Are 3D printer companies really failing? Here’s some evidence to the contrary.
There are dark clouds of doom surrounding the 3D print industry these days. Their presence is largely the product of a series of catastrophic investment failures of several prominent manufacturers.
Literally billions were invested, and, a couple of years later, those investments are largely gone. Company valuations plummeted, some as low as only ten percent of their investment valuation. Some even went out of business entirely, or were scooped up by others.
These failures have soured investors on 3D printing, and as a result it has become incredibly challenging for any 3D print company to raise funds. This has slowed down the industry very significantly.
But is this the end? I think not. My belief is that most of the failed investment companies were pushing technology that really wasn’t suitable to meet the needs of manufacturing — where the money really exists. The promise of taking a bite of that juicy manufacturing market drove a lot of the prior investment.
Unfortunately, it did not work out for most of these companies.
Meanwhile, there are plenty of other, smaller 3D print companies that are doing just fine. They’ve developed technology that meets the needs of specific niche markets, and are continuing to grow. Some are even profitable.
Don’t believe me? One example is Pennsylvania-based Xact Metal, producers of small format, low cost metal 3D printers. I’ve had many discussions with the company as they’ve made the journey from rough startup to today’s growing operation.
The big change for Xact Metal came when they released machines that had the optimal build volume for their target market. From there they saw demand rise, and they’ve been selling gear very well ever since.
This week their CEO, Juan Mario Gomez, made an announcement:
“In the first quarter of 2025 we achieved our highest 1Q order revenue to date, up over 60% over the same period on 2024. Our strategy to bring metal powder-bed fusion to small and medium size organizations and to decentralize central labs at large organizations continues to be welcomed by our customers. We are excited to see this continued growth, especially since in 2024 we grew first quarter order revenue by 40% in comparison with the same period in 2023.”
This is a company that’s growing. They have a product that is proven and continues to be purchased by customers.
They sound very much like a company in which people might want to invest. But that’s unlikely due to those dark clouds.
Xact Metal is not alone. There are several other 3D printer manufacturers that are doing very well, making sales, expanding operations, and improving capabilities.
You just don’t hear about them. Instead, you hear about a US$400M investment loss in an over-hyped 3D print company.
Over time the memory of the investment failures will begin to fade, and the successes will continue to grow. Eventually they will be noticed and recognized as success stories in the industry.
Via Xact Metal
