- General
- January 23, 2019
- 5 minutes read
Desktop Metal Raises $160 Million Round Led By Koch Subsidiary KDT
image : Desktop Metal Massachusetts based 3D printing technology provider Desktop Metal has raised $160 million in new funding led…
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| image : Desktop Metal |
Massachusetts based 3D printing technology provider Desktop Metal has raised $160 million in new funding led by Koch Industries subsidiary Koch Disruptive Technologies (KDT), boosting the total raised by the company to $438 million and marking it as the most funded private company in the 3D printing industry.
Desktop Metal founded in 2015 by experts in advanced manufacturing, robotics and metallurgy produces a 3D printing system dubbed ‘Studio System’ which the company says “is the world’s fastest metal printing press for mass production with over 400 percent productivity over the closest binder jet alternatives and more than 100 times faster than laser powder bed fusion systems in the market”.
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| Desktop Metal CEO Ric Fulop
image : World Economic Forum / Boris Baldinger
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The Studio System is designed to print and sinter parts in an office environment, capable of printing a broad range of alloys including reactive metals like titanium and aluminum. Desktop Metal says it’s adopted by major Fortune 500 companies with initial systems set to begin shipping commercially in the first quarter of this year.
“We are at a critical juncture in the advancement of metal 3D printing and additive manufacturing,” Desktop Metal co-founder and CEO Ric Fulop said in a press release. “…This new funding will fuel the continued development of our metal 3D printing technology and rich product roadmap, the scaling of operations to meet a growing demand of orders, and the financing of major new research and development initiatives. Combined, this will set us on a trajectory to become a global leader in metal 3D printing, a key pillar of Industry 4.0.”
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| image : Desktop Metal |
Early customers of the Studio System include Ford (an investor in Desktop Metal), Google’s Advanced Technology and Projects group, ProtoLabs, Continental AG, BMW (also an investor), 3M, US Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security and educational institutions such as MIT, University of Texas and Texas A&M.
