Chennai-based composite manufacturing technology startup Fabheads has raised $10 million in Series A funding to automate composite fiber manufacturing. The round was led by Accel, with participation from Trifecta Capital. This brings the total funding raised to $13 million following its seed and pre-seed rounds of $3 million raised in 2021.
The funds will primarily be used to scale up the company’s manufacturing capacity, expand its leadership team, and strengthen its client-facing engineering and R&D divisions.
As part of the expansion, the company plans to establish a new manufacturing facility in Bengaluru. This facility will target the aerospace sector and cater to growing international demand. It is expected to be operational within the next six months.
Founded in 2015 by ISRO engineers Dhinesh Kanagaraj and Abhijeet Rathore, Fabheads automates critical processes such as fibre placement and layering with robotic precision, enabling manufacturers to reduce costs by up to 50% and lower rejection rates by up to 20%. Its proprietary automated manufacturing system also cuts material wastage by 20% and accelerates production cycles by up to 30%, which overcomes traditional manual methods.
Dhinesh Kanagaraj, Co-founder and CEO at Fabheads, said, “This funding enables us to take a major step towards making composites accessible for aerospace, mobility, clean energy, and more. As the only company from India with this specialized technology, we are uniquely positioned to lead innovation in the composite manufacturing space both domestically and globally.”
Prayank Swaroop, Partner at Accel, said, “As composites become increasingly vital across aerospace, defense, mobility, and renewable energy, Fabheads is addressing the core manufacturing bottlenecks that have long hindered widespread adoption. We’re excited to back their journey of building world-class deeptech from India for the world.”
India’s composites materials market, valued at $1.8 billion in 2024, is projected to grow to $2.8 billion by 2030 with a 7.8% CAGR. The government is also actively promoting domestic manufacturing of advanced materials with their recently announced plans to begin carbon fibre production by 2025-26 and targeting $10 billion in technical textiles exports by 2030 under initiatives like the National Technical Textiles Mission and PLI schemes.
(with inputs from bl intern Nethra Sailesh)