Divergent Technologies has raised $290 million in a Series E round, giving the firm a $2.3 billion valuation.The round included $250 million in equity capital and $40 million in debt capital, led by Rochefort Asset Management.Rochefort, a joint venture of Hayman Capital Management and Serengeti Asset Management, focuses on defense manufacturing investments and is one of the first licensed managers under the Small Business Investment Company Critical Technology (SBICCT) Initiative.
This program, run jointly by the U.S.Small Business Administration (SBA) and the Department of Defense (DoD), which, following a recent executive order, is also referred to as the Department of War, aims to lend money to small businesses working in areas of interest to the DoD.The idea is to loan money to firms on the cutting edge of hypersonics or one of the 14 critical technology areas for the DoD.
The program’s idea is to invest up to $4 billion into as many as 1,000.According to the initiative, the average net income should be less than $8 million for two years, and the book value should be less than $24 million.So I can’t be sure if this investment is made entirely under the Critical Technologies Initiative or if Rochefort can do things outside the scope of that agreement, or if Divergent’s revenue, burn, and valuation are a bit out of joint.
The Czinger 21C hypercar features over 350 AM components.Image courtesy of Divergent Technologies.CEO Lukas Czinger said, “Divergent was founded to transform the built world with a software-defined manufacturing platform.
This funding enables us to scale DAPS for aerospace and defense, expand our world-class team, and strengthen America’s industrial base with a truly next-generation system.” Meanwhile, Rochefort Asset Management’s Kyle Bass said, “Divergent is delivering exactly what America needs — a stronger, faster, and more adaptable industrial base.By uniting advanced software and hardware into a single platform, Divergent is proving that the U.S.can out-innovate and out-produce on the global stage.
We are confident this team will redefine manufacturing and strengthen America’s position in the industries that matter most.” The company says that it has worked with Aston Martin, Bugatti, and McLaren, and also collaborates with General Atomics, Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, and Triumph Group, producing in 2025, “200 new aerospace and defense part numbers, bringing its total to more than 600 unique parts across industries.” It also says that revenue grew five times in 2025.I’m a little confused over the revenue situation versus the valuation and eligibility criteria for the Critical Technologies Initiative.Does this mean that at most Divergent’s revenue was $1.6 million last year, and it now has a $2.3 billion valuation at less than $8 million revenue, or am I missing something? Divergent has already secured $47 million in debt financing in 2024, bringing its total to $816 million.
The company raised $330 million from Hexagon in 2022 and has just secured an additional $22 million from ex-Hexagon CEO Ola Rollén.I’m sceptical about the actual value that Divergent is creating for its customers.Their Divergent Adaptive Production System (DAPS) is a wonderful concept.
A flexible but scalable platform for producing most anything is a great idea.But the company has never managed to convince us as to what kind of unique technology it is developing precisely.What unique sauce does the firm have to make such a production system work? So far, it’s been a company that has helped design and print some parts using SLM Solutions machines.
Yes, there are robots too, but where is the magic? What can they do that other firms can not? The vision to me is wonderful, and the marketing is great.Their ability to find money is enviable as well.But how can one firm make a flexible manufacturing technology that others can not? Where exactly is this money flowing to provide Divergent with lasting value? There is a lot to be won through conveyancing and tracking part geometries throughout the manufacturing process.
By integrating QA, testing, design, and many more disparate elements, the company could produce parts better than others.But, where is any actual advantage coming from? And how could they shore it up through investments made now? A look at the Divergent 3D factory.Image courtesy of Marc Weisberg.
If we look at their site, we can read things like; “Manufacturing instructions are sent to the 3D printer, where Divergent materializes individual printed Nodes with application-specific alloys at industrial rates.Divergent’s universal robotic assembly process is fully software defined, assembling the printed nodes without the need for design-specific tools.” Am I the only one who doesn’t understand what this means? Doesn’t it sound a bit overly complicated to you? You’re using the right metal to make a part at the same speed as everyone else.And you then stick them together? Surely this isn’t everything? Please, God, tell me the Department of War didn’t just spend several hundred million dollars on a glue gun stuck to an ABB robot arm? AI is now making it easy to puzzle together like five parts automatically? I’m assuming that there’s a lot of welding, scanning, and much more going on.
Where is the value actually being created? Is it in sticking together prints into larger assemblies? How are the actual process economics being improved? Why use AI if you’re only doing 600 different designs a year? Maybe it will make sense to me someday, but for now, I just don’t understand what Divergent is up to and how it’s supposed to work.Subscribe to Our Email Newsletter Stay up-to-date on all the latest news from the 3D printing industry and receive information and offers from third party vendors.Print Services Upload your 3D Models and get them printed quickly and efficiently.
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