3D printer start-up secures $115m in funding

Since its inception in October 2015, the Massachusetts-based 3D printer company Desktop Metal has reportedly raised a total funding amount of $212m.

The latest Series D investment is the largest individual private round for a metal additive manufacturing company.

The funding will help fuel the company’s speed to market, expand its sales programmes, and progress the development of its advanced R&D, according to Ric Fulop, CEO and co-founder of Desktop Metal.

The company is also exploring international expansion, possibly as early as next year.

The funding announcement comes close on the heels of Desktop Metal launching two metal 3D printing systems covering the full product lifecycle – from prototyping to mass production.

It’s Studio System is described as the first office-friendly metal 3D printing system for rapid prototyping and is reportedly 10-times less expensive than existing technology today. To manufacture metal 3D printed parts at scale, Desktop Metal also debuted its 3D printing system for mass production of high resolution metal parts, the Production System.

Using new, proprietary Single Pass Jetting (SPJ) technology, the Production System is alleged to be 100-times faster than today’s laser-based additive manufacturing systems.

Fulop explained: “We are on the brink of an exciting transformation in how metal parts will be designed, prototyped, and ultimately mass produced. This latest funding puts us in an ideal position to ship our Studio System in the coming months and our Production System in 2018, while also enabling us to grow our company globally.”