Sept 15 - Divergent Technologies said on Monday it has

raised $290 million at a valuation of $2.3 billion, as the

additive manufacturing startup scales up to meet growing demand

from defense customers.

The funding round includes $250 million in equity and $40

million in debt, led by Rochefort Asset Management. Divergent

said the proceeds will accelerate construction of its production

facilities.

Divergent designs and builds hardware that essentially

enables customers to 3D-print and assemble parts. It serves

aerospace, defense and automotive clients, including General

Atomics, Lockheed Martin ( LMT ), and Raytheon.

The deal highlights investor appetite for next-generation

manufacturing technologies, particularly in aerospace and

defense sectors where supply chain disruptions have constrained

production amid surging demand.

Additive manufacturing, or 3D printing, is a digital

fabrication process that builds a three-dimensional object layer

by layer, directly from a digital file.

More companies are adopting additive manufacturing processes

that can accelerate production and reduce costs by minimizing

material waste and eliminating expensive tooling requirements.

Earlier this year, RTX's Pratt & Whitney said it had

developed an additive manufacturing repair process for its

geared turbofan (GTF) engine components, which would reduce

process time by more than 60%.