Justin Nardone Leading Figur into a new Era
Before Justin Nardone founded Figur, he spent years working at the nexus of large-scale engineering, architecture technology, and complex fabrication.
These were environments where the clash of creative ambition, economics and engineering capability were a constant impediment to pushing the envelope for what was possible. ambition of what could be designed and the capability of what could be built were constantly pushing against each other. The work demanded more than imagination. It required practical systems, technical discipline, and a willingness to rethink the tools available when those very tools no longer met the demands of innovators and makers.
For Justin, that was the inspiring part.
In the most ambitious engineering and fabrication settings, progress often came from building the missing tool, whether digital, physical, or a hybrid of the two. When a project demanded something that existing methods could not easily deliver, the answer was not to retreat from the idea. It was to create a new way to make it possible.
That instinct became foundational.
Figur was born from the conviction that the right tool, conceived from first principles, could make the previously unachievable routine.
From Architectural Inspiration to Industrial Technology
Justin’s original idea began as a garage startup, built around a deceptively simple question: what if sheet metal could be formed through a digital process with far greater flexibility, agility and nimbleness than traditional manufacturing allowed?
The answer became Figur, an advanced manufacturing company developing high-end equipment for digital sheet metal forming. Rather than building parts layer by layer, as in additive manufacturing, Figur starts with flat sheet material and forms it into complex parts for industries including architecture, automotive, aerospace, and broader industrial applications.
That difference is central to the company’s identity.
Figur is perceived as an adjacency to the world of 3D printing industry because it belongs to the same larger conversation around digital manufacturing. Yet its process is not additive. It does not ask customers to abandon familiar materials or adopt entirely new production assumptions. Instead, it works with the sheet materials many industries already understand, specify, certify, and trust.
It also sits directly at the intersection of digital and physical production. Figur is both a hardware and software company: software that thinks, hardware that forms. Its technology was built from the same belief that shaped Justin’s earlier work, that when the right tool does not exist, it has to be created.
For sectors where reliability and material performance matter, that distinction carries weight. Figur’s proposition is not simply that complex parts can be made. It is that they can be made in a way that feels practical to the industries expected to adopt the technology.
A Founder-Led Return to Independence
Figur’s current chapter is defined by independence.
After being acquired by Desktop Metal during its earlier growth phase, Figur developed from an early-stage technology into a more mature commercial product. Importantly, Justin continued running Figur as a distinct division, with its own facility, its own product focus, and its own specialized team. It was not a case of selling the company, stepping away, and returning only after circumstances changed. Figur had already been operating with a clear identity and a strong degree of separation.
When Desktop Metal later entered bankruptcy, Justin had the opportunity to buy Figur back and return it to founder-led ownership.
It would be easy to frame that moment as a disruption. Justin sees it differently. Figur had already been operating with its own independent team, dedicated facility and technical roadmap. That made the transition cleaner than it might have been under different circumstances.
More importantly, the team stayed.
The engineers, software specialists, and hardware experts who helped develop the technology remained with the business. Figur continued building machines, supporting customers, shipping equipment, and advancing its platform. There was no reinvention from scratch. There was continuity.
For a capital equipment business, that matters. Customers are not buying only a machine. They are buying confidence in the team behind it, the software that supports it, and the long-term roadmap that will keep it improving.
Why Figur Is Not Just Another Advanced Manufacturing Company
One of the clearest advantages of independence is that Figur can now define itself without being folded into another category.
During its earlier chapter, the company was sometimes seen through the lens of additive manufacturing because of its association with the 3D printing sector. That created confusion. Figur’s technology sits beside additive manufacturing, but it solves a different problem.
Additive processes typically build material up. Figur forms existing sheet material. That distinction opens a different pathway for adoption, particularly in industries where existing material standards, performance expectations, and supply chains are already deeply established.
The company’s approach is also unusually integrated. Figur designs, engineers, and builds its equipment in the United States, keeping quality control and technical knowledge close to the product. It also develops the software that drives the workflow.
That hardware-software connection is one of the company’s strongest differentiators. Figur’s software helps customers simulate, predict, and prepare parts before anything is made, reducing uncertainty and making the process more accessible. The goal is not only to form metal differently, but to make the entire workflow more intelligent.
In practical terms, that means customers can move from design intent to machine execution with less friction. For industries trying to compress development cycles, that speed is increasingly valuable.
Architecture, Automotive, and Aerospace
Figur’s strongest near-term opportunities sit across three major sectors: architecture, automotive, and aerospace.
In architecture, the connection is personal and foundational. Justin’s experience in large-scale engineering and complex fabrication gave him a direct view of what designers wanted to achieve and what conventional processes often struggled to deliver. Figur gives architects and fabricators a new way to approach complex metal geometry without making those forms feel exceptional or out of reach.
In automotive, the appeal is both technical and visual. The technology offers a way to produce distinctive, complex metal parts for manufacturers, custom builders, and specialist vehicle projects where design flexibility and speed matter.
In aerospace, the value lies in rapid development. As aerospace companies look for ways to shorten design cycles and produce advanced components faster, Figur’s ability to work with familiar materials while enabling complex forms positions it well for a sector under pressure to move more quickly.
The company has also seen interest beyond those three core markets. That is the nature of enabling technology: once a constraint is removed, applications begin to appear in unexpected places.
The Quiet Work Behind the Relaunch
Figur’s return to public visibility is not a restart. It is the public expression of work that has continued behind the scenes.
The company has been building, shipping, servicing, improving, and preparing for a more deliberate market presence. A refreshed website, stronger media, deeper software demonstrations, and clearer customer-facing materials are all part of that next phase.
Justin’s message is straightforward: Figur never stopped moving.
Now, as an independent company, it has more freedom to pursue the applications where its technology can have the greatest effect. The opportunity ahead is not only to sell machines. It is to define a more practical category for digital metal forming, one that gives designers and manufacturers new freedom while respecting the material realities they already know.
Figur’s comeback is not a return to what it was. It is a clearer expression of what it was always meant to become.
