Chennai-based metal additive manufacturing startup ThinkMetal has raised INR 27 million in a funding round led by IAN Alpha Fund, with participation from 3i Partners and existing investors. The funds will be used for product development, materials and R&D capabilities, team expansion, and to accelerate commercial deployment following completed enterprise pilots. Founded in 2021 by CEO Sabyasachi Ghosh and CTO Arushi Sharma, ThinkMetal develops proprietary metal additive manufacturing technology. Its flagship product, the SistemT1 industrial metal 3D printing system, utilizes the company's FuseX metal wire technology and Thinkware software. The company claims it can produce high-value precision metal parts up to 10 times faster and at half the cost of traditional processes, with over 17 IP filings and part quality validated by NABL/ASME-certified labs. ThinkMetal serves customers in aerospace, defense, space, automotive, and electric mobility sectors, including Ants Ceramics, ZeQube Technologies, and Hosur CNC. Rajnish Kapur, Managing Partner at IAN Alpha Fund, described ThinkMetal's integration of proprietary hardware, materials, and manufacturing technology as a 'true deep-tech moat' and estimated the global advanced manufacturing and materials opportunity at approximately $110 billion. The company previously raised about $1.1 million from YourNest Venture Capital. Value for powder buyers: ① ThinkMetal's FuseX metal wire approach bypasses traditional powder bed systems but may open material procurement in the mid-to-long term as it expands its proprietary material library; ② the scaling of domestic metal additive equipment in India will cultivate the South Asian powder and materials supply chain, so monitor demand for superalloy and titanium alloy wires and powders; ③ watch the progress of aerospace and defense customer pilots to gauge the pace of commercialization.