With two major product launches on the horizon, 3D printing startup Formlabs bolster their war-chest with $30m in new equity funding.
Market-leading 3D printer manufacturer Formlabs has raised $30 million in new equity funding, according to a document filed with the SEC this week.
Together with CEO Maxim Lobovsky, the directors listed on the document include Barry Schuler, a partner with DFJ Growth which led Formlabs’ $19 million Series A funding round in 2013; Brad Feld, co-founder of Foundry Group which led Formlabs’ $35 million Series B funding round two years ago; and Carl Bass, the former CEO of Autodesk (who also invested in the Series B round).
With this latest development, Formlabs has attracted more than $90 million in venture capital.
To put that in context, other 3D printing companies that have recently raised funding include Markforged, which raised $30 million in November; Carbon, which attracted $200 million in December; and Desktop Metal, which announced a $65 million investment round led by Ford last month.
(Also of note is that Desktop Metal and Markforged are currently locking horns in a lawsuit, as we reported last month.)
Formlabs Prepping Two Big Product Launches in 2018
Headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, Formlabs has been steadily building an 3D printing empire since it was founded in 2011 by three plucky graduates from the MIT Media Lab. Their earliest days were recorded in the Netflix documentary Print the Legend.
Stereolithography (SLA) is their specialism; this is a 3D printing technique that uses a laser to cure liquid resin, forming a solid object layer-by-layer. Their flagship product is the Form 2, which is supported with an ecosystem of materials, software and accessories to optimize the 3D printing process.
But they have ambitious plans for expansion; last year the company announced the Fuse 1 and the Form Cell.
The Fuse 1 represents a new dimension and new technology for the company, a Benchtop SLS (selective laser sintering) 3D printer which creates objects from nylon plastic by fusing powder particles with a laser.
Form Cell, meanwhile, is all-in-one 3D printing farm combining multiple Form 2 printers, software and robotics to automate the SLA process.
Both products are being prepped for launch this year, so that extra $30 million will certainly come in handy. Stay tuned for further updates, when we’ll be reporting from the Digital Factory hosted by Formlabs on 14 May in Munich.
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