Twenty months ago, ICON laid off more than 100 people. This week, BlackRock wrote it a check.
The Austin-based company, which builds homes and other structures with large-scale robotic 3D printers, closed a $200M Series D co-led by Baillie Gifford and funds managed by BlackRock. CNBC reported a $1.4B valuation, with total funding now around $700M.
Here’s the part most people will skip past. In early 2025, local Austin outlet KXAN reported ICON’s valuation at around $2B, right as it raised a $56M Series C first close weeks after those layoffs. If both figures hold, this round prices the company roughly 30% lower.
The operating story looks very different from the valuation story, though. Per CNBC:
ICON says it’s built 260 homes and other structures so far this year.
Its multistory system, Titan, launched commercially in March. The company claims it cuts average build time by six weeks and overall costs by 40%.
CEO Jason Ballard says revenue is on pace to grow 4x this year and double again next year.
ICON built a 100-home community north of Austin with Lennar, and Wells Fargo said in May it would write mortgages on ICON-printed homes.
The backdrop: Zillow estimates the US is short as many as 4.7 million homes, while builders are squeezed by rates, land, labor and materials.
