Voxel8 develops multi-material digital manufacturing technologies that enable digital design and fabrication of footwear uppers, apparel, and smart textiles. Its ActiveLab® Digital Fabrication System supports product development, wear testing, and production runs of high-performance athletic footwear uppers and other textiles. The company leverages more than a decade of research and over 30 patents and was co-founded in 2014 by Harvard professor Dr. Jennifer Lewis. Voxel8 says the technology shortens design cycles, reduces reorder lead times, and lowers costs for labor, tooling, freight, and tariffs while enabling complex designs with little or no incremental manufacturing cost. Customers can establish manufacturing closer to end-user markets such as North America and Europe to respond rapidly to changing consumer demand. The company is based in the Boston region and is positioning its systems for high-volume production in athletic footwear, medical, and smart textiles. Voxel8 develops a multi-material 3D electronics printer that can embed functional circuitry by printing conductive inks, flexible silicones and high-strength epoxies alongside structural plastics. The technology is the result of a decade of patented research by co-founder and Harvard Professor Jennifer Lewis. Voxel8’s printers have been used to create items from quadcopter drones to hearing aids and higher-performance 3D antennas. The company has received preorders from R&D teams in aerospace, automotive, defense, medical devices and apparel. Voxel8 prices the printer at $8,999, which includes material for the first 20 prints and the Autodesk software needed for complex designs. The company plans to begin shipping the first printers later this year to target engineers and designers for prototyping and experimentation. Voxel8 develops a multi-material 3D printing platform capable of printing embedded electronics and other novel devices. Its platform combines functional materials, printing hardware, and intelligent software to enable integrated device fabrication. The company positions the technology beyond prototyping to bring functional materials printing to a broader or mass market. Voxel8 is led by founder Dr. Jennifer A. Lewis, Wyss Professor of Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard, and leverages over a decade of research. The company is based in Somerville, MA and is commercializing tools that let designers and engineers create products with embedded 3D electronics. Voxel8 develops a desktop electronics printer capable of depositing thermoplastics and conductive ink to create embedded electronic devices. The company was launched by Professor Jennifer Lewis and spun out of research at Harvard University and the University of Illinois, which both hold equity stakes. Voxel8’s team has demonstrated a functioning quadcopter and 3D circuit boards, and says the printer can produce near-field antennas, USB flash drives, and other objects with embedded electronics. The product goal is to expand the universe of printed products to include electronics rather than solely structural parts. The article notes the company has raised an undisclosed amount of capital from Braemar Energy Ventures and another secret investor.

Total raised

$12M

Funding rounds

4

Latest round

Series A

Latest activity

Jul 2015