Backflip, a start-up founded by 3D printing veterans Greg Mark and David Benhaim, secured $30 million in Series A funding. The round was led by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z). Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati provided legal counsel to a16z for the transaction.

Backflip’s mission is to simplify the 3D design process, making it as intuitive as using ChatGPT. The company's advanced models, trained on a dataset of approximately 10 million 3D parts, enable users to create designs from text prompts, sketches, photos, and more. With plans to release an app, Backflip aims to democratize design for both manufacturers and the general public, while incorporating safety checks to prevent harmful designs.

The founders of Backflip, Mark and Benhaim, previously launched Markforged, a 3D printing system provider that went public via SPAC in 2021. After leaving Markforged, they focused on Backflip, emphasizing the potential of design software over hardware.

The Wilson Sonsini team advising a16z on this transaction included Lang Liu, Annie Kim, and Avery Minor.

For more details, please refer to Backflip's news release or a16z’s LinkedIn post.