Ex-Anduril engineer raises $42M to build the Amazon of composite parts

Zack Eakin, a former engineer at Anduril, has successfully transitioned from defense to entrepreneurship, raising $42 million for his startup, Layup Parts. This latest funding round, led by Marlinspike and supported by investors such as Cerberus Ventures and Pinegrove Venture Partners, marks a significant step for the Huntington Beach-based company, which has grown to a team of about 60 employees. Eakin initially honed his pitch with invaluable feedback from industry veterans including Palmer Luckey, Brian Schimpf, and Matt Grimm, all of whom played crucial roles in shaping his approach to venture capitalists. After securing a $9 million seed round two years ago, Layup Parts now aims to simplify the ordering of custom composite parts, aspiring to make the process as effortless as shopping on Amazon. With nearly two decades of experience in composite materials, Eakin's journey began in motorsports at Chip Ganassi Racing. His career took a notable turn when he joined Elon Musk's Boring Company before returning to the world of composites at Anduril. It was during this time he recognized a gap in the market for efficient composite manufacturing, as emerging startups were already changing the landscape of industrial fabrication. Noticing that composites were lagging behind in innovation, Eakin decided to launch Layup Parts to address these challenges. He identified that the complexities involved in working with composites often deterred larger firms from innovating, as they preferred to maintain stable revenue streams. Eakin’s vision is ambitious: to drastically reduce the steps required for engineers to produce composite parts. He envisions a future where the ordering process could eventually require no clicks at all, relying solely on customer data to generate necessary specifications. In only two years, Layup Parts has made significant strides, drastically cutting down production timelines from weeks to mere hours for clients across various industries, including aerospace, defense, and motorsports. With the new funding, Eakin plans to expand his workforce and relocate to a larger facility to meet rising demand, further solidifying Layup Parts' position in the composite manufacturing sector.