Over the years we have heard stories about 3D printed guns and food. How about a 3D printed home? It sounds bizarre but its champions claim that it significantly speeds up the construction process and generates ten times less waste than conventional construction.
There are a number of innovative startups in the space, but one of the leaders is Oakland-based Mighty Buildings which has just announced a $40 million Series B round. Investors in the round include ArcTern Ventures, a leading climate tech fund, Khosla Ventures, Bold Capital Partners, and Zeno Ventures.
Using advanced robotics and proprietary composite materials, Mighty Buildings says it is able to print an entire home offsite in around twenty-four to thirty-six hours. By applying state-of-the-art automation and innovative new technologies, Mighty Buildings can produce 3D printed structures two times as quickly and with ten times less waste than conventional construction. And in case you were wondering on a structural basis, their composite materials are stronger and more resilient than concrete.
Crucially from an environmental; perspective the Mighty Buildings panelised technology printing system yields virtually zero waste and the byproduct waste is recycled into the production of new material.
“Mighty Buildings has the potential to disrupt the construction industry through its cutting-edge technology” said Mira Inbar, Associate Partner of ArcTern. “With that disruption will come enormous social and environmental benefits, including the ability to dramatically reduce waste, produce net zero homes more efficiently, and enable communities to rebuild faster after climate events. That’s really exciting, and why we invested.”
