In a shock move, the entirety of the 3D printing industry has consolidated.
Mergers and acquisitions have been picking up significant steam, which many have heralded as a sign of maturity in the burgeoning additive manufacturing sector. We’ve even previously called 2021 the year of additive manufacturing marketing consolidation.
Over the last several months in particular, companies have been acquiring other relevant players in the field. Desktop Metal’s EnvisionTEC acquisition came as something of a shock to the system, as the polymer company seemed outside of the original metal playing field for its new parent. But it makes sense, as we’ve seen. Desktop Metal gains a much larger technology and IP portfolio, and the market gains new aggregated solutions.
This was perhaps one of the highest-profile moves toward an additive manufacturing one-stop-shop we’d seen in some time.
Until today.
As of April 1, the market has completely consolidated.
Well — okay, virtually completely. There are now four (count ‘em: four!) players in the industry:
- 3D Printers Corp.
- 3D Materials Corp.
- 3D Software Corp.
- 3D Services Corp.
There’s talk of further consolidation (could it be!?) under a single umbrella: 3D Corp.
Naturally, each of these multi-billion-dollar moves has had a lot of moving parts in place. For the most part, acquisitions followed something of a linear path:
Startup → Established public company → 3D Corp.
Each step along the arrowed path indicates a move valued at at least several million dollars. Stakeholders and investors have unanimously approved each move, to the surprise of many. The promise of a single, public entity offering 3D printing hardware, software, materials, and services creates a very literal one-stop shop.
Need a 3D printed gear drive assembly? 3D Corp! Need to 3D print a housing development? 3D Corp! Need to 3D print new knobs for your oven? 3D Corp! What about a 3D printed heatsink? You guessed it: 3D Corp.
With such a huge move, it will obviously be some time before all details are available.
We are, then, left to guess at some of the specifics like:
- Who will be the 3D Corp CEO and executive team?
- Where will 3D Corp’s corporate HQ be located?
- What will the stock exchange ticker be, and how do I sign up for shares?
- When can I visit the 3D Food segment? Is it in the cafeteria?
Presumably, 3D Corp will still have operating segments dedicated to specific materials, applications, and end users.
Stay tuned for more details; we hope to have more to report by next April 1st.
