Lockheed Martin Invests in Perseus Materials to Scale Large-Format Composite 3D Printing

A new class of composite manufacturing

Perseus Materials, a Knoxville-based startup founded by Stanford researchers, is building a large-format composite 3D printing system it describes as the fastest in the world. The company has closed a strategic investment from Lockheed Martin, a move that could accelerate its push into defense and maritime manufacturing.

The core of Perseus's technology is a continuous molding process that blends the speed of pultrusion with the geometric flexibility of 3D printing. The system uses proprietary resins and distinctive curing behavior to produce large composite structures without the tooling, lead times, or material limitations of traditional layup or compression molding.

What Lockheed Martin sees

Chris Moran, vice president and general manager of Lockheed Martin Ventures, said the investment reflects increased demand for advanced manufacturing methods that can rapidly and affordably produce high-performance structures. Early market traction for Perseus includes manufacturing internal blade components for a major wind turbine manufacturer and exploring naval defense applications.

The Lockheed Martin capital is intended to expand Perseus's team, fulfill its first customer orders, and grow its physical footprint. The company also plans to demonstrate its process at JEC World 2026 by fabricating a 15-foot boat hull on-site.

Why speed matters

Large composite parts for ships, wind energy, and aerospace have historically depended on expensive molds and long cure cycles. Perseus is trying to eliminate both. By curing composite material continuously as it deposits, the system reduces energy demand and skips the wait between layup and post-cure. The company claims its throughput is high enough to compete with conventional composite manufacturing at scale while retaining the ability to change geometry between parts without retooling.

If the process holds up under qualification, it could give defense primes an alternative to the long, tooling-heavy supply chains that currently govern large composite structures. For now, the Lockheed Martin investment is a strong signal that at least one major prime is willing to test that premise.