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Are you an investor in Aurora Cannabis $ACB.ca ? Check out today’s news regarding supply agreement with Namaste $N.ca #Vapes #Vaping

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 10:05 AM on Thursday, September 28th, 2017

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N: CSE

  • Announced that the companies have signed an exclusive hardware supply agreement for the Canadian market
  • Aurora, through its website and mobile app, will offer a specially curated selection of industry-leading vaporizers, which will be sourced from Namaste
  • Will be providing these products to Aurora customers via next day delivery across Canada, and same day delivery to customers in the Greater Toronto Area, which has a population of nearly 6.5 million people

Today’s News / Beyond The Press Release Interview

Aurora Cannabis $ACB.ca and Namaste $N.ca Announce Strategic Hardware Supply Agreement #MMJ

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 8:57 AM on Thursday, September 28th, 2017

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  • Announced that the companies have signed an exclusive hardware supply agreement for the Canadian market
  • Aurora, through its website and mobile app, will offer a specially curated selection of industry-leading vaporizers, which will be sourced from Namaste
  • Will be providing these products to Aurora customers via next day delivery across Canada, and same day delivery to customers in the Greater Toronto Area, which has a population of nearly 6.5 million people

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Sept. 28, 2017 — Namaste Technologies Inc. (“Namaste” or the “Company”) (CSE:N) (FRANKFURT:M5BQ) (OTCMKTS:NXTTF) and Aurora Cannabis (“Aurora”) (TSX:ACB) (OTCQX:ACBFF) (Frankfurt:21P) (WKN:A1C4WM) today announced that the companies have signed an exclusive hardware supply agreement for the Canadian market. Pursuant to the agreement, Aurora, through its website and mobile app, will offer a specially curated selection of industry-leading vaporizers, which will be sourced from Namaste.

Under the terms of the agreement, Namaste will establish a direct inventory feed to both Aurora’s online shop and its mobile app, providing Aurora customers with access to a range of medical grade vaporizers and other innovative products that are supplied through Namaste’s platform.

Namaste will be providing these products to Aurora customers via next day delivery across Canada, and same day delivery to customers in the Greater Toronto Area, which has a population of nearly 6.5 million people. Namaste will also provide Aurora with back-office support, including the handling of returns and warranty claims.

“This partnership is great for our clients and for Aurora, as it significantly broadens our product offering to customers, while requiring no capital outlay on our part,” said Terry Booth, CEO of Aurora. “The global cannabis markets are showing increasing momentum towards smoke-free options, and we are excited to meet this growing demand by offering a preferred selection of Namaste-sourced vaporizers that meet the Aurora Standard. Furthermore, offering a broader selection of high-quality ancillary products is an important element in our strategy to position Aurora for the adult consumer market, strengthening our brand in preparation for legalization in 2018.”

Sean Dollinger, President and CEO of Namaste, said “We believe that this agreement, the first of its kind for us, will dramatically increase our market reach in Canada and be accretive in nature. The Aurora Standard continues to set the benchmark for product quality and customer service, and Aurora has created one of the strongest brands in the global cannabis sector. We anticipate generating further traction for our best-in-class product offering, and we intend to leverage this model through securing similar agreements in other countries around the world.”

The global legal marijuana industry is rapidly becoming a multi-billion-dollar market, and Namaste aims to capture significant market share in the ancillary hardware segment of the sector. Through strategic partnerships with leading companies such as Aurora, Namaste, which year to date has already shipped in excess of 100,000 units, expects to expand its reach and increase its market share.

About Aurora

Aurora’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Aurora Cannabis Enterprises Inc., is a licensed producer of medical cannabis pursuant to Health Canada’s Access to Cannabis for Medical Purposes Regulations (“ACMPR”). The company operates a 55,200 square foot, state-of-the-art production facility in Mountain View County, Alberta, known as “Aurora Mountain”, is currently constructing a second 800,000 square foot production facility, known as “Aurora Sky”, at the Edmonton International Airport, and has acquired, and is undertaking completion of a third 40,000 square foot production facility in Pointe-Claire, Quebec, on Montreal’s West Island.

In addition, the company holds approximately 9.6% of the issued shares (12.9% on a fully-diluted basis) in leading extraction technology company Radient Technologies Inc., based in Edmonton, and is in the process of completing an investment in Edmonton-based Hempco Food and Fiber for an ownership stake of up to 50.1%. Furthermore, Aurora is the cornerstone investor with a 19.9% stake in Cann Group Limited, the first Australian company licensed to conduct research on and cultivate medical cannabis. Aurora also owns Pedanios, a leading wholesale importer, exporter, and distributor of medical cannabis in the European Union, based in Germany. Aurora’s common shares trade on TSX under the symbol “ACB”.

About Namaste Technologies Inc.

Namaste Technologies Inc. is an emerging leader in vaporizer and accessories space. Namaste has 26 ecommerce retail stores in 20 countries, offers the largest range of brand name vaporizers products on the market and is actively manufacturing and launching multiple unique proprietary products for retail and wholesale distribution. The Company is currently focused on expanding its product offering, acquisitions and strategic partnerships, and entering new markets globally.

On behalf of the Board of Directors

“Sean Dollinger”
Chief Executive Officer
Direct: +1 (786) 389 9771
Email: [email protected]

Further information on the Company and its products can be accessed through the links below:

www.namastetechnologies.com

www.namastevaporizers.com

www.namastevaporizers.co.uk

www.everyonedoesit.com

www.everyonedoesit.co.uk

FORWARD LOOKING INFORMATION This press release contains forward-looking information based on current expectations. These statements should not be read as guarantees of future performance or results. Such statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from those implied by such statements. Although such statements are based on management’s reasonable assumptions, Namaste assumes no responsibility to update or revise forward looking information to reflect new events or circumstances unless required by law. Although the Company believes that the expectations and assumptions on which the forward-looking statements are based are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking statements because the Company can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct. Since forward looking statements address future events and conditions, by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. These statements speak only as of the date of this press release. Actual results could differ materially from those currently anticipated due to a number of factors and risks including various risk factors discussed in the Company’s disclosure documents which can be found under the Company’s profile on www.sedar.com. This press release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended and such forward looking statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.  The CSE has neither reviewed nor approved the contents of this press release.

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$CKR.ca CKR Carbon Announces 6.06% Cg over 88 Metres at Buckingham

Posted by AGORACOM at 8:45 AM on Thursday, September 28th, 2017

https://s3.amazonaws.com/s3.agoracom.com/public/companies/logos/564608/hub/ckr_large.png

 

  • 100% owned Buckingham graphite project in Quebec.
  • 20.69% Cg over 8 metres in drill hole 17-02.
  • 2, 7.35% Cg over 12 metres in hole CK17-01

 

Toronto, Ontario–(Newsfile Corp. – September 28, 2017) –  CKR Carbon Corporation. (TSXV: CKR) (FSE: CB81) (“CKR” or the “Company”) a vertically integrated graphite to graphenes, advanced materials development company is pleased to provide initial results from the diamond drilling and trenching program at its 100% owned Buckingham graphite project in Quebec. Results have been received from three of five holes and one of four trenches, with assays up to 20.69% Cg (carbon as graphite) over 8 metres in drill hole 17-02.

Highlights of the results received to date include 15.0% Cg over eight metres in Trench 2, 7.35% Cg over 12 metres in hole CK17-01, and 6.06% Cg over 88 metres from nine metres that included a higher-grade interval of 20.69% Cg over 8 metres in hole CK17-02. A summary of the results is given in the table below.

 

Hole/Trench ID From (m) To (m) Width (m) Cg (%)
CK17-01 53 106 53 3.52
including 94 106 12 7.35
CK17-02 9 97 88 6.06
including 75 95 20 7.52
and 11 31 20 12.09
including 22 30 8 20.69
CK17-03 35 59 24 2.64
17-TR02 13.4 10.50
including 8 15.00

 

Widths are not necessarily true widths as there is currently insufficient information to calculate true widths.

The drilling and trenching follows up on positive results of airborne electromagnetics and trenching undertaking during 2016. Hole CK-17-01 was drilled below an isolated EM conductor and intersected graphite mineralization primarily hosted in marble with minor quartzo-feldspatic gneiss. Hole CK 17-02 was drilled into the main 1.54 kilometre long northeast-southwest trending EM conductor the northeast portion of which coincides with graphite mineralization in the Case Zone that yielded assays of 1.6% Cg to 28.7% Cg in 35 grab samples. The best intersections were associated with marble and calc-silicate rich rock. Hole CK-17-03 was drilled approximately 100m to the south east of CK17-02 where the EM anomaly narrows.

Results from trench two are encouraging, since it extends the known graphite mineralization approximately 230 metres to the southeast and confirms the coincidence of graphite mineralization with the EM conductor.

“We are very pleased with these results from our 100% owned Buckingham Project that confirm the graphite is associated with the EM conductor over the length tested to date,” said Roger Moss, Chief Executive Officer of CKR Carbon. “Results from Trench 17 TR-02 are particularly significant as it represents a 230 metre step southeast along the EM conductor.”

All samples were placed in a plastic sample bag along with a sample tag. Bags were sealed with a single use tie. Samples were securely stored prior to shipping to SGS in Lakefield Ontario. Samples were crushed, milled and roasted and treated by HCl leach prior to being assayed by the combustion infrared technique (LECO). The company routinely submits standards, duplicates and blanks with sample batches to monitor the quality of the assays.

The technical content of this News Release was approved by Roger Moss Ph.D., P.Geo, a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101.

About CKR Carbon Corporation

CKR Carbon Corporation is an advanced materials company focused on mine to market commercialization of graphite products most notably high value graphene based components for a range of mass market products. We are collaborating with a leading European manufacturer of graphenes to use Aukam graphite to manufacture graphene products for commercialization on an industrial scale. The company is listed on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol CKR.

About the Buckingham Project

The 100%-owned Buckingham Graphite Property is located 7 kilometres northwest of the town of Buckingham, Quebec, Canada and consists of eight claim blocks totaling 480 hectares. Well-maintained bush roads provide easy access to the property. The property lies within the Central Metasedimentary Belt of the Grenville Geologic Province 82 km south of Imerys Graphite & Carbon’s operating Lac des Iles graphite mine. Graphite occurs disseminated in marble and paragneiss and within veins hosted in pegmatite, diopside skarn, marble and gneiss.

Two graphitic zones, the Uncle Zone and the Case Zone have been discovered to date, with both zones showing high grade occurrences of disseminated flake and vein type graphite and yielding assay values as high as 81.1% Cg. Initial crushing and flotation of two samples from the Uncle zone has achieved purity of up to 99.4% Cg from a single flotation test without process optimization (see news release dated February 17, 2015).

For more information: visit the website at www.ckr-carbon.com or contact:

Roger Moss, CEO, +1 416-704-8291 E-mail inquiries: [email protected]

For graphite product enquiries:

Arno Brand, +1 416-561-4095 [email protected]

“Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.”

Invested in #MMJ stocks such as #Cannabis Sativa $CBDS? Check out the world’s largest B2C #Vaporizer company Namaste $N.ca

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 3:36 PM on Wednesday, September 27th, 2017

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  • World’s Largest E-Commerce B2C Vaporizer Company
  • Record Monthly Sales in August of C$1.43M
  • Revenue for AUG 31 2018 expected $24.9 million
  • Owns 26 e-commerce stores in 20 countries
  • Distribution centers in North America, South America, Europe and Asia Pacific
  • Aggressively expanding into manufacturing and wholesaling
  • Product acquisition agreement announced with Aphria Inc.

What You Need To Know About #Lithium $NAM.ca $BFF.ca

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 2:07 PM on Wednesday, September 27th, 2017

In our July piece, Is This a Turning Point for Lithium Demand?, we discussed our belief that we are in the early stages of a dramatic shift in lithium demand. The main driver: the acceleration of electric vehicle (NYSE:EV) sales. In this piece, we seek to address three key questions relating to electric vehicles, lithium, and batteries:

  • Why Now?
  • What does this Growing Demand Mean for Lithium Prices?
  • Do Rising Lithium Prices Hurt Battery Producers?

Why Now?

While electric vehicles have previously been viewed as a gadget for affluent early adopters, EVs appear to be on the verge of going mainstream. A major driver of this change is a major reduction in battery costs, which has made EVs much more affordable relative to traditional combustion engine-powered vehicles. Bloomberg’s New Energy Finance unit found that lithium-ion battery costs fell by nearly 50% from 2014 to 2016 as battery producers raised output and competition increased.1 Falling battery costs along with simpler engine designs and cheaper ‘fuel’ are making consumers around the world seriously consider EVs. Nowhere is this more apparent than in China, which made up over half of the world’s EV market in 2016, and a quarter of the world’s plug-in hybrid sales.2

Another important catalyst for EV sales is government policy. Some governments have historically helped improve the economics around EVs by providing generous subsidies to car buyers. But now regulations are being taken to a whole new level by setting end-dates for the sale of combustion engines. Here’s a list of countries that have recently implemented these policies and the number of new cars sold in these countries in 2016:3,4

  • Norway (0.2m cars): new passenger cars and vans must have zero emissions by 2025
  • India (3.7m): will ban the sale of new gasoline and diesel cars by 2030
  • UK (3.1m): will ban the sale of new gasoline and diesel cars by 2040
  • France (2.5m): will ban the sale of new gasoline and diesel cars by 2040
  • China (28m): recently announced it will ban the sale of gasoline and diesel cars (official date still pending)

Source: https://seekingalpha.com/article/4109570-need-know-lithium

The #NBA’s big #Esports push begins in May 2018 $GMBL

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 11:53 AM on Wednesday, September 27th, 2017
  • Seventeen teams from the NBA will be part of the upcoming 2K League,
  • Competition it created in partnership with Take-Two Interactive, the developer of the popular NBA 2K series
  • league is going to have its first season next May

The line between eSports and traditional sports is blurring, and organizations like the National Basketball Association are looking to stay ahead of the curve. Seventeen teams from the NBA will be part of the upcoming 2K League, a competition it created in partnership with Take-Two Interactive, the developer of the popular NBA 2K series. And that league is going to have its first season next May, NBA 2K League Managing Director Brendan Donohue revealed to Engadget in a recent interview.

He also said that participating NBA teams will begin drafting their eSports players in mid-March 2018, with tryouts taking place a month before that. Once each franchise selects the five people who are going to represent it, they’ll be official members of their respective organizations in April. Yes, that means they will get a proper contract and sponsorship deals, just as NBA players do.

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver and Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick
Since being announced in February, the NBA 2K League (initially known as the NBA 2K eLeague) has piqued the interest of both fans of professional gaming and conventional sports. That’s mostly because this is the first league where eSports squads are owned by professional sports organization such as the Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors, two of the teams that will play in the 2K League. Traditionally, ownership of eSports teams are by firms like Cloud9, which fields players Rocket League, League of Legends and Call of Duty and other gaming tournaments.

Along with the Cavs and Warriors, the rest of the teams in the first season of the 2K League include the Boston Celtics, Dallas Mavericks, Detroit Pistons, Indiana Pacers, Memphis Grizzlies, Miami Heat, Milwaukee Bucks, New York Knicks, Orlando Magic, Philadelphia 76ers, Portland Trail Blazers, Sacramento Kings, Toronto Raptors, Utah Jazz and Washington Wizards.

Donohue said that aside from these, there “four or five” others that have already reached out with interest in being part of the second year. There are 30 NBA teams total, and some of the notable absences from the 2K League include the Chicago Bulls, Los Angeles Lakers and San Antonio Spurs, three of the most decorated franchises in league history. “We would expect to expand pretty quickly,” he said.

Until that happens, though, Donohue said the NBA is focused on ironing out a few more key details. For starters, the league and its partner, Take-Two Interactive, are still trying to determine how the tryout process will work and whether official games are going to be played on PC, PlayStation or Xbox. They’ve also yet to lock down where people will be able to watch the 2K League.

Donohue said media rights are still being worked out, but the idea is to have studios on the East and West Coasts that broadcast or stream the games. It’ll be interesting to see if the NBA strikes a deal with a platform like Twitch or one of the many TV networks trying to take eSports into the mainstream. ESPN, NBC and TBS could all make a move, though it’s also worth keeping in mind that the NBA has its own TV network, NBA TV.

One thing is certain: The NBA 2K League is taking shape rather quickly, especially when you consider that it was unveiled a few months ago.

Source: https://www.engadget.com/2017/09/26/nba-2k-league-draft-tryouts-interview/

betterU $BTRU.ca New Customers Include 2 BILLION Dollar Companies With ~ 44,000 Employees, Including Government Owned Bank! #India #education

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 1:38 PM on Monday, September 25th, 2017

Betteru large

betterU is the Online Education Company Dominating India That We’ve Been Banging The Table On.

Press Release Reveals 2 Of The Clients Are BILLION Dollar Clients:

1.  ‘Dimensions Data’ a USD $7.4 Billion IT Services company with offices in 49 countries and over 30,000 employees.

2.  ‘Dena Bank’ a USD $1.7 Billion bank owned by the Government of India with a branch network of 1773 locations and 13,906 employees. 

Hub On AGORACOM / Read Release

Invested in Richmont Mines $RIC ? Did you know Monarques $MQR.ca acquired all Richmont’s Quebec assets #Gold #Mining

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 1:28 PM on Monday, September 25th, 2017

Monarquesgold hub large

Definitive Agreement to Acquire All Mining Assets of Richmont Mines in Quebec (SEPT 11)

  • All Richmont mining assets, properties and claims in Quebec
  • Will own and operate the Beaufor mine and Camflo mill
  • Retain Richmont’s highly experienced Quebec-based teams
  • Richmont will hold a 19.9% interest in Monarques
  • Richmont invested $2.0 million of $6.5 Million Raised
  • Probe Metals invested $600,000
  • Fonds de solidarité FTQ Quebec invested $1,000,000
  • US $4 million credit facility with Auramet International LLC
  • Repaid In Ounces Of Gold Commencing Oct 31, 2017 to Sep 30, 2018

betterU Education Corporation $BTRU.ca Secures Multiple Corporate Training Contracts Across Different Industry Sectors

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 8:51 AM on Monday, September 25th, 2017

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  • Secured 3 additional contracts for employee training across a variety of management, leadership, technology and trade programs
  • ‘Dimensions Data’ a USD $7.4 Billion IT Services company with offices in 49 countries and over 30,000 employees.
  • ‘Dena Bank’ a USD $1.7 Billion bank owned by the Government of India with a branch network of 1773 locations and 13,906 employees.
  • ‘Unibic Foods’ a $13 Million premium cookie manufacturing company is considered one of the fastest growing FMCG Brands with a presence in Australia, NZ and the UK.

OTTAWA, Sept. 25, 2017 – betterU Education Corp. (the “Company” or “betterU”), is pleased to announce that they have secured 3 additional contracts for employee training across a variety of management, leadership, technology and trade programs. The Company is expected to close several additional corporate training partnerships in the upcoming weeks.

betterU’s corporate training team was selected to deliver Instructor-led training (ILT) for:

  • ‘Dimensions Data’ a USD $7.4 Billion IT Services company with offices in 49 countries and over 30,000 employees. betterU’s ILT program will include a Microsoft System Centre Confirmation Manager (SCCM) training program.
  • ‘Dena Bank’ a USD $1.7 Billion bank owned by the Government of India with a branch network of 1773 locations and 13,906 employees. betterU’s ILT program will include soft skill training including time management, communications skills, team building and leadership programs.
  • ‘Unibic Foods’ a $13 Million premium cookie manufacturing company is considered one of the fastest growing FMCG Brands with a presence in Australia, NZ and the UK. betterU’s ILT program will include a Modern Trade Promoters / Merchandisers Best Practices program.

These Corporate wins provide training across Mumbai and Bengaluru and have provided betterU with a gateway for much larger opportunities as well as ongoing repeat business. “Our focus is getting Corporations to see the value proposition across Industry verticals, build their trust and confidence and then open our global offerings to show how we can support the entire needs of their business no matter the type of training they require. This takes time and positive results to continue to drive more opportunities for betterU and our content partnerships and it is one of our top priorities”, said Sameer Vatsa, India’s Country Head of betterU Education Corporation.

betterU’s corporate development team has begun to gain traction across India’s corporate training industry due to its ability to quickly adapt to the needs of the corporation. The team has spent the last several months working to understand each corporation’s requirements and developing a customized plan to meet their needs.

Skills development is a critical part of any corporate environment and with advancing technology and globalization corporations must continually work to ensure their employees receive upgrading skills to stay competitive and innovative. betterU has built a corporate learning ecosystem that provides access to thousands of skills development programs from some of the world’s leading educators. Today’s corporate HR departments must source, negotiate and validate multiple training partners to support their wide range of training across their many verticals of operations. By leveraging the breadth and depth of programs available through betterU, corporations can offer innovative, leading programs across all their needs including for soft skills, leadership, management, IT / Technology, office and more. As a master training partner, betterU can collaborate with an organization to assemble a full service self-paced, Instructor-led and/or blended national programs that can support the requirements of an entire organization.

About betterU

betterU, a global education marketplace, aims to provide access to quality education from around the world to foster growth and opportunity to those who want to better their lives. The company plans to bridge the prevailing gap in the education and job industry and enhance the lives of its prospective learners by developing an integrated ‘education-to employment’ ecosystem. betterU’s offerings can be categorized into four broad functions: to compliment school programs with flexible KG-12 programs preparing children for next stage of education, to foster an exceptional educational environment by providing befitting skills that lead to a better career, to bridge the gap between one’s existing education and prospective job requirement by training them and lastly, to connect the end user to various job opportunities.

www.betterU.ca and www.betterU.in

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

This press release may contain forward-looking statements and information, which may involve risks and uncertainties. The results or events predicted in these statements may differ materially from actual results or events. Factors that might cause a difference include, but are not limited to, competitive developments, risks associated with betterU’s growth, the state of the financial markets, regulatory risks and other factors. There can be no assurance or guarantees that any statements of forward-looking information contained in this release will prove to be accurate. Actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. These and all subsequent written and oral statements containing forward-looking information are based on the estimates and opinions of management on the dates they are made and expressly qualified in their entirety by this notice. Unless otherwise required by applicable securities laws, betterU disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether because of new information, future events or otherwise. Readers should not place undue reliance on any statements of forward-looking information that speak only as of the date of this release. Further information on betterU’s public filings, including their most recent audited consolidated financial statements, are available at www.sedar.com.

For further information, please visit  http://www.betteru.ca/investor-overview/

Investor contact:

Investor Relations
1-613-695-4100 Ext. 233
Email: [email protected]

Desktop Metal gets $115 million in funding to deliver metal #3Dprinting for manufacturing $PYR.ca

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 8:37 AM on Monday, September 25th, 2017

  • Desktop Metal has already earned a number of fans with its 3D printed metal technology — Lowe’s, Caterpillar and BMW were all among its earliest clients.
  • As first noted by CNBC, the Massachusetts-based startup is also getting some healthy monetary support, adding $115 million of venture funds to its coffers this week.

The Series D features a number of high profile names, including New Enterprise Associates, GV (formerly Google Ventures), GE Ventures, Future Fund and Techtronic Industries, the holdings company that owns Hoover U.S. and Dirt Devil.

Founded in 2013 by four MIT professors, Desktop Metal isn’t the first company to bring metal 3D printing to market, but it’s probably the most efficient. By its own measure, the company’s machines are able to print objects at up to 100-times the speed of their competitors. That’s good news for those clients using Studio, the prototyping machine the company announced last year — but even more useful for those planning to use the upcoming Production, a system designed to bring the technology to manufacturing.

Speed has been of the main bottlenecks in mainstreaming 3D printing for manufacturing — metal or otherwise. The Production system isn’t going to replace wide scale manufacturing any time soon, but it will make it a more realistic possibility for smaller speciality parts, with its ability to print 500 cubic inches of metal per hour. According to CEO Ric Fulop, that works out to millions of parts per year for a given machine.

“You don’t need tooling,” he tells TechCrunch. “You can make short runs of production with basically no tooling costs. You can change your design and iterate very fast. And now you can make shapes you couldn’t make any other way, so now you can lightweight a part and work with alloys that are very, very hard, with very extreme properties.”

The list of companies that have embraced the $50,000+ Surface is pretty diverse. Automakers like BMW are using it to prototype products, and the local robotics community has also been extremely excited about the device’s ability to print in a broad range of alloys. For smaller companies without access to big machining warehouses, prototyping with metal is a pretty big pain point.

“One of the benefits for this technology for robotics is that you’re able to do lots of turns,” says Fulop. “Unless you’re iRobot with the Roomba, you’re making a lot of one-off changes to your product.”

Desktop Metal is still pretty small, at around 150 people — mostly engineers, according to Fulop. Along with R&D, this latest funding round will go a ways toward increasing that staff and reach, with plans to extend to more markets, including Europe and Asia.

Source: https://techcrunch.com/2017/07/18/desktop-metal-gets-115-million-in-funding-to-deliver-metal-3d-printing-for-manufacturing/