Continuing its campaign to become the most successful 3D printer manufacturer on the market, the Massachusetts-based startup Formlabs has just achieved the rare feat for gaining unicorn status. After completing a recent funding round that raked in $15 million, the company now brought its total funding up to $100 million.
In doing so, Formlabs now has a valuation in excess of $1 billion, making it one of the few hardware startups to become a unicorn. The latest investment round is led by the global venture capital firm New Enterprise Associates, and follows a $30 million round that was completed in April 2018.
In a press release detailing the investment news, Formlabs checks off a number of milestones that achieved since it was initially founded in 2011 by a team of engineers and designers from the MIT Media Lab and Center for Bits and Atoms. The company has an annual revenue run rate surpassing $100m after five consecutive years of nearly 100 percent growth.
After the successful Series C funding round earlier this year, Formlabs also expanded into China and other Asia-Pacific markets. There are currently over 500 Formlabs employees in offices located across North America, Europe and Asia, and the expansion doesn’t seem to be slowing down anytime soon.
Formlabs Appoints From General Electric CEO Jeff Immelt to Board of Directors
Following the recent funding round, the company also announced the appointment of Jeff Immelt, former chairman and CEO of the General Electric Company, to its board of directors. Immelt is also on the board of Desktop Metal, one of the other few 3D printing startups that are labeled as a unicorn (another being the Silicon Valley startup Carbon).
“I’m excited to work with Formlabs at this pivotal time in the company’s development. Max and the team have demonstrated outstanding progress to date, with best-in-class technology and impressive momentum across a wide swath of industries, including engineering, healthcare and manufacturing. Since the company’s founding in 2011, they have outpaced competitors and established themselves as a leader in 3D printing. I look forward to supporting this next phase for the company as they accelerate adoption and continue to advance the technology,” said Immelt.
Max Lobovsky, co-founder and CEO of Formlabs, believes the manufacturing expertise of Immelt and the recent investment from NEA will help the company “continue its global growth and expansion into more product lines.”
Aside from the success of its prestigious Form 2 SLA 3D printer, Formlabs has also been planning an expansion into the Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) segment as well. The startup has working on the Formlabs Fuse 1, a $9,999 workbench SLS 3D printer that aims to make this generally expensive additive manufacturing technology more affordable and accessible.
The additional $15 million in funding and its newfound unicorn status certainly helps Formlabs solidify its position as a leader in the additive manufacturing industry. With a firm grip on SLA 3D printing market–and possibly the SLS market in the near future–it’s no surprise that venture capital firms are pulling out their wallets to get a piece of the Formlabs pie.
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