Well, well, it seems that Shapeways has been resurrected.
Shapeways was the original consumer-level 3D print service, developed in the Netherlands back in the 2008 era. At the time, almost no one had desktop 3D printers, so Shapeways was one of the few companies providing an ability for individuals to obtain 3D prints.
The service grew steadily and eventually received a significant investment from US VC firms, even relocating their HQ to New York City.
Then things shifted. Desktop 3D printers abounded, and there was less demand for casual 3D prints on the market. Things were good enough that the company became publicly traded, and Shapeways, like several other 3D print services, and began a shift towards professional and industrial clients. Somehow, they didn’t really succeed, and earlier this year the company abruptly sold off some major assets and ultimately declared bankruptcy.
The folding of the company wasn’t a big surprise, as their company valuation, as seen in our weekly leaderboard, consistently dropped. The company lost over 90% of its initial valuation, leaving observers a bit suspicious about their future.
Curiously, although there were folks ready to take over the company, the management did not sell off the assets and instead simply shut down the company.
Who was interested in obtaining the assets? It turned out there was a group from the Netherlands that had originally set up Shapeways years ago, with intentions of restarting operations. They were unable to obtain assets directly from Shapeways, but later acquired some of the physical assets in the Netherlands from the bankruptcy administrator. They then set up a similar service, Manuevo.
Now we learn that the brand name “Shapeways” and other assets have been secured. They explain:
“The new management team has completed the purchase of all available assets from both the Dutch and American trustees handling the bankruptcy of Shapeways Inc., and Shapeways BV, and now owns the Shapeways name, website, and original Eindhoven production facility. Shapeways will leverage its software, hardware, design, and engineering capabilities to be a digital manufacturing engine for its customers.”
They’ve relaunched Shapeways with a “new management team, a sustainable business model, and a renewed customer-centered approach.”
What about Manuevo? They explain further:
“All Manuevo accounts and model data will be present through www.shapeways.com going forward.”
So it now seems that the Manuevo maneuver was done as an interim step as the organization worked towards a full acquisition of Shapeways.
As of today, you can go to the Shapeways site, and it’s open for business once again. Shapeways CEO (and original co-founder in 2008), Marleen Vogelaar, said:
“Today, I am delighted to announce my return to steward Shapeways into its next chapter. I am joined by original co-founder Robert Schouwenburg – who left Shapeways in 2012 to found and develop other technology startups – as well as the highly skilled leadership team from our Eindhoven factory – Jules Witte, Tiago Sá José, and Job van de Laar. Together, we are passionate about bringing back a stable, sustainable Shapeways that delivers for our customers.”
The new management team has a great deal of work to do since most of Shapeways’ regular customers have moved on to alternative services in the wake of the sudden bankruptcy. They will have to win them back by providing a suitable value proposition.
One big challenge is that the former Shapeways marketplace is apparently lost. In the bankruptcy process, somehow the data was not preserved, and they say that the marketplace software they acquired is not really usable. It sounds like they are trying to figure out an alternative approach to provide marketplace-like functionality.
This is good news. Shapeways was the legendary 3D print service that everyone used years ago. Those days might not come again, but there are many more people using 3D printing these days that could benefit from Shapeways returning.
Via Shapeways
