Robo has raised even more capital to expand their 3D printer manufacturing business.
The company, previously known as Robo3D, has been quite active corporately in recent years, having undergone a curious reverse takeover in a strategy to transform into a publicly traded company.
Since then they’ve continued to expand operations and most recently have raised another AUD$3.15M (USD$2.4M) from institutional investors.
According to a report in Proactive Investors Australia (the country where Robo is publicly listed) the money will apparently be used to:
Accelerate sales and marketing activities particularly into education opportunities and investigate new product development opportunities.
and
Help in further developing its software and content assets to provide an ecosystem that protects its hardware business.
This makes much sense. Robo is a good 3D printer product that has had great response from its customers. However, they operate in an extremely competitive market, with multiple other entrants also seeking to take over the education market. The good news is that the education market is quite large and largely underserved by 3D printing at this point, so there may be room for many participants. It may also grow as the importance of design and making skills increase among educators.
The report also indicates that Robo made their highest ever revenue mark last October, with AUD$1.3M (USD$1M) in sales. I’m always interested to understand how many machines are sold. If we assume their average system cost is around $USD1,000 (their two prime models are USD$1,500 and USD$800), then this revenue figure corresponds to approximately 1,000 units per month, and growing.
This is quite a bit lower than some of the other low-cost 3D printer manufacturers, but still substantial and more than sufficient to keep Robo competitive.
And that could be the reason the company is able to raise funds for expansion.
