Shapeways is a New York-based 3D-printing marketplace that sells 3D printing as a service rather than consumer desktop machines. The company operates an Etsy-like online marketplace paired with manufacturing services to help creators produce and sell physical products. In February it appointed Gregory Kress as CEO, who aims to expand the business into hardware prototyping and startup incubation to help creators market and sustain small businesses. Shapeways closed a $30 million Series E led by Lux Capital, bringing total funding to north of $100 million. The company says it will use the capital to accelerate growth and launch additional services to become an end-to-end platform enabling creators to "design, make, and sell." Recent product initiatives include a Design With Shapeways tool to guide creators from idea to 3D file and the Spring & Wonder personalized jewelry line. Shapeways is a NYC-based 3D printing service, marketplace and community that enables users to upload and sell designs. Launched in 2008 by CEO and co‑founder Peter Weijmarshausen, the platform has 620,000 community members, 30,000 marketplace sellers, and has 3D printed more than 2.5 million products. Users upload about 150,000 new designs to the site each month. It operates two factories and partners with many manufacturing providers, with factories and offices in Eindhoven, Long Island City and Seattle. Shapeways raised $30M in new funding led by INKEF Capital and plans to use the proceeds to invest in its community, add new features and materials, and boost its production environment and supply chain. Robert Jan Galema of INKEF Capital joined the company's board as part of the financing. Shapeways operates an on-demand 3D printing service and marketplace where designers sell physical objects printed by Shapeways' machines. The platform hosts about 10,000 shops, stores roughly 1 million products, and adds about 60,000 new designs monthly. CEO and co-founder Peter Weijmarshausen said the company has made 3D printing and production more accessible and is working to make it relevant to more people. Shapeways plans to grow its team and add more factories to enable more local production of products. Investor Chris Dixon of Andreessen Horowitz joined the Shapeways board as part of the financing. The company recently raised $30 million in a Series C led by Andreessen Horowitz to support expansion. Shapeways operates an online 3-D printing service that lets users upload designs or create them with the company’s 3-D modeling software. The company can print objects in plastic, glass, sandstone, ceramic, silver and stainless steel, producing items like bracelets, iPhone cases and mugs. Shapeways has printed more than one million objects to date. Competitors mentioned include iMaterialise, AutoDesk 123 and Sculpteo. The company says it will use new financing to expand its services and possibly build a larger printing factory. Shapeways is based in New York City. Shapeways operates a service that prints 3D designs and a marketplace where designers sell custom-printed products. The platform offers customization wizards for non-designers and supports 25+ materials ranging from white strong plastic to stainless steel. The company says its marketplace hosts over 300,000 products and 100,000 users, and its New York office has 19 people. Historically manufacturing was handled by contracted third parties or Shapeways’ facility in Eindhoven, Netherlands. Shapeways plans to launch printing facilities in New York City in 2012 to enable faster turnaround times and lower prices for customers. The article reports recent financing activity that should support these expansion plans.

Total raised

$103M

Funding rounds

6

Latest round

Series E

Latest activity

Apr 2018