There’s big news from Velo3D, which appears to have been rescued from a dark future.
The company stealthily developed a rather amazing LPBF 3D printing process several years ago. Their technology is able to print metal objects with minimal support structures, making not only surface quality much better, but also dramatically reducing post-processing labor.
Their tech was so attractive that it was eagerly adopted by several leading companies, including SpaceX.
However, the company was beset by financial issues, and in our weekly leaderboard that tracks company valuations, Velo3D was easily the most volatile on the board. Each week, their valuation rose and fell. At one point, the company was valued at a whopping US$2.24B. However, the value declined so dramatically that it literally fell off the stock exchange. In recent months, it’s been relegated to the over-the-counter market.
SpaceX, being somewhat dependent on this technology to produce their stream of Raptor rocket engines, threw Velo3D a bone in September by licensing the right to use their equipment and technology — and providing Velo3D with some cash.
SpaceX was apparently unwilling to outright purchase Velo3D, even though they could clearly afford to do so.
That left Velo3D in a precarious position, and some anticipated bad news at any moment.
That bad news may not come, as Arrayed Additive seems to have come to the rescue of Velo3D. The Indiana-based company specializes in metal 3D printing, specifically aluminum and magnesium, and evidently made use of Velo3D technology. In fact, the company held substantial debt notes for Velo3D.
The arrangement is to convert that debt into equity — shares — in Velo3D. In other words, Arrayed Additive, Inc.’s holding company, Arrayed Notes Acquisition Corp., will now own 95% of Velo3D.
Accordingly, the new CEO of Velo3D will be Arun Jeldi, who just happens to also be the CEO of Arrayed Additive. Previous CEO, Brad Kreger, will remain with the company as COO. In addition, six members of Velo3D’s board will resign, including founder Benny Buller. This will leave the company with five board members.
Will this maneuver allow Velo3D to continue? Velo3D writes:
“The significant reduction in the outstanding senior secured notes greatly alleviates Velo3D’s overall debt obligations and allows the Company to focus on its operations and continue to deliver its market-leading solutions to its customers.”
New COO Brad Kreger added:
“I am excited to work with Arun and the Arrayed Additive team to reposition the Company for future success. With the majority of our senior secured notes cancelled, we are now in a stronger financial position, enabling us to focus our efforts on the future of Velo3D and delivering unparalleled large-format metal 3D printing capabilities to our global customer base.”
This is incredibly good news for Velo3D, and especially for Velo3D customers, who had no doubt been wondering whether their investment in the technology would be lost. A key step for the new Velo3D would be to contact all customers and assure them of continued operations.
The new Velo3D will certainly have challenges, as do all companies in the 3D print space. However, many of the financial barriers to Velo3D’s progress have now been removed, and it is quite possible they may grow in 2025.
Via Velo3D
