Backflip, a startup founded by 3D printing veterans Greg Mark and David Benhaim, has emerged from stealth mode with $30 million in funding to revolutionize the design process for engineers and designers.

CEO Greg Mark stated that the tool enables small teams to achieve the efficiency of large engineering teams, promoting domestic design and manufacturing.

The initial model released is described as an 'onramp to 3D design,' allowing various input methods to create 3D models ready for printing.

Backflip's technology reportedly achieves 60 times more efficient training, 10 times faster inference, and 100 times the spatial resolution compared to existing methods.

Designed for various industries, including aerospace and defense, Backflip's technology aims to enhance creative problem-solving capabilities.

The funding round was co-led by NEA and Andreessen Horowitz, with notable angel investors including Microsoft CTO Kevin Scott and Android founder Rich Miner.

Backflip's new AI-powered design platform translates user inputs into high-resolution, 3D-printable models, significantly reducing the time required for creating usable designs from hours or days to mere minutes.

The AI models are trained on a dataset of approximately 10 million 3D parts, developed over two years, allowing for the creation of designs based on various input methods.

Safety concerns related to democratizing design are acknowledged, with Backflip implementing two levels of content safety checkers to prevent harmful designs from being created.

Mark and Benhaim, who previously founded Markforged, emphasize that focusing on design software is crucial for advancing 3D printing technology.

Backflip has been operating in stealth mode since its founding in December 2022, reflecting a growing trend among venture capitalists to invest in AI technologies that streamline labor-intensive processes.

The platform allows users to generate parts simply by describing them in text or uploading photos, making 3D printing more accessible to the general public.