TechCrunch, John Biggs, 3 Sep 2014
3DHubs, a
3D printer matching service, has raised a $4.5 million Series A to help bring
their local 3D printing system to the world. The service, which allows you to
find and order 3D prints from printers in your area, is similar to other
services like MakeXYZ and 3DLt but is already available overseas.
Founded by
former 3D Systems employees Brian Garret and Bram de Zwart, the site was one of
the first global 3D printing solutions. They’ve processed over 30,000 3D prints
and have about 7,100 printers in 140 countries. To use the service, you simply
choose your area, upload a model, and ask for a quote. The 3D printer owner
then prints things out and gets it to you via post or sneaker net.
It’s a
tough market but the team prides themselves on speed.
“We’re very
fast and average delivery time has dropped to 1.2 days from submission to
pickup/shipping,” said Garret. “Competitors like Shapeways still take about a
week for their fastest materials, and much longer for special materials.”
They’ve
also worked up some excellent partnerships and are already embedded as a
service provider for some 3D modeling products.
“We’ve got
partnerships in place with Autodesk (direct print button to our API) as well as
consumer brands like Fairphone. Through these partnerships we drive about 40%
of our orders, this is where we see most of the growth in the coming year,”
said Garret.
“Bram and I
started 3D Hubs out of frustration that existing 3D printing services weren’t
living up to the promise of 3D Printing. As soon as we launched, the idea
really resonated with printer owners around the world who enjoy printing, but
often run out of things to print for themselves,” he said. “3D Hubs offers them
a way to earn money and collaborate on cool maker projects.”
The Series
A is led by Balderton Capital. Mark Evans, General Partner at Balderton
Capital, will join the 3D Hubs board. The company is opening new offices in New
York at the Brooklyn Navy Yard and will improve its API penetration. “We are
developing new features that will make the experience of ordering a
personalized 3D print similar to traditional e-commerce platforms,” said
Garret.
Printing
and selling small batch hardware is going to be the future. These guys are
right at the cusp. It’s definitely a crowded space, though, so it looks like
they’re going to have to put all four million of those Series A dollars to
work.
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