The acquisition is expected to expand customer access to electrochemical additive manufacturing, accelerating its use for data centers and high-growth electronics markets.
SAN DIEGO—Fabric8Labs, Inc., the pioneer of a metal additive manufacturing technology called Electrochemical Additive Manufacturing (ECAM), reported in June that it entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by TDK Corporation, a global technology and innovation firm specializing in electronics. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory clearances, the company said in a release.
“By entering TDK’s global manufacturing network, Fabric8Labs’ ECAM technology would gain the production scale, supply chain resiliency, and operational infrastructure needed to serve a rapidly growing base of enterprise customers across data center infrastructure and next-generation electronics,” the release stated.
An intricately designed, high-performance liquid cold plate enabled by Fabric8Labs’ Electrochemical Additive Manufacturing technology. (Image: Fabric8Labs/PRNewswire)
Fabric8labs’ ECAM technology addresses high-growth markets, such as advanced liquid cooling for data center infrastructure, passive components for power regulation, and RF components for wireless communications systems. Backed by TDK’s worldwide manufacturing network, ECAM will be positioned to support a significantly broader customer portfolio—with the quality systems and geographic reach that tier-one OEMs and hyperscale operators require, Fabric8Labs said in the release.
Electrochemical additive manufacturing is said to unlock a new level of product performance across the electronics value chain. In data center deployments, where thermal management is an increasingly critical constraint on compute density and system reliability, ECAM reportedly enables advanced liquid cooling products that reduce accelerator temperatures by up to 7 °C/kW versus competing products.
“For hyperscale operators and OEMs, that margin translates directly into increased silicon power densities, higher rack densities, improved energy efficiency, and extended component longevity—outcomes that grow in importance with each successive generation of GPU and accelerator platform,” the release stated.
For Fabric8Labs’ leadership, joining TDK’s manufacturing network will be the culmination of a deliberate effort to match a breakthrough technology with the infrastructure capable of delivering it at scale.
“Joining TDK group is a defining moment for Fabric8Labs, our technology, and most importantly, our customers,” said Jeff Herman, CEO and co-Founder of Fabric8Labs, in a statement. “We developed ECAM to solve manufacturing challenges at the frontier of performance—and we always knew that reaching its full potential would require a network with global reach and operational depth. TDK is that network. I’m proud of what our team has built, and I’m energized by what we will accomplish together,”
For TDK, the acquisition will add a differentiated manufacturing capability that “strengthens its position at the forefront of data center infrastructure and advanced electronics,” the release said.
“Fabric8Labs’ ECAM technology is exactly the kind of foundational manufacturing innovation we look for—one that doesn’t just improve on TDK’s existing solution but enables products and performance levels that weren’t previously achievable, contributing to the transformation of society,” said Noboru Saito, president and CEO of TDK Corporation, in the release. “As data center infrastructure continues to scale and the performance demands on advanced electronics intensify, we envision that by bringing this technology into our global manufacturing network and providing products that determine the performance of next-generation data centers, it will be a significant advantage for our customers.”
Fabric8Labs’s enterprise customers are expected to benefit directly from TDK’s global manufacturing capabilities and quality systems, enabling higher-volume production programs without compromising the precision and performance ECAM delivers. This will enable Fabric8labs to expand capacity to support a broader customer portfolio across data center infrastructure and advanced electronics, with the geographic reach and supply chain continuity that production programs at scale require, according to the company.
“ECAM gives our customers a decisive performance advantage,” said David Pain, CTO and co-founder of Fabric8Labs, in the release. “With TDK’s global manufacturing network, we can deliver it at the scale their most ambitious programs demand, today and across their long-term roadmaps.”
At closing, Fabric8labs will continue to operate under its existing leadership team, with a shared commitment to the customers, programs, and partnerships that have defined its growth, the company said.
New Enterprise Associates (NEA), which led multiple funding rounds in Fabric8Labs, reflected on the journey and what the combination makes possible.
“From our first investment in Fabric8Labs, NEA recognized that ECAM had the makings of a foundational manufacturing platform—one capable of serving multiple high-growth markets with a genuine performance advantage,” said Greg Papadopoulos, PhD., and venture partner at NEA, in the release. “The Fabric8Labs team executed with real discipline: proving the technology, earning the trust of customers, and building toward this outcome with intention. Entering TDK’s global manufacturing network will give Fabric8Labs’ technology the reach it deserves, and we couldn’t be more proud of what this team has built.”