Type Private Number of locations 1 office (2016) | Industry Technology | |
Founded June 11, 2014; 2 years ago (2014-06-11) Founder Joseph DeSimone
Philip DeSimone Headquarters 312 Chestnut Street, Redwood City, California, United States | ||
Carbon (legally Carbon3D Inc.) is a technology company and manufacturer founded in June 11, 2014 by Joseph and Philip DeSimone, based in Redwood City, California. It manufactures and develops 3D printers utilizing the Continuous Liquid Interface Production (CLIP) process, with their first commercial product being the M1.
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History
The company was started in June 11, 2014 by Joseph and Philip DeSimone. On March 2015, Joseph gave a TED talk which showed a preview of a 3D printer prototype using Continuous Liquid Interface Production (CLIP), with a scene in Terminator 2: Judgement Day was cited as the inspiration for the technology. After Autodesk funded $10 million towards Carbon in June, Ford Motor Company announced a partnership with the company, as well as joining Carbon's early access program for their printers. Legacy Effects was given the technology to use for Terminator Genisys, as well as Delphi Automotive, and former Ford CEO and President Alan Mulally joined the board of directors within the same month. In July, the company also raised $70 million in equity funding, and in an interview with The Motley Fool, Joseph stated more capabilities and features of CLIP.
On August, the company raised over $100 million in a Series C funding round, which was led by GV and including other investors Yuri Milner, Reinet Investments, and F.I.S. Others including Sequoia Capital, Silver Lake Kraftwerk, and Northgate Capital were noted at the time as existing investors, and Paul DiLaura, former Dassault Systèmes Managing Director, joined as Vice President of Sales. The company was subsequently named the Technology Pioneer by the World Economic Forum within August as well.
On January 2016, Johnson & Johnson announced a partnership with Carbon to create custom surgical devices. In March, Kodak also announced a partnership with Carbon to produce materials for its printers, while Josh Green, a Silicon Valley-based entrepreneur, joined as a General Counsel. On April, the company announced the commercial printer, the M1. Valerie Buckingham, a former Microsoft marketing executive, joined as Vice President of Marketing in May. On August, it was announced that service bureaus Dinsmore Inc and Midwest Prototyping would offer the M1 and Carbon's services. In September, the company collected $81.1 million, attracting companies GE Ventures, BMW, Nikon and JSR, with both Nikon and JSR planning to help Carbon enter the Japanese market, while BMW and General Electric announced its incorporation of the M1 in their German facilities. On November, BMW joined the early access program.
M1
The Carbon M1 is a 3D printer developed and manufactured by Carbon. It can produce parts sized up to 144 x 81 x 330mm, with the light engine display LED uses 75μm pixels. The company is leasing the platform on a yearly basis and companies, such as BMW, Ford, and Legacy Effects, have already had access to the technology, including on a project involving Genisys collectibles. The printer supports using a variety of resin materials including some already in production commercial applications.
Logo and branding
The branding for the company consists of two separate images: a monogram and a logotype. The monogram consists of a third-dimensional, block "C", which is at an angle and is highlighted white from the sides, and mainly employs the use of negative space. The logotype for the company consists of the word, "Carbon" in pure form typed in a custom sans-serif font, mainly used to accommodate the graphic monogram. According to the designer, Moving Brands:
It is a bold, industrial icon inspired by the concept of fabricating with light. It is constructed by using light to convey the form of a three dimensional character ‘C’ – a representation of the carbon symbol.