Divergent Tech: USD 290 million for digital manufacturing for defense

Los Ange­les — Defense tech­no­lo­gies are all the rage. — Los Ange­­les-based Diver­gent Tech­no­lo­gies has secu­red $290 million in new finan­cing at a valua­tion of $2.3 billion. The finan­cing round, led by Roche­fort Asset Manage­ment, includes $250 million in equity and $40 million in debt. 

The company plans to invest the proceeds in the cons­truc­tion of new produc­tion faci­li­ties to meet growing demand from aero­space and defense customers.
The timing of this capi­tal raise reflects a signi­fi­cant shift in the industry.

Supply chain disrup­ti­ons have rocked the aero­space and defense indus­try in recent years, slowing the intro­duc­tion of aircraft compon­ents and defense systems just at a time when demand is incre­asing. Addi­tive manu­fac­tu­ring offers a stra­te­gic response to this, enab­ling manu­fac­tu­r­ers to design and produce complex parts faster, with less waste and less reli­ance on tradi­tio­nal tooling. 

End-to-end digi­tal manufacturing

Foun­ded in 2014 by Kevin Czin­ger and Lukas Czin­ger, Diver­gent is the deve­lo­per of the Diver­gent Adap­tive Produc­tion System (DAPS™), the worl­d’s first end-to-end digi­tal manu­fac­tu­ring plat­form that enables rapid design, addi­tive manu­fac­tu­ring and auto­ma­ted assembly.

The company aims to rede­fine the way complex struc­tures are desi­gned and built. Diver­gent deve­lops hard­ware that enables custo­mers to 3D print and assem­ble parts with unpre­ce­den­ted efficiency. 

Its custo­mers include indus­try giants such as Gene­ral Atomics, Lock­heed Martin and Raytheon — compa­nies that are incre­asingly rely­ing on advan­ced manu­fac­tu­ring tech­ni­ques to circum­vent bott­len­ecks and speed up production.

Precis­ion in the defense and aero­space industry 

Diver­gen­t’s approach is more than just an incre­men­tal impro­ve­ment; it marks a funda­men­tal depar­ture from tradi­tio­nal manu­fac­tu­ring proces­ses. By digi­tally manu­fac­tu­ring parts layer by layer, the company enables rapid proto­type deve­lo­p­ment and produc­tion flexi­bi­lity. This is attrac­tive to inves­tors as both govern­ments and contrac­tors look to streng­then dome­stic manu­fac­tu­ring capa­bi­li­ties and reduce reli­ance on fragile supply chains. 

The deal also high­lights a larger trend in how modern indus­tries are rede­sig­ning their produc­tion lines. Aero­space compa­nies are leading the way because they can reduce costs while main­tai­ning precis­ion engineering. 

Earlier this year , Pratt & Whit­ney, an RTX company, announ­ced an addi­tive manu­fac­tu­ring process for repai­ring its geared turbo­fan engi­nes that redu­ced lead times by over 60%. Such breakth­roughs unders­core the importance of 3D prin­ting not only for proto­type deve­lo­p­ment, but also for real-world appli­ca­ti­ons that improve effi­ci­ency and reliability. 

For Diver­gent, the oppor­tu­nity lies in trans­fer­ring these capa­bi­li­ties beyond pilot projects to large-scale indus­trial opera­ti­ons. The plan­ned systems will make a decisive contri­bu­tion to demons­t­ra­ting that addi­tive manu­fac­tu­ring can relia­bly deli­ver large quan­ti­ties for mission-criti­­cal programs. 

More than just capital

By secu­ring almost 300 million US dollars, Diver­gent Tech­no­lo­gies has gained more than just capi­tal and boos­ted inves­tor confi­dence in a future where digi­tal manu­fac­tu­ring is no longer expe­ri­men­tal, but essen­tial. If the expan­sion is successful, the startup could help set a new stan­dard for how the world builds the systems it relies on for safety, trans­por­ta­tion and innovation. 

With custo­mers from the defense sector as its core busi­ness, the company is posi­tio­ning itself as an important pioneer for next-gene­ra­­tion avia­tion and mili­tary systems.

“Diver­gent was foun­ded to trans­form the built world with a soft­­ware-defi­­ned manu­fac­tu­ring plat­form,” said Lukas Czin­ger, Chief Execu­tive Offi­cer and Co-Foun­­der of Diver­gent. “This funding will allow us to scale DAPS for aero­space and defense, expand our world-class team, and streng­then Ameri­ca’s indus­trial base with a truly game-chan­­ging system.” 

“Diver­gent deli­vers exactly what America needs — a stron­ger, faster and more adap­ta­ble indus­trial base,” said Kyle Bass, Co-CEO of Roche­fort Asset Manage­ment. “By uniting advan­ced soft­ware and hard­ware in a single plat­form, Diver­gent is proving that the U.S. can lead on the global stage in inno­va­tion and manu­fac­tu­ring. We are confi­dent that this team will rede­fine manu­fac­tu­ring and streng­then Ameri­ca’s posi­tion in key industries.” 

About Diver­gent

Diver­gent is the deve­lo­per of the Diver­gent Adap­tive Produc­tion System (DAPS™), the worl­d’s first end-to-end digi­tal manu­fac­tu­ring plat­form that enables rapid design, addi­tive manu­fac­tu­ring and auto­ma­ted assem­bly. Head­quar­te­red in Torrance, Cali­for­nia, Diver­gent is resha­ping the future of defense, aero­space and auto­mo­tive manu­fac­tu­ring. — www.divergent3d.com

About Roche­fort Asset Management

Roche­fort Asset Manage­ment is a U.S.-based, natio­nal secu­rity-focu­­sed private asset manage­ment firm that invests in trans­for­ma­tive tech­no­lo­gies. As a licen­sed mana­ger of the U.S. Depart­ment of War’s Office of Stra­te­gic Capi­tal (OSC), Roche­fort works with compa­nies driving inno­va­tion in defense tech­no­logy and the indus­trial base. 

www.rochefort.us