Additive manufacturing start-ups raised $153.3mn in 2023 so far, spawning radical and flexible object designs for a variety of applications
Additive manufacturing start-ups raised $153.3mn in 2023 so far, spawning radical and flexible object designs for a variety of applications
California-based Zeda Inc. has recently raised an estimated $52mn. This consists of both undisclosed series B funding and debt financing. As of March 2023, its total funding is estimated at $68mn. Existing investors Boutique Venture Partners, Berkeley Catalyst Fund, D. One Vision Management, and Solvay Ventures, led the series B round, with Michelin, Taiyo Nippon Sanso Corporation, and Fives SAS investing for the first time. Zeda is a medical technology company that combines 3D printing with nanotechnologies to manufacture spine implants for the orthopedic industry. Its technology also has applications in aerospace, defence, space, and semiconductors.
Once considered a futuristic technology, 3D printing, also known as additive manufacturing, has come a long way since its origins in the early 1980s. 3D printing adopts computer-aided-design (CAD) to print complicated, bespoke shapes by layering soft, liquid, and powdered materials. The result is accurate, lightweight, optimized, three-dimensional objects made in one phase, rather than by assembling multiple components separately over several stages. The additive technology is less error prone, more cost effective, and it reduces material waste, which is particularly important when alternative components can be made of rare and expensive materials. This process also eliminates supply chain risks by producing goods locally on demand, which is beneficial both for the environment and the companies facing supply chain issues.
Market opportunity
Increasing adoption of 3D printers across different sectors and higher demand for desktop 3D printers by consumers are expected to combine to drive the growth of the market. Grand View Research forecasts that the additive manufacturing market will grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 20.8% to reach $76.16bn by 2030. Additive manufacturing is a versatile approach that can be used for a wide range of demanding applications, such as rocket engines, aircraft, high precision industrial automation, agile tools, laser systems, fabricated buildings, and electronics. It also has a a variety of medical uses, including but not limited to, bioprinting, prosthetics, and titanium implants.
Preqin’s Company Intelligence dataset shows that 3D printing start-ups have raised $153.3mn so far this year. This is down on 2022, when they raised $2bn with $810mn of deals in just the first quarter. The US attracted the highest amount of funding ($87mn), followed by China ($36mn). Series A stage has dominated VC funding this year, with companies raising $92.8mn, compared with $54.1mn in series B rounds.
TOP VC firms active in 3D printing start-ups, 2018 – 2023 YTD:
Additive manufacturing offers many positives, ranging from confidentiality of prototyping designs, reducing errors, increasing sustainability, eliminating logistical challenges to cutting labour cost. If growth continues in line with its innovation, the firm could become the favored manufacturing technique across a range of possible applications. As the technology evolves and delivers, VC firms are expected to continue to invest.
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