Automated manufacturing platform and former 3D printing marketplace 3D Hubs has today announced the successful closing of $18 million in funding. A Seres C investment, the round was led by Dutch growth capital investment firm Endeit Capital. It features the contribution of five other parties including, most notably for Industry readers, Erik de Bruijn, Co-founder of award winning desktop 3D printer OEM Ultimaker.
The money will be used to enhance 3D Hubs’ automation capabilities, making the ordering process smoother for its customers. Bram de Zwart, 3D Hubs co-founder and CEO, comments, “Thanks to our algorithms, 93% of manufacturing orders are fully automated, allowing us to get parts into our customers’ hands twice as fast on average.”
“This latest funding round will give us the power to make manufacturing outsourcing even smarter and simpler, and we couldn’t be more excited.”
Automation for manufacturing
Founded in 2013, 3D Hubs started life an online community and marketplace for peer to peer 3D printing services. Following rumors that started circulating late 2017, the company has since restructured as a B2B manufacturing platform, fueled by industry demand. In addition to industrial 3D printing capabilities, the site now offers access to CNC machining and injection molding services, all fulfilled by the company’s Manufacturing Partners.
Through automated features such as quoting, and “manufacturability feedback,” 3D Hubs seeks to make the on demand manufacturing process as simple as possible. For Ilan Goudsmit, Investment Manager at Endeit Capital, “The combination of 3D Hubs’ proprietary software, high-quality network of vetted suppliers spread across four continents and most visited website among engineers makes it a unique company with tremendous global potential.”
Joining Endeit Capital and de Bruijn in this round is Hearst Ventures, EQT Ventures, Balderton Capital and Arthur Kosten, the founder of Booking.com. Ted Persson, Operating Partner and Investment Advisor at EQT Ventures, adds, “As a designer turned investor, I’ve experienced the pain points 3D Hubs is solving first hand.”
“3D Hubs enables designers and engineers to put better products in the hands of people by enabling them to test out more prototypes before deciding on the final designs.”
Taking on the U.S. market
The $18 million Series C funding is 3D Hubs’ largest round to date. It brings the total money invested in the company so far to $30 million.
In addition to added automation, the money is to be used to open a new office for 3D Hubs in the U.S. As of December 2018, the company operates in this region as 3D Hubs Manufacturing LLC.
Ken Bronfin, Senior Managing Director of New York-based Series C investor Hearst Ventures, comments:
“3D Hubs is dramatically changing the way companies approach product development and production […] The company is well-positioned to become a very large driver in the evolution of the manufacturing supply chain.”
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Featured image shows an on demand manufacturing illustration. Image via 3D Hubs
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