Synthetic diamond producer Scio Diamond Technology Corp., raised $1.6 million in equity financing to fund further product development and operations, according to a company announcement.

"We see increasing demand in the market for lab-grown white diamonds," noted Gerald McGuire, chief executive officer. "We successfully completed product development on lab-grown pink diamonds and have been delivering them to the market since June. Our white diamonds are also being sold in the market; we are focused on these because they will increase our revenue potential in the fast-growing, high-quality lab-grown diamond segment."

Bain & Company's 2014 report on the global diamond industry noted that "diamond demand is expected to outpace future supply." Lab-grown diamonds are a growing portion of the worldwide jewelry market, which is expected to increase by 50% per year through 2018, according to analysts Frost & Sullivan.

Earlier this year, the company doubled its manufacturing capacity, which can be used for either pink or white diamond production, the company said.