Caracol scales up, expands internationally with €10.6 million Series A funding

Industrial large-format 3D printing company Caracol (Barlassina, Italy) closes a €10.6 million Series A investment round, with CDP Venture Capital, Neva SGR, Venture Capital from Intesa Sanpaolo Group, and Primo Space Fund and EUREKA! Venture SGR, whom are already Caracol investors. The deal was completed successfully thanks to the support and coordination provided by the financial advisor Growth Capital, together with law firms Fieldfisher, HiLex, Almasta and Linklaters.

This funding round culminates the swift growth Caracol has experienced in the past year, tripling its turnover in 2022. The company notes that funding affirms the company’s large-format additive manufacturing (AM) platform, Heron AM, setting the grounds for international expansion. Heron is capable of producing on-demand medium- to large-scale components using thermoplastic and composite materials, virgin or recycled, and in-situ (examples of this can be read in “Caracol AM launches new identity, celebrates composites applications”). 

“This round is the crowning achievement in our journey of growth that has led prominent companies in sectors such as aerospace and marine to validate our technology,” Caracol CEO and Co-Founder Francesco De Stefano says. “Thanks to the trust bestowed by major Italian funds and the support received by our advisors, coordinated by Growth Capital, we’ll now have the possibility to accelerate the presence of our solutions in global markets, continuing to develop and consolidate the technology that will accelerate a more efficient and sustainable future for the manufacturing world.”

Caracol will expand the presence of its technology, Heron AM, on an international scale. Following the product’s launch in September 2022, the objective is to equip manufacturing companies with a cutting-edge machine that can help overcome existing limits in traditional production processes in terms of efficiency, sustainability and flexibility. The funding round will support the company’s further development of its partner network for the technical progress and for the commercialization of Heron AM in key European and global markets. Additionally, to consolidate its presence in key regions, Caracol will be opening two new hubs in North America and in the Middle East, with dedicated local teams. This operation will lead the company’s team to triple in around two years, to about 120 employees in 2024.

This expansion will be backed by investments in research and development (R&D), that account for 40% of revenues, on which the company built its technological leadership through the years. The aim is to continue developing the turnkey large-format solution Heron AM, in terms of hardware and software, expanding the range of materials processed, broadening potential
applications produced and improving the technical performance of the offered solution.

Learn more about Caracol’s capabilities in the AM space, “Large-scale, robotic-mounted 3D printer aims to expand AM size limits.”