In a quiet corner of Miami, robots have been humming away, printing pieces of what could be the future of coastal infrastructure. And what they’re building… it’s alive.
Kind Designs, the Miami startup developing 3D-printed living seawalls, just closed a $5 million Seed 1 round led by Overlay Capital. The deal values the company at $30 million and includes a follow-on investment from Mark Cuban, who called his decision to double down an easy one.
“They’re tackling critical challenges with a forward-thinking approach and innovative technology,” Cuban said.
Founded by Anya Freeman, Kind Designs is betting that coastlines don’t have to choose between protection and restoration. Traditional seawalls are concrete slabs meant to keep the ocean out: ugly, costly, and dead zones for marine life.
Kind Designs flips that model on its head. Their patent-pending designs stop floods while also supporting oysters, sponges, and other marine life – cleaning the water and strengthening local ecosystems.
The company had already raised $6.5 million last year at an $18 million valuation. Freeman put it plainly: “This round is about scale – scaling production, scaling impact, and scaling coastal resiliency at a time when it’s needed most.”
That sense of urgency is real. Florida’s coastlines are increasingly under threat from rising sea levels and stronger storms. As public awareness grows, so has Kind Designs’ momentum. Since its first seed round in 2024, the company moved into a 50,000-square-foot facility in Miami, hired a team of 10 (plus three robots), and completed its first seawall installation in Miami Beach. More followed. Last year, they pulled in $600K in revenue and landed their first two government contracts.
The federal government has taken notice, too. Kind Designs won Phase 1 grants from both the U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force, and has already kicked off Phase 2 work at MacDill Air Force Base and the South Florida Ocean Measurement Facility.
In Miami Beach, Florida International University researchers tracked marine life colonizing the company’s Living Seawalls. In just nine months, over 1,000 oysters, mussels, sponges, algae, and eight fish species called the wall home. For coastal homeowners and governments trying to boost resiliency and environmental impact, that kind of data speaks volumes.
“We invest in the built environment, where technology adoption is historically slow,” said Julieta Moradei, Managing Partner at Overlay Capital. “Kind Designs is moving at a rare pace, solving a $20B+ infrastructure gap with regenerative, scalable solutions.”
Beyond Florida, the company is pushing into new markets. Eight projects are already underway in New York City, and a $10 million residential pipeline is building up in South Florida. Legislative tailwinds and growing local interest are helping fuel expansion.
Ultimately, Kind Designs is using 3D printing to physically reshape the edge between land and sea – making it stronger, smarter, and better for the planet. And it’s doing it out of a warehouse in Miami, one printed seawall at a time.
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