Metal 3D Printing Reimagined: DesktopMetal

By Bilal Zuberi

Team = Check
Technology = Check
Market = Check

That’s why Lux Capital chose to invest in DesktopMetal’s Series A alongside NEA, KPCB, and other smart investors.

DesktopMetal plans to revolutionize metal 3D printing. Current state of the art is…cumbersome. State of the art metal 3D printers are expensive, bulky, need complex setup including heavy use of inert gases, and are relatively slow. We know because we have studied this space well, and have invested in the broad 3D printing space multiple times now (e.g. Shapeways and Sols). Shapeways in fact uses the best of the best technology for their metal printed products and even they would argue much better is needed. The space needs to be ‘disrupted’ with a complete re-imagination of how metal 3D printing might work for broad usage. DesktopMetal team aims to bring a revolutionary new printer technology to the market for both prototyping and production use. I am sure Ric will share a lot more in months/years to come.

I have known Ric Fulop for many years now. We are both MIT alums. We were both entrepreneurs in Boston at the same time. We love geeking out over technology. We have taught the same classes before at MIT. We helped start a company from scratch (GridCo), and we have invested together in the past. He is the crazy guy who gave me my first ride in a Tesla Roadster (likely among the first owners of a Tesla in the Boston area). I have an incredible amount of respect for him as a most curious, creative, and resourceful entrepreneur. Ric, Yet-Ming Chiang, Chris Shuh and other members of the team are also well known to the entire Lux team. So when Ric called to tell us what he was doing, it didn’t take us long to agree to become his partners.

At Lux we love entrepreneurs like Ric who take on challenging technical problems — and where the reward maybe off the charts in case of success. They are dreamers and crazy enough to believe they can succeed. We are proud to join Ric and the team in this journey to help, support, and cheer. Go team!