In 2016, Maxim Lobovsky, cofounder and CEO of Formlabs, made the cut for the Forbes 30 Under 30 list. Today, his 3-D printing company passed the $1 billion valuation mark with a new round of venture capital funding from New Enterprise Associates.
The new investment of $15 million brings Somerville, Massachusetts-based Formlabs total funding to more than $100 million and marks the rare time when an alum of the 30 Under 30 list in manufacturing has created a unicorn. Formlabs’ success is based on its 3-D printers’ ability to create more detailed, complex products at a lower cost than had previously been available. “We’re more proud of the number of printers we are shipping, but it is nice to see investors recognize that,” Lobovsky told Forbes, noting that Formlabs has sold more than 35,000 printers over the past six years.
With the new investment, GE’s former chairman and CEO Jeff Immelt, now a venture partner at NEA, joined the company’s board of directors. Formlabs is the second 3-D printing unicorn whose board Immelt, who pushed 3-D printing while at the helm of the industrial giant, has joined this summer. NEA has been cranking up its investments in manufacturing, with nearly $100 million invested in 3-D printing and another $150 million in the broader universe of digital manufacturing, according to NEA partner Dayna Grayson, who led the investment. Earlier investors in Formlabs include Foundry Group, Autodesk and Tyche Partners.
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