Voxel8 Continues Industry Momentum, Receives $12 Million in Series A Funding for Electronics 3D Printer

If anyone is left on the planet who still has great skepticism about the wonders of 3D printing, and perhaps has yet to hear still about the innovations popping up around the world in virtually every sector, the fact that so many companies are receiving large sums of funding, to the tune of many millions, should be evidence enough that everyone better sit up and take note.

If the big players are listening, watching, and investing, the signs are pretty clear. While the 3D printing industry is big enough now to draw some startups based on smoke, mirrors, and marketing, they aren’t the ones receiving the millions in investment funds or a dedicated and extremely discriminating customer following.

Voxel8 is one of those companies that doesn’t need to do any explaining about why their work is important, thanks to the leadership of Harvard Professor Dr. Jennifer Lewis, along with her team, whose innovations and research have made Voxel8 a disruptive force in electronics–and placed them on the top rung.

As they are known for centering around 3D printing with electricity in combination with materials research, it’s not a huge surprise–but will certainly be of great interest to all–to hear that Voxel8 is now about to release the first desktop 3D printer that can quickly print electronic products, evidenced by a functional 3D printed drone/quadcopter, with a range of other projects in the works.

Along with this latest new technology comes another bit of fairly important news, concerning that of a cool $12 million being infused into Voxel8 via a round of Series A financing just closed. Leading the round were Braemar Energy Ventures and ARCH Venture Partners, joined by Autodesk through its Spark Investment Fund and In-Q-Tel. The funds will be funneled into further ventures for developing electronics products and technology–as well as expanding their team. Their core technology is in embedded electronics and through their commitment to research, innovation, and execution, what they are able to offer to users is the ability to 3D print electronics on the large scale.

“The Voxel8 3D printing platform is disrupting the traditional design and manufacture of electronic devices,” said Clinton Bybee, co-founder and managing director at ARCH Venture Partners. “Not only does the Voxel8 3D printer enable the design of entirely new devices, it also circumvents the need for traditional tooling, inventory and supply chains.”

Options are becoming expansive for users, offering previously unheard-of autonomy in manufacturing of electronics at the desktop, from 3D circuits to new creations completely due to ‘new form factors’ allowed through Project Wire, powered by Spark, and used in making 3D printable electronic devices. This is a byproduct of their partnership with Autodesk.

“We started the Spark Investment Fund to drive overall growth of the 3D printing ecosystem and multi-material 3D printing is one of the most exciting areas of development for additive manufacturing,” said Samir Hanna, Vice President and General Manager, Consumer and 3D Printing, Autodesk. “Voxel8’s work in developing the industry’s first multi-material electronics 3D printer marks a key milestone for the industry that we’re more than happy to support.”

Based in Somerville, MA, Voxel8 is known for their dedication in providing innovation to their customer base of designers and engineers, and the latest round of venture funding makes it clear that we should be anticipating some exciting news in the future, as the momentum continues.

“It’s very gratifying to see innovations from the lab advancing so quickly, and this new round of funding will help us accelerate the process of bringing this novel technology to market,” says Dr. Lewis.

With multiple accolades and awards in their corner, confidence in the future certainly should not be any concern in the offices of this startup featuring a world-class staff–nor is it a concern with investors who have funded them in the past.

“Dr. Lewis and her team have made tremendous progress since our earlier investment, and the level of industry recognition that Voxel8 is receiving underscores the enormous potential of this technology,” said Jiong Ma from Braemar Energy Ventures. “We look forward to working with the team and new investors to realize the full value of the Voxel8 3D printing platform.”

How do you see companies like Voxel8 making a significant and lasting impact in the world of electronics? Discuss in the Voxel8 Funding forum thread over at 3DPB.com.