Inventables raises $11.5M for its desktop milling technology

Inventables announced this morning that it has raised an $11.5 million Series C. The round, led by Cue Ball, alongside True Ventures, Greycroft, Pipeline Capital and Draper Associates, brings the Chicago-based startup’s total funding cup to 21 million, per Crunchbase.

The company specializes in desktop 3D carving — or subtractive manufacturing (not to be confused with the additive variety you get with 3D printers). While Inventables has produced its own proprietary machines, including the X Carve and the no longer available Carvey, this round is all about its software offerings.

Inventables says most of the funding this round will go into Easel, the company’s web-based design platform. Among other things, the company is working to make the technology compatible with more third-party machines.

“We are excited to see thousands of American businesses using our products for production,” founder and CEO Zach Kaplan said in a release tied to the news. This investment enables Inventables to enhance the functionality and compatibility of our Easel software, helping our business customers produce products faster and more profitably.”

The move is also clearly an attempt to transform the platform into a serious business product — though Inventables has apparently had little trouble attracting users. The company says it’s currently on track for four million carving projects this year using its services.