Cyril Shtabtsovsky
Cyril Shtabtsovsky is an Ex-VC in 3D printing startups: Anisoprint (Sequoia China), Arevo (Khosla Ventures). Founder AlphaSemantic.ai – too for VCs to use data and AI to source best startups.
Over the last decade, 3D printing has evolved from prototyping to production, some companies went public (and some even delisted). But what does the data tell us about its current momentum — and where it’s heading? We used big data from AlphaSemantic to see what’s happening with 3D printing startups in 2025. Here is what we got in a form of informative graphs and short comments.
Funding in 3D printing startups Has Peaked — and Corrected
Venture capital funding into 3D printing startups surged from ~$300M in 2018 to a peak of $1.3B in 2021. Since then, it has sharply declined. This correction mirrors the broader venture market, but also reflects a cooling of hype. The disruption of supply chains during Covid in 2020 also played a role.
Still a US-Dominated Market — But Globalizing
The U.S. has historically accounted for 50–60% of total investment into 3D printing startups. But Europe and Asia are catching up. Europe now makes up ~25% of funding, with China representing ~18%, thanks to strong growth in hardware and government backing.
The U.S. still leads in absolute number of startups (~1,320), followed by China and the UK. But new hubs are emerging — from Israel and Sweden to Singapore and the UAE.
Hardware Still Dominates, but Software and Applications Are Growing
About two-thirds of VC money still flows into hardware — startups building new printers, especially for metal and industrial use. But investors are warming up to software, materials, and vertical applications like construction, dental, and aerospace.
Startups like ICON (construction), Redefine Meat (food), and LightForce (orthodontics) have raised hundreds of millions, showing a shift from core tech to real-world use cases.
| Startup | Total Funding $1M | HQ | Description |
| Relativity Space | $1,300 | USA | 3D-printed rockets using autonomous manufacturing |
| Carbon | $680 | USA | Polymer printers for dental |
| Divergent | $578 | USA | AI-driven vehicle structures and hypercar platform |
| ICON | $450 | USA | Concrete 3D printing for housing and NASA space use |
| Formlabs | $254 | USA | Desktop SLA printers for medical |
| Fictiv | $192 | USA | On-demand manufacturing platform with AI quoting |
| Redefine Meat | $180 | Israel | 3D-printed plant-based meat alternatives |
| Mighty Buildings | $153 | USA | Prefab home construction with UV-cured materials |
| LightForce Orthodontics | $150 | USA | Mass-personalized 3D-printed dental braces |
| Glowforge | $133 | USA | Consumer 3D laser printer for hobbyists and creators |
Public Market Reality Check
Public 3DP companies have struggled. Desktop Metal is down over 90% from its 2021 IPO. Markforged, 3D Systems, and Stratasys have also seen significant drops. Consolidation has followed: Desktop Metal is being acquired, while Stratasys fended off multiple takeover attempts.
Public players are now under pressure to show profitability and industrial traction. Among them, Xometry — a manufacturing marketplace — has fared slightly better due to stronger revenue growth and less capex burden.
Conclusion
3D printing is no longer “the future.” It’s now fighting for market-fit. The funding boom is over, public markets are sceptical, and consolidation is here.
But where we see real traction is at the intersection of 3DP and machine learning — automating everything from design to production. Startups like Fictiv (AI-powered quoting, $100M raised, Series E) and Inkbit (real-time defect correction, backed by J&J, Series B) are scaling commercially. CASTOR partners with giants like Siemens and Evonik to help manufacturers decide which parts to print. Markforged’s Blacksmith AI, now used in industrial settings, auto-calibrates prints for accuracy — no engineer in the loop.
This shift isn’t about hype — it’s about removing failure, friction, and guesswork from additive manufacturing. That’s the signal in the noise.
Looking Ahead
Despite recent pullbacks, we may be entering a renaissance for 3D printing and additive manufacturing. Positioned at the early majority phase of the innovation curve, 3DP is shifting from experimentation to infrastructure.
In a deglobalizing world, its value is clear: fast, local, and automated production with minimal dependency on overseas tooling or supply chains. U.S. industrial policy is reinforcing this — with the Department of Defence, NASA, and DARPA backing additive solutions for housing, aerospace, and battlefield logistics. Combined with AI, 3DP isn’t just about innovation anymore — it’s about strategic resilience. The next 2–3 years may quietly mark its breakout moment and the potential for the growth and investments is 2-3x from the current levels.
Note: This article has been written by Cyril Shtabtsovsky and published by Manufactur3D Editorial team.
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