US-based 3D printing technology developer Formlabs received $150m in a series E round yesterday led by telecommunications conglomerate SoftBank’s Vision Fund 2.
The round valued Formlabs at $2bn, doubling its previous valuation.
Formlabs produces 3D printers, materials and software for sectors such as healthcare, where they have been used to manufacture tens of millions of nasopharyngeal swabs for covid tests.
The company launched out of interdisciplinary research laboratory MIT Media Lab and its Center for Bits and Atoms in 2011.
The funding will allow the company to further grow its portfolio of additive manufacturing technologies and to hire more staff across its seven offices globally.
SoftBank Investment Advisers’ senior managing partner Deep Nishar and investment partner Kirthiga Reddy will join Formlabs’ board as a director and observer, respectively.
Nishar said: “We believe the 3D printing industry is currently standing at the precipice of unprecedented growth and is transforming the way products are made.
“Through its high-performance printers, materials and software, Formlabs is pushing the development of 3D printing technology forward and is enabling the era of mass production and mass customisation.”
Design software producer Autodesk backed a $35m series B round in 2016 together with Foundry Group, and Formlabs has now raised $250m in funding altogether.
