Next47, a corporate venturing subsidiary of industrial and appliance technology provider Siemens, has led a $30m series C round for Markforged, the US-based creator of a platform for industrial 3D printing.
Microsoft Ventures, the strategic investment arm of software provider Microsoft, also took part in the round, as did carmaker Porsche Automobil Holding, Matrix Partners, North Bridge Venture Partners and Trinity Ventures.
Markforged has built a 3D printing platform that enables industrial users to create functional prototypes to accelerate the manufacturing process. It can also be scaled to several printers to facilitate the mass production of specialist parts.
The round took the company’s overall funding to $57m, it said, and followed $20m in series B funding from Matrix Partners, North Bridge Venture Partners and Trinity Ventures in 2016.
Lak Ananth, managing partner at Siemens Next47, will join Markforged’s board of directors in conjunction with its investment. He said: “Markforged is making 3D printing simple, repeatable and fast.
“This has far reaching implications for our target industries, from automotive and aerospace to healthcare and energy. We see customers embedding Markforged into their product development and production processes, tremendously improving speed to market and addressing new opportunities in their industries.”
Microsoft Ventures partner Matthew Goldstein said: “As cloud services shorten development cycles for software engineers, so too is 3D printing accelerating innovation in the physical world.
“Markforged’s full-stack offering and innovative materials are game-changing for 3D printing, opening up incredible new opportunities for mechanical engineers.”