3D printing public offerings flopped, but venture funding still flows to the space

It’s true that 3D printing technology can produce tons of cool and essential stuff, from airplane parts to custom dental implants to cutlery. But one thing recently public upstarts in the space have proven they can’t print is money.

3D printing brands, unlike most tech companies, have been getting clobbered in recent quarters, just as they did during the go-go days 2020-21.

How far down? Crunchbase analysis shows that at least six venture-funded companies that are focused on 3D printing or closely tied to it have made public offerings over the past two years. As we see below, all are trading at a discount to their initial valuations.

Fast Radius files bankruptcy

Chicago-based Fast Radius was the worst performer, filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Tuesday. This move comes just nine month after Fast Radius, Chicago-based, filed for Chapter 11. It was publicized through a SPAC merger valued at $1.4 billion.

Fast Radius, a company that provides software and manufacturing services for engineers to design and manufacture commercial-grade parts, referred to Drive Capital and UPS as its lead venture backers, and Goldman Sachs, as a post-IPO investor. It attributes its current financial woes to “headwinds in the capital markets” that “have inhibited our ability to adequately put in place the capital structure needed.”

Fast Radius’ rapid downfall has virtually wiped out its entire market cap. Shares are currently down over 99% from the offer price, with broad expectations they’ll go to zero.

But that’s not all

Other 3D printing players are down too, including two Massachusetts companies — Desktop Metal and Markforged — that launched some of the larger offerings.

Desktop Metal, which was the first on our list to go public since December 2020, has seen its market cap drop by more than $1.75 Billion. Shares took a further beating after the company’s Q3 earnings report, released Wednesday, showed both a wider-than-expected loss and lower-than-expected revenue.

Markforged posted earnings that same day. They revealed year-over–year revenue growth of only 5% and a wider net loss. Since its market debut in July 2021 following the merger of SPAC and Markforged, the company has already lost over four-fifths it value.

Meanwhile, the best performer on our list — Maryland-based Xometry — is also the one with the loosest ties to 3D printing. The company is down 41% since its public debut last year and offers a platform for 3D printing parts as well as die casting and CNC machining.

It’s not just market newcomers with ties to 3D printing that are performing poorly. The ARK 3D Printing ETF is a portfolio of companies that have ties to the sector and is down more than 40% this year.

Venture funding still flows

But looking at the funding tallies for 2022, it doesn’t appear that startup investors have turned fully bearish on the 3D printing space.

Crunchbase data was used to create a sample set that included 15 companies from the sector which have raised late-stage or seed funding.

Some raised large rounds, including:

• Icon, a construction tech company based in Austin Texas, was the leader of the pack with a $185 Million Series B extension in February. This brought total funding to more than $450 millions.
• Redefine Meat, a Tel Aviv-based company that uses 3D printing for the production of plant-based alternatives to meat, raised $135 Million in a January round.
• SprintRay, a 3D printing company specializing on digital dentistry, is based in Los Angeles. It raised $100 million during an October Series.

VCs with big names are still active in this space. Tiger Global, for instance, led Icon’s large February financing, while SoftBank Vision Fund backed SprintRay’s Series D.

Exits? We’ll just have to wait

Looking at the terrible performance of recent public market entrants with ties to 3D printing, it’s probably not an opportune time for the latest big funding recipients to plan debuts. Neither, for that matter is anyone focused on 3D printers likely to pull off a major IPO right now.

Still, there’s something inherently alluring about the space, as anyone who’s watched a video of Icon printing its iconic 3D home can attest. Looking more broadly at funded startups in the 3D printing space, it’s easy to walk away with the impression that our world would be a much cooler place if these kinds of innovations were happening at scale.

For now, however, public markets don’t seem to be sharing in that enthusiasm.

Illustration: Dom Guzman