NUBURU Accelerates Expansion with Funding Round, COO Hire

Blue laser developer and manufacturer NUBURU has completed a funding round, announcing it has raised growth capital at a valuation of approximately $350 million. The company additionally named Brian Faircloth COO, after promoting Andrew Dodd to the position of vice president of global sales last week and naming Ron Nicol executive chairman last month.

Investors Anzu Partners, GRAPHA Holdings, and Thomas Wilson participated in the funding round that the company said will be used to expand its presence across target markets, including automotive, aerospace, consumer electronics, and defense.

NUBURU’s blue laser technology supports welding and metal 3D printing of copper, aluminum, and other reflective metals. In the 2021, the company secured nine patents, including one in March 2021 for blue laser applications of welding copper material and its alloys.

“NUBURU’s industrial blue lasers leverage a fundamental physical advantage to produce defect-free welds up to 10 times faster than the traditional approaches — all with the flexibility inherent to laser processing,” Guy Gilliland, CEO of NUBURU, said in a press release announcing the awarding of the patent.

Faircloth has over 20 years of operations, engineering, and marketing experience in the laser and energy industries. Before joining NUBURU, he spent nearly 13 years as a technical leader at high-power laser company ForoEnergy as CTO and vice president of engineering. He has held executive and director roles at laser technology companies Nuvonyx and Coherent.