Chennai-based advanced materials and manufacturing technology startup ThinkMetal has raised Rs 27 crore in a funding round led by IAN Alpha Fund, with participation from 3i Partners and existing investors.
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The startup plans to use the fresh capital to accelerate product development, expand its research and development (R&D) capabilities, strengthen its team and increase the adoption of its technology among industrial customers.
Founded in 2021 by Sabyasachi Ghosh and Arushi Sharma, ThinkMetal develops indigenous technologies for high-value precision metal manufacturing, serving industries including aerospace, defence, space, automotive and electric mobility.
The startup aims to address challenges associated with conventional precision manufacturing, where producing specialised metal components can involve long lead times, expensive tooling, complex equipment and dependence on imported technologies.
What does ThinkMetal do?
ThinkMetal is developing an integrated manufacturing platform that combines advanced materials, manufacturing processes, industrial systems and application development to make precision metal production faster and more cost-effective.
Its current commercial offering is SistemT1, an industrial metal additive manufacturing system designed to produce high-value precision metal components. The system uses the company’s proprietary FuseX metal filament technology.
The technology builds metal components layer by layer using engineered metal filament. The printed parts then undergo debinding and high-temperature sintering to achieve their final metal properties.
According to ThinkMetal, its manufacturing technology can produce high-value precision metal parts up to 10 times faster and at half the cost of traditional manufacturing methods.
The startup has progressed from technology development to pilot projects with enterprise customers and is now working towards larger commercial deployments.
It is also expanding its materials library and developing in-house capabilities to process and develop new materials for specialised industrial applications.
Focus on indigenous manufacturing and intellectual property
Beyond its existing manufacturing system, ThinkMetal is developing capabilities across materials, production processes and industrial applications, with the aim of reducing dependence on imported manufacturing technologies.
According to IAN Alpha Fund, the startup has made at least 17 intellectual property (IP) filings as part of its technology development efforts. The funding announcement did not specify how many of these have resulted in granted intellectual property rights.
The startup estimates a global market opportunity of approximately $110 billion across advanced manufacturing and materials. The announcement did not provide a detailed breakdown of how the estimate was calculated.
Sabyasachi Ghosh, co-founder and CEO of 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.”
IAN Alpha Fund’s investment in advanced manufacturing
IAN Alpha Fund is a $100 million venture capital fund registered with SEBI as a Category II Alternative Investment Fund.
It is the second venture capital fund in IAN Group’s series and focuses on tech-led businesses across sectors including deeptech, healthtech, cleantech, agritech, manufacturing, hardware and electronics.
The fund announced its final close at $100 million in December 2025, with an investment strategy focused on early-stage companies developing technology-driven solutions.
IAN Group also operates IAN Angel Fund and BioAngels, providing funding, mentoring and market access to startups across different sectors.
Rajnish Kapur, managing partner at 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.”
The investment comes as ThinkMetal seeks to expand the commercial adoption of its manufacturing technologies beyond enterprise pilot projects.
Over the longer term, the startup aims to build a global materials innovation and intelligence business, developing advanced materials and scalable precision manufacturing technologies for critical industrial applications.
