IAN Alpha Fund leads ₹27 crore funding round in ThinkMetal
IAN Alpha Fund, the second fund in the IAN Group’s series of venture capital funds, has led a ₹27 crore funding round in ThinkMetal, an advanced materials and manufacturing technology company building indigenous technologies for high-value precision manufacturing. The round also saw participation from 3i Partners and existing investors.
The new capital will support ThinkMetal’s next phase of growth, including product development, expansion of its materials and R&D capabilities, strengthening of the team, and wider adoption of its technology among industrial customers.
Manufacturing high-value precision metal parts, tools and components for demanding industrial applications can involve long lead times, expensive tooling, specialised equipment and dependence on imported technologies. ThinkMetal is building an integrated technology stack to address these challenges by combining advanced materials, manufacturing processes, industrial systems and application development.
Its current commercial beachhead is SistemT1, an industrial metal additive manufacturing system designed to enable faster and more flexible production of precision metal components. SistemT1 is powered by ThinkMetal’s proprietary FuseX™ metal filament technology, which forms part of the company’s growing materials and process IP portfolio.
Founded by Sabyasachi Ghosh and Arushi Sharma, ThinkMetal has progressed from technology development to enterprise application-led pilots and is now focused on taking these solutions into larger commercial deployments. The company is also expanding its materials library and building in-house capabilities for processing and developing newer materials.
ThinkMetal serves industrial manufacturers requiring qualified, high-value precision manufacturing for mission-critical applications across sectors including aerospace, defence, space, automotive and electric mobility. Rather than building around a single machine, the company is developing capabilities across materials, manufacturing technology and application knowledge with the aim of building deeper IP and indigenous technology capabilities that can extend across industrial applications. The company estimates a global opportunity of approximately $110 billion across advanced manufacturing and materials.
Sabyasachi Ghosh, Co-founder & CEO, ThinkMetal, said: “This investment is an important step in ThinkMetal’s journey from technology development towards commercialisation. We’ll use this capital to strengthen our product development, expand our team and materials capabilities and accelerate adoption across industrial applications. Our long-term focus remains on building deep indigenous capabilities in materials and manufacturing technologies from India for global markets.”
Rajnish Kapur, Managing Partner, IAN Alpha Fund, said: “Strong nations are built on core materials and manufacturing technologies they own. ThinkMetal is building toward that for India in metal additive manufacturing, with an integrated stack of indigenous hardware, proprietary materials and manufacturing technology. Its platform enables manufacturers to produce high-value precision metal parts up to 10x faster and at half the cost, with part quality tested at NABL/ASME- accredited labs. With 17+ IPs already filed, Arushi and Sabyasachi have built a genuine deep-tech moat, developing capabilities across materials, processes and applications that can create a deeper technology and IP base, and we believe ThinkMetal can redefine how India makes high-value precision metal parts. We are proud to back them.”
ThinkMetal’s long-term vision is to build a global materials innovation and intelligence company, making advanced materials and mission-critical precision manufacturing faster, more accessible and industrially scalable, while building globally competitive technology capabilities from India.
About ThinkMetal:
ThinkMetal is an advanced materials and manufacturing technology company building indigenous solutions to make high-value precision manufacturing faster, more predictable and scalable. Industrial metal additive manufacturing is its current commercial beachhead, while its long-term focus is on building deeper capabilities in advanced materials, manufacturing technology and manufacturing intelligence for critical industrial applications.
About IAN Alpha Fund:
IAN Alpha Fund, a $100 Mn SEBI-registered Category II AIF VC Fund, is the 2nd fund in IAN Group’s series of funds. The Fund explores opportunities in diverse sectors such as healthtech, cleantech, deep tech, agritech, medtech, hardware and electronics, manufacturing, Web 3.0, Metaverse, Industry 4.0, SaaS, and other sectors where innovation is transformational. The Fund invests in innovative startups solving real problems for India and the world, with sustainable business models enabling scale by leveraging technology. With the IAN Alpha Fund, IAN Group continues its two-decade legacy of building a portfolio of technology-focused, innovative companies led by founders who not only understand customer needs but also have the leadership qualities to build large and valuable businesses.
About IAN Group:
IAN Group is India’s largest horizontal platform for early-stage investments, comprising the IAN Angel Fund, BioAngels, and a series of SEBI-registered Venture Capital Funds, the latest being a US$100mn VC Fund, IAN Alpha Fund. IAN enables entrepreneurs to raise from Rs. 50 lakhs to Rs. 50 crores, supported by high-quality mentoring by successful entrepreneurs, enabling access to global markets. IAN Group backs founders across domains and helps them scale their companies across India and beyond. Forbes has recognised IAN as one of the most iconic business and economic developments of Independent India over the last 75 years, alongside institutions such as LIC, NASSCOM, the RBI, and Naukri.com.