Lab-grown diamond manufacturer Diamond Foundry has denied a report in Axios that it’s looking to raise to raise €600 million (approximately $675 million) to finish its planned factory in Extremadura, Spain.
Mona Akhavi, president of Diamond Foundry subsidiary Vrai, tells JCK the story is “false.”
“Diamond Foundry is not raising money or looking for funding,” she says. “It’s public news that we’ve raised all we need and [are] focused on expansion.
“It’s quite a curious situation,” she adds. “I sense a conspiracy against us.”
The report, which quotes Akhavi, said that “the initial investment in the plant was €245 million, €120 million of which was provided by the Spanish government via its Ministry of Industry’s Productive Industrial Investment Support Fund.”
But more “funding will be needed to help bring the project to fruition,” the Axios story said, noting that growing diamonds is “capital-intensive” and that “funding, operating efficiencies, and scale are necessary not just to succeed but also to survive.”
The factory is set to open in 2025. Diamond Foundry originally said it will produce 10 million carats a year, some for industrial purposes, but now it says it will produce 20 million carats.
Diamond Foundry had said that it’s raised $315 million in funding, including $200 million from Fidelity in March 2021.
The publication declined comment.
In other company news, Aditya Shah, who joined Diamond Foundry from rough broker I. Hennig in 2022, has left the company.
Follow JCK on Twitter: @jckmagazine
Follow JCK on Facebook: @jckmagazine
