Fabheads Bags $10 Mn To Manufacture Composite Materials

Chennai-based composite materials startup Fabheads Automation has raised $10 Mn (about INR 86.7 Cr) in its Series A round led by Accel. The funding round also saw participation from Trifecta Capital.

In a statement, the startup said that the freshly raised capital will be deployed to scale up its manufacturing capacity, expand leadership team, and shore up engineering and research and development (R&D).

Fabheads currently has one manufacturing facility in Chennai. It now plans to establish a larger manufacturing facility in Bengaluru, which will commence operations in the next six months, a spokesperson of the startup told Inc42. 

The new unit would primarily target the aerospace sector. The startup plans to focus on expanding its footprint to cater to international demand.

Founded in 2015 by former ISRO engineers Dhinesh Kanagaraj and Abhijeet Rathore, Fabheads offers designing, prototyping, production, and certification services for carbon fiber and composite components across industries. From tooling to manufacturing, the startup manages the entire lifecycle of delivering fully validated composite components.

In simple terms, composite materials combine two or more materials and have better features and properties. 

Fabheads primarily caters to the defence, aerospace, shipping, automotive and energy sectors. At the heart of its tech stack is its patented 3D printing technology and software for manufacturing such parts. The startup claims to have more than 10 patents in its kitty, spanning seven countries in Asia and Europe. 

With the latest funding round, Fabheads has raised $13 Mn in funding to date. It counts Keiretsu Chennai, Inflection Point Ventures, O2 Angels, Rockstud Capital, ace investor Vijay Kedia, among others, as its investors.

Fabheads was one of the deeptech startups from Tamil Nadu that received investment interest at the MeitY Investor Connect Programme in Chennai last year. 

The development comes at a time when the global deeptech market is projected to reach a size of $714.6 Bn by 2031, growing at a CAGR of 48.2%. On the back of this, investors are making a beeline for the sector despite longer gestation periods and extensive capital required by deeptech companies. 

For instance, Delhi NCR-based Probus Smart Things secured $5 Mn in in February this year to scale its communications technology for smart grids and integrate AI capabilities. Prior to that, Proxgy also secured an investment from Indian cricketer Anjikya Rahane as part of its $3 Mn Series A funding round.