Desktop Metal Logo
Billed as one-to-watch for 2016, Massachusetts-based 3D printing startup, Desktop Metal has announced a further two major strategic investments from GE Ventures and Saudi Aramco Energy Ventures.
Without so much as a prototype in sight, the company, which aims to make metal 3D printing accessible with a compact, desktop machine, has raised a total $52M in investment from Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, New Enterprise Associates, Lux Capital and additive manufacturing giant, Stratasys who’s founder Scott Crump also serves as a board observer for the company.
The investments will be used to fund product development, hiring, and business operations as Desktop Metal addresses the challenges of lower cost and easier to use metal 3D printing for the commercial sector.
“Additive manufacturing is crucial to accelerating innovation at GE and bringing better products to market faster,” Steve Taub, Senior Director of Advanced Manufacturing, GE Ventures, commented. “We are excited to be part of Desktop Metal’s future as they tackle these challenges to broader accessibility.”
Led by Ric Fulop, co-founder of A123Systems and early investor in companies like Onshape, Proto Labs and Markforged, Desktop Metal boasts an enviable team of materials, software and robotics experts from MIT and various 3D companies which have helped secure this stealthy technology as one of the most anticipated reveals of this year.
“Our company is focused on the barriers that hold metal 3D printing back: price, performance, and variety of materials,” Ric Fulop, CEO and cofounder, Desktop Metal, added. “Today’s technology is where computing was in the 1970’s. It’s too costly and cumbersome to scale. We want to bring an everyday-use metal 3D printing solution to the workspace of every engineering team and we have the industry-ready team to do it.”
