Existing investors Anzu Partners, Grapha Holdings, and Thomas Wilson participated in the funding round that will be utilized to expand Nuburu’s presence across its target markets, including automotive, aerospace, consumer electronics, and defense. The company’s blue laser technology brings breakthrough speed and quality improvements to welding and metal 3D printing of copper, aluminum, and other reflective metals to increase productivity for manufacturers globally. 

New COO Brian Faircloth brings over twenty years of operations, engineering, and marketing experience scaling high-tech companies in the laser and energy industries. Prior to joining Nuburu, Mr Faircloth spent nearly 13 years as a technical leader at high-power laser company, ForoEnergy, where he served as vice president of engineering and as chief technology officer. During his tenure, he managed R&D and engineering of high-power laser and optics development for oil, gas, and geothermal applications. Earlier in his career, he held executive and director roles at leading laser technology companies, Nuvonyx and Coherent. Mr Faircloth holds master’s degrees in electrical engineering and applied physics from Washington University in St. Louis and Six Sigma from Villanova, as well as master certificates in business management and marketing from Tulane.

“Nuburu’s blue laser technology brings improvements in metal processing, unlocking critical advantages to manufacturers across industries,” said Brian Faircloth. “I am thrilled to be joining the team during this period of growth and look forward to using my industry expertise to further commercialize this technology.”

Andrew Dodd, a thirty-year veteran of the laser development and material processing industries, joined Nuburu in 2019 as the North American market development manager and has recently been promoted to vice president of global sales as the company enters this new growth phase. Mr Dodd has been instrumental to laying the foundations for commercial expansion since joining and brings significant global sales leadership and strong track record from his tenures at GSI Lumonics, Amada WeldTech, and BLM Group North America.

“As electrification and advances in manufacturing drive growth in our target markets, this capital infusion, appointment of Mr Faircloth as COO and Mr Dodd’s promotion to VP of global sales ensures continued momentum,” said Dr Mark Zediker, CEO, co-founder, and chairman at Nuburu. “Looking ahead, we are focused on growing our customer base, expanding our distribution channels, accelerating development of our ultrahigh brightness product family and scaling our manufacturing operations to meet demand globally.”

In December 2021, Nuburu had appointment Ron Nicol as executive chairman. He also sits on the Nuburu board of directors and brings over forty years of management experience to the company. Mr Nicol held numerous management positions within the Boston Consulting Group. He is a former naval nuclear submarine officer and graduate of the US Naval Academy with a degree in physics. He also holds an MBA from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business.

Further reading: Jean-Michel Pelaprat, Matthew Finuf, Richard Gleeson, and Mark Zediker (Nuburu): Blue Lasers Move Deeper Into Applications – Higher power and brightness enable new capabilities, PhotonicsViews  17(4) August/September 2020; DOI: 10.1002/phvs.202000032