Fibionic Secures €3M to Scale Dragonfly-Inspired Fiber Tech

In the competitive world of advanced manufacturing, a new approach to creating lightweight components is taking flight. Fibionic, a Tyrolean deeptech firm, has secured €3 million in seed funding to scale its revolutionary fiber placement technology, which draws direct inspiration from the efficient structure of dragonfly wings. This biomimetic process promises to make high-performance carbon fiber parts faster and with far less waste, potentially transforming industries from automotive to consumer goods.

The company’s origins trace back to the doctoral work of co-founder Thomas Rettenwander at Austria’s Montanuniversität Leoben. Studying dragonfly wings, he was captivated not by their aesthetics but by their engineering efficiency. The insect’s wing structure uses dense fibers only where stress concentrates, with a minimal membrane elsewhere. Rettenwander spent years translating this biological principle into a viable manufacturing method. He officially launched Fibionic in June 2021 in Götzens alongside co-founder Johannes Mandler, a mechatronics engineer. The team expanded in 2024 with the addition of Elias Hirschbichler, bringing strategic expertise, and now employs eight people.

The recent funding round was led by Berlin’s Redstone venture capital firm, with co-lead investment from the cross-border Alpine fund Euregio+, alongside Caesar and Leap435. A consortium of technology-focused business angels also participated. Ben Scheidt, a partner at Redstone, outlined a clear goal: to build Fibionic into a major European player that makes lightweight construction economically viable across all major industrial sectors.

Central to this ambition is the company’s patented Fibionic Fibre Placement (FFP) process. Unlike conventional methods that layer continuous sheets of carbon fiber, a slow and material-intensive approach, the FFP system digitally calculates the precise load paths within a component. It then deposits reinforcement fibers only along those critical paths. This fully automated system uses a thermoplastic composite yarn; heating fuses the carbon into its final shape in a cycle time of under one minute per part. The company’s first production machine in Götzens is already operational, with a stated annual capacity of up to 500,000 components.

These production metrics are crucial because lightweight composite parts have long been constrained by a cost dilemma. While carbon fiber offers exceptional strength-to-weight ratios, mass-producing precise parts has traditionally demanded unacceptable trade-offs between speed and material waste. Fibionic claims its FFP technology cuts reinforcement material use by up to 50% and operates 30 to 50 times faster than conventional alternatives. Validating these figures at an industrial scale could fundamentally alter the economics of high-performance composites.

A tangible example of the technology’s potential is already on the market. For the 2026 season, renowned Italian saddle manufacturer Selle Italia launched the SLR Racing Replica. Weighing just 109 grams, it ranks among the lightest race saddles available. Its core is a carbon fiber skeleton co-developed with Fibionic, which supports an ultra-thin 1.5 mm shell while delivering the rigidity professional cyclists require. This saddle is now in use by multiple WorldTour and Pro cycling teams, serving as a compact but powerful proof-of-concept that bionic fiber placement can meet the exacting standards of elite sports.

The newly acquired capital will fuel further industrialization and a push into broader markets. Fibionic is targeting the automotive, aerospace, robotics, and wearables sectors, any industry requiring strong, lightweight parts in high volume. The company plans to have an external production line operational by 2027, with a subsequent strategy to license the FFP technology to international manufacturing partners.

Beyond these immediate industrial goals lies a more expansive vision. The founders have expressed a desire to see Fibionic components integrated into everyday household products within the next decade. Whether applied to running shoes, consumer electronics, or yet-unimagined items, this vision positions the technology not as a niche luxury but as a mainstream manufacturing solution. The inspiration, after all, comes from a universally efficient designer. The dragonfly does not engineer for an elite market; it simply builds what works.

(Source: The Next Web)