How Alex Le Roux Is Reimagining The Future Of Construction With 3D Printing | Forbes

While studying at Baylor University, Le Roux had a hunch: “What if 3D printers were a lot bigger? What if we could use concrete?” Now he’s the mastermind behind the Vulcan, a nearly 12-foot-tall 3D printer that can make a concrete house in 24 hours for up to 30% cheaper. His startup, Icon, which he founded with over-30-year-olds Evan Loomis and Jason Ballard, used the Vulcan to build America’s first permit- ted compliant 3D-printed home in 2018. Since then it has built 16 more in Austin, Texas, and expanded into Mexico, where Icon is making the world’s first 3D-printed community for low-income families. He has raised $44 million (including from the late Paul Allen’s Vulcan Capital) and scored contracts to build bar- racks for the Defense Department. Icon recently received funding to help NASA figure out how to build structures on the moon.

As North America settles in for a long pandemic winter, there are bright spots on the horizon. Hundreds of them. The 600 young entrepreneurs, activists, scientists and entertainers featured in our 10th Annual Forbes 30 Under 30 give everyone reason to hope. Some are defying the odds and building businesses despite Covid-19; others are helping to fight the illness, serving on hospital front- lines or working with A.I. to discover new drugs. This year they were photographed by one of their own: Mamadi Doumbouya, a 23-year-old immigrant from Guinea who appears in this year’s Art & Style group. Collectively, our Under 30 trailblazers have raised over $1 billion in venture funding and are proof positive that ambition and innovation can’t be quarantined.

Read the full list on Forbes

Subscribe to FORBES

Stay Connected

Forbes newsletters

Forbes on Facebook

Forbes Video on Twitter

Forbes Video on Instagram

More From Forbes

Forbes covers the intersection of entrepreneurship, wealth, technology, business and lifestyle with a focus on people and success.