Fast Radius, the leading provider of cloud manufacturing solutions and an Energize portfolio company, today announced that it has entered into a definitive business combination agreement with ECP Environmental Growth Opportunities Corp.. (NASDAQ: ENNV), a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company (SPAC). The combined company will have an estimated post-transaction equity value of $1.4 billion.
The net proceeds raised from the transaction will be used to support Fast Radius’ continued growth across customer acquisition, software development, and micro-factory expansion. Founders Lou Rassey, Pat McCusker, Bill King and John Nanry will continue to lead the company and remain committed to executing Fast Radius’ proven business model and driving value for all stakeholders.
The manufacturing industry is reaching an inflection point and is primed for digital innovation. In the past, the sector has been dominated by analog and often outdated operational processes, often lagging behind other industries in terms of technology adoption. And while there are many digital tools available to help simplify manufacturing operations and enhance customer experience, the problem is that many of these technologies do not integrate well with the existing infrastructure. We have seen a need among industrial manufacturers for solutions that can help address complex challenges that come with managing global supply chains. At the same time, the industry needs innovation that can help further drive down costs and optimize efficiency — both of which benefit the end consumer.
Fast Radius’ integrated digital and physical platform simplifies the way parts are designed, made and moved around the world. We believe their Cloud Manufacturing Platform technology is poised to have a profound impact on the future of the industry.
We first met the Fast Radius team in 2019, initially invested in their Series B in early 2020, and then followed up with another investment — including capital deployed from our growth fund — in Q1 2021. Both Energize and Fast Radius being based in Chicago, we had the opportunity to walk over to their headquarters to tour their factory, get to know the team and learn more about their product. We left that initial meeting with a strong feeling that the technology we just saw would be the future of manufacturing.
At Energize, we are big believers in the decentralization of industrial processes to increase operational efficiency, lower costs and improve sustainability. Fast Radius’ Cloud Manufacturing Platform enables seamless and on-demand production of parts, helping customers address supply chain challenges and efficiently scale their business, all while operating more sustainably.
While Fast Radius has a strong track record with customers in industries like healthcare and robotics, we are also seeing new opportunities arise to unlock value in energy and sustainable industry — such as the design and manufacturing of parts for solar installation and electric vehicles. In our partnership with the team, we have focused on helping them accelerate expansion of their software platform, identify and launch new applications, and scale their production-grade cloud manufacturing capacity.
An extremely important piece in Energize’s due diligence process and evaluation of a potential investment is the team. A technology can be world-class and poised to disrupt an industry, but without the guidance and leadership of the right team, it is not a good investment. Fast Radius’ team, led by Lou, Pat, Bill and John has expertise that runs deep and wide across manufacturing, engineering, industrial innovation and technology. More importantly, they are relentlessly committed to their customers. Fast Radius is not a design or fulfillment shop, but a long-term partner in helping make customers’ visions a reality.
We are thrilled to support Fast Radius in this next step and are excited for what’s to come as they continue to transform the manufacturing industry throughs software innovation.
