Ex-Anduril engineer Zack Eakin raises $42M for Layup Parts to disrupt composite manufacturing
By
Sean O'Kane
Pure flour-power. Hearty enough to carry you through lunch.
Summary
Zack Eakin, a former Anduril engineer, raised $42M for his startup Layup Parts, which aims to revolutionize composite parts manufacturing by making them faster, cheaper, and better. Drawing on his motorsports background and experience working for Palmer Luckey and Elon Musk, Eakin plans to build what he calls "the Amazon of composite parts" — a platform that streamlines the traditionally slow, expensive process of producing composite materials for industries like aerospace, defense, and automotive.
Key quotes
· 3 pulledWhen he left Luckey's defense startup, Anduril, in 2024 to start a new composites company called Layup Parts, Luckey — along with co-founders Brian Schimpf and Matt Grimm — let him workshop the pitch.
Grimm helped him think about how to pitch VCs, Schimpf (Anduril's CEO) pushed him on strategy, while Luckey — ever the fundraiser — guided him on the storytelling.
This miniature boot camp appears to have worked.
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