Manufacturing accelerator Re:Build raises $2.1 billion — TechCrunch

US-based manufacturing accelerator Re:Build, headquartered in Massachusetts, has raised $2.1 billion in investment to expand its manufacturing capabilities. The company plans to direct the funds toward producing technology products and launching new industrial startups, TechCrunch reports.

The funding round was led by General Catalyst and JPMorganChase’s Strategic Investment Group. Other participants in the investment round were not disclosed. Re:Build said the financing is intended to increase its capacity to manufacture innovative products in the United States.

Manufacturing and industrial startups

Re:Build was founded in 2020. The company positions itself as the American answer to Shenzhen. It works with industrial enterprises, helping them design, develop, and manufacture products at scale, including for the aerospace and defense industries. Re:Build also incubates startups in critically important and underserved markets.

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According to the company, the Re:Build network has more than 2,100 employees in the United States and over 2.4 million square feet of manufacturing space. It also says it has launched hundreds of products and manufacturing systems over six years of operation.

Links to Amazon and Slate Auto

Re:Build was co-founded by Jeff Wilke, Amazon’s former commercial CEO. Re:Build’s chief digital and product officer is Wei Gao, who previously served as an Amazon vice president and was a technical adviser to Jeff Bezos. Other Re:Build executives also worked at Amazon.

In 2023, Re:Build spun out startup Slate Auto, which is developing an extremely cheap, basic pickup truck with customization options. Wilke and his co-founder Miles Arnone proposed the company’s idea in 2022. Since then, Slate Auto has raised at least $1.4 billion, including funds from Bezos’s family office.