Adam, one of the most viral startups from Y Combinator’s Winter 2025 batch, has raised a $4.1 million seed round to accelerate its work on AI-powered 3D modeling and CAD tools. The round was led by TQ Ventures, with participation from 468 Capital, Pioneer, Script Capital, and Transpose Platform.
The startup went viral earlier this year with its text-to-3D model app, which racked up over 10 million social media impressions. According to CEO Zach Dive, Adam received multiple unsolicited term sheets and ultimately partnered with TQ Ventures due to shared alignment on the future of computer-aided design (CAD).
Adam initially focused on consumer creators rather than engineers, but with AI model performance improving faster than expected, the team now plans to launch its professional-grade CAD copilot by the end of the year. This new tool will allow users to interact with 3D objects more naturally, selecting and conversing with specific parts instead of relying solely on text prompts.
The company’s approach sets it apart from other AI-CAD competitors such as MecAgent. Adam’s early viral success also helped it attract top talent and industry support. Notably, angel investors include Posthog’s Tim Glaser, YC’s Trevor Blackwell, and T3 Chat’s Theo Browne. Vercel founder Guillermo Rauch even dubbed Adam “the v0 of CAD,” referencing his own AI web platform, V0.
Adam currently serves tens of thousands of users with paid plans starting at $5.99 per month, and is preparing to monetize its enterprise offerings. The startup aims to simplify mechanical engineering workflows by helping professionals generate and modify feature-rich parametric designs in tools like Onshape.
Dive said Adam’s goal isn’t to replace engineers, but to make CAD faster, more intuitive, and accessible to everyone.
