MIT spinout Formlabs has achieved unicorn status after obtaining $15m from New Enterprise Associates.
Formlabs, a US-based 3D printing technology spinout from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), has raised $15m in funding from venture capital firm New Enterprise Associates.
The spinout is now valued at more than $1bn. The capital was announced alongside the appointment of Jeff Immelt, former chairman and chief executive of conglomerate General Electric, to Formlabs’ board of directors.
Founded in 2011, Formlabs develops and produces 3D printers, materials and software aimed at engineers, designers and manufacturers in industries such as education, dentistry, healthcare, jewelry and research. Formlabs also operates a marketplace, Pinshape, to sell and buy designs.
The spinout emerged out of the interdisciplinary research laboratory MIT Media Lab and its Center for Bits and Atoms.
Formlabs has since grown to more than 500 staff across offices in the US, Germany, Japan and China. It will use the latest cash injection and Immelt’s expertise to drive further international growth and to launch additional product lines.
Formlabs has secured $100m in funding to date. VC firm Tyche Partners previously led a $30m series C round in April 2018 that also included Shenzhen Capital Group, the VC firm set up by the municipal government of Shenzhen, UpNorth Investment, DFJ, Pitango Venture Capital and Foundry Group.
Design software developer Autodesk and Foundry Group backed a $35m series B round in 2016 after DFJ Growth had led a $19m series A in 2013 that featured Pitango, Innovation Endeavors and assorted angel investors.
A range of private backers supplied $500,000 in angel funding in 2011. Formlabs then raised $2.8m in a crowdfunding campaign the following year.
