Industry Directory - Xometry
Xometry
Xometry, Inc., an online manufacturing marketplace for on-demand industrial parts, is headquartered in Gaithersburg, Maryland. It was founded in 2013 by Randy Altschuler, who also serves as the company’s CEO, and Laurence Zuriff. Xometry’s business model centers around the use of algorithms and artificial intelligence to link customers to the best vendor for a particular component, which it accomplishes with a large network of participating companies, especially small and mid-sized manufacturers. Customers simply go to www.xometry.com, provide their desired specifications, and the best match is then found by the company’s proprietary software, which also produces price quotes and lead-time estimates via Xometry’s instant quoting engine.
Although its network of over 5,000 suppliers no doubt cover a wide number of production methods, Xometry specializes in demand manufacturing from businesses experienced in the latest technologies employing manufacturing automation: CNC machining, 3D printing or additive manufacturing (AM), injection molding, and urethane casting. Thus, the beauty of combining such a wide network of providers of manufacturing services with Xometry’s software is not just the increased potential for custom manufacturing, or prototyping new products, at lower-than-average prices. Equally, the advantage of doing business with Xometry involves the company’s ability to introduce customers to production methods they may never have considered before, or at least, methods that they may not have considered using on the specific project they’re shopping for at Xometry. Moreover, the company allows customers to envision their components being produced within a variety of tolerances before committing to production, and the site guarantees that the parts received will be high quality.
It’s not just small manufacturers turning to Xometry for their projects. For instance, Bosch, General Electric, Dell Computers, and BMW, among others, are all customers. Providers of parts for the automotive and aerospace industries seem especially well-suited to benefit from being a part of the Xometry network: even NASA ordered thousands of dollars worth of custom components, for use on the International Space Station, via the website. Xometry’s growing reputation has allowed it to achieve continued expansion. In 2018, Xometry purchased one of its rivals, MakeTime Inc., headquartered in Lexington, Kentucky. The year after that, it bought a tool supplier in Jackson, Tennessee, as the company moved into the business of supplying customers directly, with the creation of its Xometry Supplies division.
It’s no surprise, then, that investments in Xometry have grown steadily since its formation. Xometry’s funders include such high-profile investors as T. Rowe Price, Dell Technologies, Highland Capital Partners, and BMW i Ventures, the automaker’s venture capital division. In anticipation of going public, the company, in 2020, named former Washington Post publisher Katherine Weymouth to its board of directors, and its initial public offering was finalized in June, 2021, at which point it became part of the NASDAQ Global Select Market. Xometry is listed on the NASDAQ under XMTR.