next47, Microsoft Ventures, Porsche Invest $30M in Markforged

WATERTOWN, MA, Nov 1, 2017 – Markforged, the only industrial 3D printing platform for the entire range of strong parts from carbon fiber to metal, today announced that it has completed a $30 million Series C round of funding. next47, the Siemens-backed venture firm, led the round, with Microsoft Ventures, and Porsche also making significant investments. All three new investors are also customers, using Markforged printers to substantially reduce time to market. They join top-tier investors such as Matrix, Trinity and Northbridge. Markforged has raised a total of $57 million since the company’s inception.

“Our ability to tackle the big challenges is limited by slow hardware cycles – from self-driving cars to saving the environment to reaching for Mars,” said Greg Mark, founder and CEO, Markforged. “At Markforged we are unlocking a dramatic acceleration – a step change – in product creation. “With the new funding and strategic support from the world’s most admired manufacturing brands, we are excited to change the way the world makes products.”

In addition to the new funding, Markforged has recently achieved a number of significant milestones:

  • Markforged is profitable and has grown revenues by 300 percent. Customers see an average return on investment of fewer than two months. With a Net Promoter Score of 85, positive word of mouth has driven explosive growth on a global scale.
  • Thousands of companies use Markforged for prototyping, tooling and fixtures, and end-use products because they print parts 23x  stronger than standard 3D printing, build 50x faster, and cost 20x less than their legacy manufacturing processes.
  • Markforged recently announced the addition of two new printers, the X3 and the X5 to its Industrial Composites Series. In addition, it has shipped the first of its new model Metal X, which leverages the company’s metal 3D printing technology: Atomic Diffusion Additive Manufacturing, or ADAM to print stainless steel, tool steel, titanium and other metals.

“Markforged is making 3D printing simple, repeatable, and fast,” said Lak Ananth, managing partner at Siemens next47, who will also be joining the Markforged Board. “This has far reaching implications for our target industries, from automotive and aerospace to healthcare and energy. We see customers embedding Markforged into their product development and production processes, tremendously improving speed to market and addressing new opportunities in their industries.”

“As cloud services shorten development cycles for software engineers, so too is 3D printing accelerating innovation in the physical world,” said Matthew Goldstein, partner, Microsoft Ventures. “Markforged’s full-stack offering and innovative materials change the equation for 3D printing, opening up incredible new opportunities for mechanical engineers.”

About Markforged

They build an industrial 3D printing platform to liberate designers and engineers from decades-old, slow part creation processes.

NASA, Google, Ford, Amazon, Facebook and thousands of companies in 50 countries use Markforged to print same-day prototypes and produce stronger end-use parts than they did before. With Markforged, customers are able to ship 50X faster, spend 20X less, and build products that are 23X stronger.

The Markforged platform includes a full ecosystem of 3D printers for metal, composite, and plastic parts; purpose-built metal & carbon-reinforced materials for strength and beautiful finishes; and cloud software for turning drawings into high-strength printing.

For more information, and to learn why Markforged has grown over 300% in 2017, visit www.Markforged.com.

About next47

next47 is a global venture firm created by Siemens that invests in, and partners with, entrepreneurs who think big and build industry-defining companies. With offices in Boston, Beijing, London, Munich, Palo Alto and Shanghai, next47 gives start-ups unparalleled access to one of the world’s largest portfolios of customers in the areas of industry, energy and infrastructure as well as domain expertise in the deep technologies that impact those customers.

About Microsoft Ventures

Microsoft Ventures is the corporate venture arm of Microsoft, (Nasdaq “MSFT” @microsoft) the leading platform and productivity company for the mobile-first, cloud-first world. Microsoft Ventures partners with visionary entrepreneurs looking to drive digital transformation. As part of its promise to portfolio companies, Microsoft Ventures offers unrivaled access to go-to-market resources and strategic relationships globally. Microsoft Ventures currently operates in London, New York, San Francisco, Seattle and Tel Aviv. Learn more here.

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