3D model marketplace CGTrader has just announced that it has closed a funding round with Intel Capital and existing investor Practica Capital. The purpose of the funding is to expand CGTrader’s marketplace and community as well as strengthen its position in the 3D printing market.
CGTrader is one of the longer standing 3D model marketplaces, originating in 2011 as the brainchild of Marius Kalytis, where designers, makers and 3D printing enthusiasts are able to find, buy and/or sell 3D models. This business model is one that is growing in frequency, but as mentioned, CGTrader has been around for a while and we have covered them frequently on 3DPI, most recently for their Valentine Design Chanllenge. This is one of the ways that CGTrader continues to engage it’s strong community of professional 3D designers, who have contributed over 45,000 3D models for sale or download to date. According to the company, it currently unites over 35,000 professional 3D designers and helps them supply 3D content for the rapidly evolving 3D printing market.
This latest funding round is set to keep pace with this rapid evolution and bring about further growth, according to all of the parties involved: “When 3D printing reaches mainstream adoption, 3D models will be used to produce physical products for consumer use. Therefore, 3D content will be the key element of the expanding 3D printing ecosystem. CGTrader empowers designers and creative individuals to develop brilliant product ideas, create high-quality 3D models and deliver them directly to millions of customers — bypassing complicated distribution, storage, and logistics processes. We were very impressed with the speed of execution from Intel Capital in the transaction and are looking forward to working with Intel Capital as well as Practica Capital to achieve that vision,” says Marius Kalytis, CEO and founder of CGTrader.
“The opportunity in the 3D printing segment is enormous, and we believe that CGTrader is well positioned to capitalize on this growing trend of ‘capture, create, print’,” says Marcin Hejka, Managing Director of Intel Capital Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa. “The CGTrader team is a great example of the innovative teams that operate in the Central and Eastern European region and which are able to build globally successful solutions.”
“CGTrader is a fast-growing company that has already established a sizeable footprint in the 3D printing space and is keen to become a leading player in the space,” added Klaus Konrad, Investment Director of Intel Capital. “We’re excited about being part of their expansion plans and look forward to working with them and providing the tools they need to make this a reality.
Existing CGTrader investor Practica Capital also participated in this financing round. “We have been impressed by the team’s ability to efficiently attract 3D content to CGTrader and rapidly grow the community of talented 3D designers. 3D printing technology will redefine multiple industries, and the CGTrader team uniquely understands the process of creating and distributing digital 3D content,” commented Petras Miciunas, partner at Practica Capital.
One suspects Marius is aware of and looking to stay ahead of the increasing levels of competition that CGTrader faces: “While there are a number of websites that offer free 3D model downloads for 3D printing, we believe that talented content creators need a platform where they can showcase and monetize their work and trade high-quality digital 3D content. As 3D printing market expands, the demand for 3D models will grow enormously and CGTrader will be placed perfectly to provide 3D content and 3D modelling skills for the world’s needs,” he said.
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