While multiple plastic extrusion 3D printer manufacturers have received significant investment, we now see more money flowing toward resin-based 3D printer ventures.
Specifically, Full Spectrum Laser, the makers of the Pegasus Touch Laser 3D printer, received a massive USD$10M from Summer Street Capital III, L.P., which happens to be a Buffalo, NY-based private equity fund.
There’s been a wave of resin-based personal 3D printers emerging over the past year, so it seems natural that some of them may attract significant investment. While the de-facto leader in this space would Formlabs, with their Form 1+ resin-based 3D printer, they face an increasing number of competitors.
We’ve been wondering which companies will join Formlabs to battle out supremacy for resin-based personal 3D printers. The announcement that FSL received USD$10M indicates they’re definitely a contender. FSL had a bit of a head start on some of their competitors, however, as they are an existing company specializing in, well, lasers! They’d previous produced not only laser engravers, but also CNC machines, so it was a small step to produce 3D printers.
FSL will use the USD$10M to accelerate their growth by hiring additional sales and operational staff. Currently they’re advertising for a Senior Mechanical Engineer, Electrical Engineer and Chemical Engineer (no doubt to develop new resin formulations).
It’s now a bit tougher for other resin-based 3D printer startups to enter the market, given the huge lead of Formlabs and the funding heading to FSL.
