STILFOLD is a Swedish technology company founded in 2020 that develops "industrial origami," a patented method for folding flat steel sheets with robotic precision to create lightweight, sustainable structures, reducing parts, waste, and environmental impact.[1][2][4] It serves industries like automotive, transportation, aerospace, and architecture by offering cost-effective alternatives to traditional manufacturing, with applications including Polestar's climate-neutral car, STILRIDE's electric motorcycle, and space construction via I.S.A.A.C.[4][6] The company's growth momentum includes recent innovations like Car Canvas for European car manufacturing (September 2025), AI-optimized drone systems with AirForestry (August 2025), and winning the EIT Manufacturing Innovation Award (April 2025), backed by over 10 years of R&D, patents, and partnerships.[2][6]
STILFOLD's mission is to transform industrial manufacturing through sustainable, efficient solutions that minimize emissions and enhance performance, positioning it at the forefront of greener mobility and design.[2]
STILFOLD emerged in 2020 from a visionary research project backed by the Swedish Innovation Agency, founded by Tue Beijer and Jonas Nyvang—childhood friends with complementary expertise in design and execution.[1][2] The idea originated simply: Beijer sketched an electric vehicle on a piece of paper, then spent years researching how to "fold" it from steel, drawing from origami principles to challenge conventional sheet metal forming.[2] Early traction came via their first product under STILRIDE (now a daughter company), a lightweight electric motorcycle, which provided insights to refine their core technology into STILFOLD—a proprietary software-hardware system called STILWARE for computational folding.[2][4] This evolution shifted focus from electromobility to broader manufacturing applications, supported by academia, patents, and over a decade of R&D.[2]
STILFOLD rides the wave of sustainable manufacturing and digital twins, where software advancements enable faster hardware iteration amid surging demands for net-zero production, lightweight materials, and supply chain resilience.[2][3][6] Timing is ideal: rising material/energy costs, environmental regulations, and sector shifts toward electrification (e.g., EVs, drones) favor its waste-reducing approach over outdated sheet metal techniques.[3] Market forces like affordability-driven sustainability and AI-optimized design amplify its edge, as seen in partnerships with Polestar and EIT Manufacturing.[4][6] By open-sourcing elements like Car Canvas and influencing mobility/space sectors, STILFOLD accelerates ecosystem-wide adoption of curve-folding, challenging industrial heritage and paving paths for greener, efficient structures.[2][4]
STILFOLD is poised to expand from mobility into architecture and aerospace, leveraging its growing IP, awards, and collaborations to industrialize industrial origami at scale.[6] Trends like AI simulation, regulatory net-zero mandates, and digital manufacturing twins will propel deployments, potentially disrupting giants in automotive and beyond with Car Canvas-like tools.[3][6] Its influence may evolve into a platform provider, enabling net-zero factories via STILWARE licensing, as patents solidify and partnerships deepen—reshaping mobility's future from a Swedish sketch to global standard.[2][4] This positions STILFOLD as a pioneer in the sustainable edge the query highlights: revolutionizing manufacturing through innovative folding.
STILFOLD has raised $5.0M in total across 2 funding rounds.
STILFOLD has raised $5.0M across 2 funding rounds. Most recently, it raised $4.0M Seed in August 2021.
| Date | Round | Lead Investors | Other Investors |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 1, 2021 | $4.0M Seed | ||
| Nov 1, 2020 | $1.0M Seed |
