Backflip Unveils AI Model Turning Text into Reality, Secures $30M from NEA and Andreessen Horowitz
Backflip, a revolutionary 3D generative AI company, has officially emerged from stealth mode, unveiling its groundbreaking technology along with an impressive $30 million in funding. The funding round was co-led by the prestigious venture capital firms NEA and Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), with support from prominent angel investors such as Kevin Scott, Microsoft’s CTO and LinkedIn co-founder; Rich Miner, the founder of Android and an AI futurist; and Ashish Vaswani, co-author of the influential Attention is All You Need paper.
Founded by Greg Mark, the CEO, and David Benhaim, the CTO, Backflip brings together the expertise of the dynamic NEA duo behind Markforged, a leading industrial 3D printing company. Backflip’s mission is nothing short of transformative: to change the way designers and engineers bring ideas to life. “What if designers and engineers could go from concept to creation at the speed of their imagination? What if one designer could move as fast as 100?” asked the team, framing the core vision of their innovative platform.
Lila Tretikov, NEA Partner and Head of AI Strategy, expressed her excitement about Backflip’s potential. In a statement, she said, “The promise of AI extends far beyond transforming knowledge—it is the catalyst for building a world once only imagined. At NEA, we seek out extraordinary founders capable of driving this transformative vision across massive industries, from manufacturing and construction to transportation and robotics. The Backflip team stands at the forefront of this new industrial age, revitalizing American manufacturing, strengthening national security, and accelerating economic prosperity.”
Echoing her enthusiasm, Andrew Chen, General Partner at Andreessen Horowitz, shared his thoughts on the significance of Backflip’s breakthrough. “The line between the physical and virtual world continues to blur. At the cutting edge of all computing advancements has been the push to create 3D simulations in virtual worlds that mirror the real world. That holy grail is now within reach thanks to the convergence of 3D photorealism from gaming and VFX with physics-based simulations from engineering. That’s why we’re so excited about Backflip’s new technology, which will allow users to turn text into physical reality.”
Traditionally, engineers and designers have relied on conventional 3D design software to create digital models of their ideas, which are then used to produce physical products. While these tools are invaluable, they are often slow and cumbersome, limiting the speed and flexibility of the design process. Every product released into the market typically has features or refinements that could have been incorporated if the design and production cycle had been faster and more efficient.
Greg Mark, reflecting on the past half-century of technological advancements, noted, “Each era of humanity is defined by the tools we harness. The last 50 years have brought remarkable advancements in software and electronics, but physical product design has lagged behind. We’re building the next-generation tool that enables a small team to move with the velocity of the largest engineering teams, marking a giant leap forward for bringing design and manufacturing back to the U.S.”
Backflip’s breakthrough technology promises to change the status quo in product design and manufacturing. The company has developed an AI-powered design platform that dramatically accelerates the design process. What once took days or even weeks to conceptualize and refine can now be achieved in minutes. This tool allows users to generate 3D-printable models simply by providing text descriptions or uploading photographs of broken items in need of replacement.
By transforming NEA complex design challenges into rapid solutions, Backflip’s platform significantly reduces time-to-market for new products. This innovation is especially crucial in industries such as manufacturing, where speed and efficiency are essential. Backflip’s technology is not just about making the design process faster; it is about democratizing the power of rapid prototyping and design. Smaller teams can now work with the same agility and speed as large engineering firms, creating the possibility of accelerated innovation across multiple industries.
The Backflip team is not just aiming to enhance NEA design efficiency; they are also positioning the company as a key player in revitalizing American manufacturing. By improving the speed and flexibility of the product design process, Backflip is enabling companies to design and produce goods more efficiently, which could bring significant economic benefits and strengthen national competitiveness.
In conclusion, Backflip’s AI-powered platform is set to revolutionize the way products are designed and manufactured. With the backing of high-profile investors and a visionary leadership team, the company is poised to redefine the future of industrial design and manufacturing. By leveraging AI to bridge the gap between the physical and digital worlds, Backflip is enabling a new era of innovation that could reshape industries across the globe.
“Our vision is simple: AI language models capture how we think, vision models capture how we see, and Backflip is creating foundational models that capture how we build,” said CTO David Benhaim. The company has created a novel neural representation that teaches AI to think in 3D, unlocking a new category of models. This breakthrough yields 60 times more efficient training, 10 times faster inference, and 100 times the spatial resolution compared to existing state-of-the-art methods.
Backflip’s next-generation AI foundation models are designed to form the core of the real-world design process. These foundational models will serve as the backbone for the physical products of tomorrow, helping industries like manufacturing, aerospace, and robotics move faster, more efficiently, and with greater precision.
The Backflip founding team, Greg Mark and David Benhaim, brings a wealth of experience in both hardware and software. Before launching Backflip NEA, they co-founded Markforged, where they revolutionized the 3D printing industry by introducing carbon fiber and mixed-metal printing technologies. These innovations resulted in parts that were 20 times stronger than traditional 3D printed materials, NEA enabling applications in industries with the highest performance demands, including aerospace, military, and automotive manufacturing. Under their leadership, Markforged grew to a $2.1 billion valuation and went public in 2021. Their technology is used in mission-critical applications in industries ranging from the International Space Station to U.S. nuclear submarines.
With this new venture, Backflip is positioned to disrupt industries around the globe, from advanced manufacturing to the creation of everyday products. The company’s AI-powered tools promise to transform how we design, create, and manufacture the physical world, marking a major leap forward in the next industrial revolution.
