H3D raises $5.8m to expand its AI-powered design technology

Melbourne-based H3D, a company that provides artificial intelligence-powered CAD automation for the audio industry, has raised $5.8m in a Series A funding round to expand its reach into the dental sector.

The investment was led by existing investor Significant Ventures, along with H3D’s initial backer, Swinburne University, and new investor Co:Act Capital.

The PhD research spin-out, which also has offices in Denmark and Ireland, was founded in 20 on a mission to make custom-fit medical devices accessible for everyday people.

The company was born at Swinburne University where co-founder and CTO Dr Philip Kinsella developed a fully automated design technology that the company says has positioned it as a global leader in the hearing industry. 

H3D says that, as the technology evolved, its potential for the dental industry became clear, prompting a strategic expansion beyond audio products.

“This funding marks a pivotal step in meeting the future vision of AI digital manufacturing,” says Iain Mcleod, CEO of H3D.

“Combining machine learning, advanced 3D algorithms and real-time cloud processing into a seamless manufacturing solution will be hugely impactful to patients receiving dental and hearing care.

“We are extremely grateful to our investors and our customers for believing in H3D’s exceptional team and our mission.”

H3D plans to use the new capital to accelerate deployment of its technology into dental labs globally, addressing industry bottlenecks that it says is caused by a lack of technicians, reliance on complex manual CAD (computer-aided design) software and quality inconsistency due to human error.

The company says dental technicians currently can only process one case at a time, with complex cases taking up to 30 minutes to complete.

With H3D’s AI CAD technology, H3D says labs will be able to batch process hundreds of cases in parallel in only a few minutes with an acceptance rate of more than 95 per cent enabling labs to reach “new levels of product consistency”.

“As an early investor, SV is pleased to have supported the company’s growth to a point where, having achieved commercial success in the hearing market, it has become ideally positioned to disrupt the larger dental industry,” says Michele Troni, partner at Significant Ventures.

“We are proud of the traction Iain, Phil and the team have achieved, and we are happy to lead this expansion funding round. We look forward to supporting the company in this exciting next stage of growth.”

H3D says the $5.8 million capital raising will also help strengthen the company’s leading position in the hearing sector, where its technology is already used by manufacturers and labs worldwide to produce hearing aids, noise protection and custom-fit music earphones. 

H3D recently launched a unique mobile phone scanning solution that utilises cutting-edge computer vision, AI and augmented reality technologies to capture an accurate 3D ear scan using just a smartphone camera.

The company says this innovation enables brands to deliver custom-fit products to their consumers worldwide without the need for traditional ear impressions.  

“H3D brings together vision and world-class technology to deliver real value for customers in two fast-growing global markets – hearing and dental,” says Kate Eriksson, partner at new investor Co:Act Capital.

“We’re delighted to support the H3D team and the impact they’re delivering.”

Co:Act Capital is an Australian venture capital firm focused on supporting founders at the Series A stage.