the company

Fracktal Works was founded by Vijay Varada in 2013, while a student at Manipal Institute of Technology, where he built his first 3D printer in his dormitory room and subsequently incubated the company at the Manipal Universal Technology Business Incubator (MUTBI). Fracktal Works is a 3D printer OEM and provides end-to-end service and consulting drawing on its expertise in additive manufacturing. The company is focused on transforming the prototyping and manufacturing of critical parts across aerospace, defence, healthcare and automotive, and on building a critical technology for the country.

What the investors and the company said

Commenting on the investment, Vijay Varada, CEO and Founder of Fracktal Works, said: “For the past decade, Fracktal has been at the forefront of transforming manufacturing, design, and prototyping through advanced 3D printing technology. This investment is a powerful endorsement of our mission, and we are honoured to welcome such esteemed investors who are committed to building a progressive, technologically advanced, and truly ‘viksit’ Bharat.”

“With this investment and trust, we will focus on enabling next generation deep tech in manufacturing, development and adoption of this critical additive manufacturing technology across sectors of national importance,” Varada added.

Fracktal Works Chairman C.N. Raghupathi said: “Fracktal Works is operating in a field poised to revolutionise manufacturing by streamlining product development, testing and manufacturing. MEMG and Aarin Capital have joined forces to support Fracktal in advancing the adoption of this vital technology, which holds immense national significance for India’s present and future. I am genuinely excited to be part of this journey and witness the limitless potential of 3D printing technology unfold.”

Dr Ranjan Pai, Chairman, Manipal Education and Medical Group, said: “We have been passionate about fostering innovation that can drive meaningful change across industries, and Fracktal Works with their work in 3D printing exemplifies that vision. We are proud to support Fracktal in their mission to develop indigenous solutions that will enhance India’s competitive edge.”

What the funding is for

With its newly developed 3D printing technology, Fracktal Works aims to change how healthcare, defence and industrial manufacturing make critical parts, using advanced materials such as PEEK, ULTEM and carbon-fibre composites. The company will focus on personalised medical devices, including PEEK implants for orthopaedic and dental use, and on lightweight, high-performance components for defence applications such as drones and military systems using carbon-fibre composites. In the industrial sector, Fracktal plans to replace metal parts with high-strength thermoplastics for aerospace, automotive and manufacturing, improving efficiency and durability.

The SLS machine funded by the MHI grant is now in development as the Apollo; the process it brings in-house is the one our SLS service already runs for customers.

Timeline

Fracktal Works designs, develops and manufactures a range of 3D printers for personal and industrial use, serving customers in medicine, automotive, aerospace, architecture, education and more.

• 2013: Launched the first commercial 3D printer, Julia, on the MIT Manipal campus
• 2015: Established Fracktal in Bangalore and introduced Julia+
• 2017: Released the Julia Pro range of large-format printers
• 2019: Unveiled Volterra 400, capable of printing high-performance polymers
• 2020: Channelled 3D printing technology into medical equipment, producing masks, gloves and PPE suits for front-line workers during the pandemic
• 2022: Introduced Snowflake, an affordable and easy-to-use printer
• 2024: Introduced the Twin Dragon series of 3D printers, built for speed, throughput and reliability in volume manufacturing

About Fracktal Works

Founded in 2013, Fracktal Works is a 3D printer OEM and provides end-to-end service and consulting drawing on its expertise in additive manufacturing. The company is focused on the prototyping and manufacturing of critical parts across aerospace, defence, healthcare and automotive, and on contributing to a critical technology for the country. More at fracktal.in/home/about-us/.

Profile: Vijay Varada, Founder and CEO

Vijay Varada is a mechatronics engineer by choice and an entrepreneur by chance; he founded Fracktal Works at 19. Blending creative problem-solving, technology and engineering, he brings together science, design and engineering to deliver products and solutions. Beyond the company, he contributes to open-source hardware projects, particularly assistive technologies for the visually impaired and renewable energy.

He took part in an expedition to Antarctica alongside the polar explorer Robert Swan, where the two demonstrated open-source hardware through a 3D-printable wind turbine. He was a winner of the Hackaday Prize in open-source hardware in 2017, 2018 and 2023, and is an author and TEDx speaker; his books, published in multiple languages, are written to further the cause of innovative engineering.

Media enquiries: contact page. The MHI scheme is administered by the Ministry of Heavy Industries; the academic partner is the Society for Innovation and Development, IISc.