Formlabs Announces $19 Million Series A Round To Disrupt 3D Printing

SOMERVILLE, Mass., Oct. 24, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Formlabs, the designers and manufacturers of the Form 1 3D printer, announced $19M in Series A financing today.  DFJ Growth led the round, joined by Pitango Venture Capital, Innovation Endeavors and many returning angel investors. Formlabs will use the capital to expand its world-class product, design, and research teams, while growing its marketing and customer support capabilities internationally.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20131024/SF03351LOGO)

The financing follows the company's breakout Kickstarter campaign last year, when Formlabs captured imaginations around the world with its high-performance, accessible 3D printer, raising $2.95 million from thousands of backers in 35 countries on the crowdfunding site. With this latest round of institutional capital, Formlabs takes the next step, demonstrating the power of crowdfunding and community support in growing an idea from conception to maturity.

Kickstarter backers and customers can expect greater service worldwide, powerful new software features, an extended range of materials, and continued innovation in affordable, high-performance, digital fabrication tools.

Innovation & Growth
"There is still a wide open space in front of us to continue innovating and bringing incredible new products to the market; with these new resources, we'll be able to continue to push the envelope, making extraordinary new tools available around the world," co-founder Maxim Lobovsky said,  "The group we're putting together to get here is the most creative and passionate team working in 3D printing and I'm personally excited about using this new investment to grow our team and take digital fabrication to the next level."

Formlabs has seen tremendous growth in the last year and is now expanding into an 11,000 square-foot facility in Somerville, Massachusetts. "We're going to use every inch. There's a lot of work to do, so we are thrilled to have DFJ Growth and Pitango onboard," said co-founder Natan Linder, ""We're looking forward to expanding internationally, and bringing a professional 3D printing experience to people around the world."

"We are very excited to partner with Formlabs on their next phase of growth," said DFJ Growth Managing Director Barry Schuler, who will join the board. "Max and the entire Formlabs team have done an amazing job with the Form 1 printer, a big advancement in the new industrial revolution."

There are other big plans afoot. The company is also planning on announcing PreForm 1.0 soon—a milestone in the development of its easy-to-use, powerful 3D-printing software. Formlabs' PreForm software allows everyone, from novice to professional, to print 3D models with just a few mouse clicks.

Over 900 Printers Shipped: Approaching Completion of Kickstarter Rewards
Formlabs is also pleased to announce the near-completion of another company milestone. The company has shipped over 900 of the original printer rewards in its Kickstarter campaign. Over the past six months, the company has shipped hundreds printers to its earliest backers in more than 35 countries. This represents a tremendous achievement for the team, which one year ago had only a working prototype prepared.

The Form 1
The Form 1 uses stereolithography technology to achieve resolution unheard of in the desktop 3D printer market. No longer limited to low-end FDM machines, users can now print parts with the complex geometries, exquisite detail, and beautiful surface finish necessary for professional quality design and digital fabrication. The easy-to-use PreForm software, custom-formulated printing materials, and Form Finish post-processing kit complement the beautifully simple printer to make desktop 3D printing as easy as pushing a button.

About Formlabs
Founded in 2011 by a trio of engineers and designers from the MIT Media Lab, Formlabs designs and manufactures the most powerful and accessible digital fabrication tools for designers, engineers, and artists. Learn more at formlabs.com.

About DFJ Growth
DFJ is a venture capital firm that partners with extraordinary entrepreneurs who set out to change the world. Since 1985, DFJ and the DFJ Global Network have had $7B committed to their funds and have managed more than 400 portfolio investments, including AdMob, Baidu, Box, Skype, Hotmail, SpaceX, Tesla Motors, SolarCity, Twitter, Tumblr and Yammer. DFJ works with companies at seed, early and growth stages, with the goal of creating iconic and lasting businesses. DFJ pioneers investing in emerging markets including consumer and enterprise information technology, digital media, and disruptive technologies. Learn more at dfj.com.

About Pitango
Pitango Venture Capital, the leading venture capital firm in Israel, has been investing in technology entrepreneurs since 1993. With offices in Israel and Silicon Valley, California, Pitango currently manages several venture funds totaling over $1.6 billion in committed capital. Pitango has invested in more than 180 companies; among them are companies that have gone public, such as JinkoSolar and Radware, and companies that were acquired, such as dbMotion (acquired by AllScripts) Anobit (acquired by Apple) and Provigent (acquired by Broadcom). Pitango invests in seed, early stage start-ups, as well as growth phase companies in the IT, Life Sciences and Cleantech industries. Learn more at pitango.com.

Resources:
Formlabs Hi-Res Logo
Formlabs Press Kit 
Formlabs Maker Faire NYC 2013 Press Kit

SOURCE Formlabs