Here is our Q3 2018 summary report on the 3D printing startup sector. The following report includes a sector overview and recent activity.
To learn more about our complete 3D printing report and research platform, visit us at www.venturescanner.com or contact info@venturescanner.com.
As we’ve previously seen, funding into the 3D Printing sector demonstrated robust growth in recent years. Now we are going one level deeper on our 3D Printing research platform to examine its funding by round. From our analysis we can conclude that the 3D Printing sector is maturing.
This conclusion comes from two takeaways:
We’ll explain these takeaways with some graphics that show 3D Printing funding activity by round.
To help set the stage, the graphic below illustrates 3D Printing funding amount over time. As you can see, the sector’s overall funding saw strong growth in recent years.
We’ll start off by examining the annual 3D Printing funding amounts by round.
While the funding amounts in all rounds rose, Series C and Series D saw the largest increase. Specifically, Series C funding amounts increased by $135M and Series D increased by $315M from 2012 to 2017.
We’ll now look at the 3D Printing funding amount by round as a percentage of the total, which shows changes independent of the total size.
The above graph supports our previous observation that later stage funding amounts saw the largest growth from 2012 to 2017. In 2012, Seed, Series A, and Series B events accounted for over 85% of funding. By 2017, there was a complete shift, with Series D events accounting for over 50%. Seed, Series A, and Series B funding amount percentages also dropped significantly in 2017.
So we see that the funding amounts graphs indicate a shift from early stage to later stage from 2012 to 2017. Would the funding event count graphs show the same trend? Let’s examine them in the next section to find out.
Let’s now look at the annual 3D Printing funding event counts. The below graph shows the 3D Printing funding counts by round as a percentage.
This graph corresponds with the last graph in showing that the funding counts in the later stage saw increases from 2012 to 2017. Specifically, Series C funding counts grew to 20% and Series D grew to 8%. On the other hand, the funding counts in Seed and Series B both decreased.
Combining these two graphics, we can see that 3D Printing funding counts shifted from the Seed stage to the later stage from 2012 to 2017.
In conclusion, we have seen that 3D Printing funding amounts saw the largest increase in later stage events. 3D Printing funding counts also grew in the later stage and dropped in the Seed stage. These observations led us to conclude that the 3D Printing sector is maturing. While funding counts decreased recently, investors are putting larger funding into well-established companies.
What are your thoughts on this? Let us know in the comments section below.
To learn more about our complete 3D Printing report and research platform, visit us at www.venturescanner.com or contact us at info@venturescanner.com.
Here is our Q1 2018 summary report on the 3D Printing startup sector. The following report includes an overview, recent activity, and a category deep dive.
To learn more about our complete 3D Printing report and research platform, visit us at www.venturescanner.com or contact info@venturescanner.com.
Our sector maps are snapshots of emerging technology sectors. They show what the different categories in a sector are and how many startups are within each category. They also present a small sampling of the current startups that are innovating in each category.
We will share our most up-to-date sector maps in a two-part series. Below you will find sector maps for the Blockchain Technology, Energy Technology, Financial Technology, Health Technology, Insurance Technology, Video Technology, and 3D Printing sectors.
Stay tuned as we will release the remaining 8 updated sector maps for Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things, Marketing Technology, Real Estate Technology, Retail Technology, Security Technology, Transportation Technology, and Virtual Reality.
To learn more about our complete report and research platform, visit us at www.venturescanner.com or contact us at info@venturescanner.com.
The following two graphs summarize the rounds of funding going into the 3D Printing Technology space. Please note these graphics are made using data through June 2017.
The graph above shows the total amount of VC funding broken out by round. From 2006 to 2016, we saw a sharp increase in the overall sector funding, with the total amount peaking in 2015 and then declining thereafter. Series A, B, and C funding have accounted for a substantial amount of total funding.
The graph above shows the total count of funding events broken out by round. The general trend over the past few years has been a substantial number of funding events in the Seed stage and a fewer number in the Series A stage, with the funding events in the later stages quickly dropping off.
We are currently tracking 380 3D Printing companies in 9 categories across 40 countries, with a total of $1.6 Billion in funding. Click here to learn more about the full 3D Printing market report.
The following graphs highlight the exit activity in the 3D Printing Technology sector. The graphics include data through June 2017.
The above graph summarizes the number of exits (acquisitions and IPOs) in each 3D Printing Technology category. The 3D Printer Manufacturers category leads the sector with 6 acquisitions and 8 IPOs. The 3D Printing Services category is the runner-up with 8 acquisitions and 3 IPOs.
The above graph summarizes the number of exits (acquisitions and IPOs) in 3D Printing Technology by year. 2014 currently leads the sector with 9 acquisitions and 1 IPO. 2013 is the runner-up with 5 acquisitions and 2 IPOs.
We are currently tracking 380 3D Printing Technology companies in 9 categories across 40 countries, with a total of $1.6 Billion in funding. Click here to learn more about the full 3D Printing Technology market report.
The following graphs highlight venture investing trends into the 3D Printing Technology sector. The graphics include data through June 2017.
The above graph compares the total venture funding in each 3D Printing category to the number of companies in the category. The 3D Printer Manufacturers category leads in both stats, with a funding at just under $900M and around 110 companies.
The above analysis summarizes the average company funding in each 3D Printing category. The 3D Printing Materials category leads the sector with over $33M in average funding per company, followed by the 3D Scanners and the 3D Printing CAD Software categories.
We are currently tracking 378 3D Printing companies in 9 categories across 40 countries, with a total of $1.5 Billion in funding. Click here to learn more about the full 3D Printing market report.
