Shapeways announced that it has managed to raise $30 Million in new funding Series E round led by Lux Capital. The funding will be used by Shapeways to drive its expansion plans. Other previous funding partners Union Square Ventures, INKEF Capital and Andreessen Horowitz all contributed again in the round.
Shapeways, the world leading 3D printing marketplace and service startup to design, make and sell 3D prints, has massive expansion plans and all the capital raised will be utilised to launch additional services to help itself become the complete end-to-end solution provider. It will help creators to design, make and sell their designs and products irrespective of the 3D modelling experience they have.
Speaking about the investment in Shapeways, Zack Schildhorn, a partner at Lux Capital said, “Millions of people have brought their product ideas to life with Shapeways thanks to the company’s unparalleled 3D printing expertise, scale, and capability. The plan is to put this product creation engine in the hands of millions more, through more approachable and expansive services. Life-changing businesses will be built on this platform.”
As a start, Shapeways will immediately launch ‘Design with Shapeways’ program which will help creators by providing them a one-on-one support at any stage of the 3D modelling process. From a simple idea to final optimising of the design, Shapeways will solve a critical pain point observed across the community. Designing of 3D printing is different from regular designing and customers will be able to design the perfect printable model with help from Design with Shapeways.
According to CEO Greg Kress of Shapeways, “We’ve just hit our 10 millionth product printed but we are just getting started, there is so much more to do.”
He added, “We want to enable more creators to reach success and this will include supporting them through design services, manufacturing beyond just 3D printing and helping them create small businesses.”
Shapeways is soon launching its own modelling tools for creators to use with their own ideas and businesses and to give a glimpse of its potential, Shapeways is introducing Spring & Wonder, a custom jewellery collection that will allow users to personalize the look, material, and design of each piece. Spring & Wonder will enable creators to customise their designs via 3D printing & modelling. It will be the first in a line of several in-house showcase brands to be launched by Shapeways this year with other encompassing a wide range of categories.
In addition to this, Shapeways will be offering an end-to-end service to help creators take advantage of Shapeways’ experience and expertise to grow their own businesses. Companies will be able to scale their small businesses via Shapeways. By brand
Additionally, the team is working on offering an end-to-end service that will help creators successfully scale into small businesses via Shapeways. Through brand development, website design, marketing support, merchandising, customer service, utilizing Shapeways as an outsourced production and integration into its management system and more. Shapeways will share more details about this program in the coming months.
About Shapeways
Shapeways is the world leading online 3D printing marketplace and service startup to design, make and sell 3D prints across the world. It has nearly 140,000 uploads every month and has a community of over one million with over 10 million products. Shapeways uses most of the latest technologies for 3D printing and uses more than 60 different materials and employing various post-processing techniques.
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