11-23-2011: a brand-new startup, Formlabs, raised $500,000 in its initial funding round
The company was founded just a month before
On November 23, 2011, the Boston Business Journal reported that a new, unknown startup—Formlabs Inc., operating in the 3D printing sector—had raised $500,000 of what it planned as a $1.5 million initial funding round. The lead investor was SOSV, a deep-tech venture firm that invests from a startup's inception. Other investors included notable figures such as Mitch Kapor (creator of Lotus software), Charlie Songhurst (General Manager & Head of Corporate Strategy at Microsoft), and Kima Ventures.
At the time of this announcement, Formlabs had only existed for about a month, had no website, and all that was officially known about it was that it aimed to develop “a low-cost 3D printer that is intended to be affordable enough that ‘everyday people’ could use it.”
The founders of Formlabs were Maxim Lobovsky, John David Cranor III, and Natan Linder, who served as the company secretary at the time. All three had roots in the MIT Media Lab in Boston. Additionally, Lobovsky was a member of the now-legendary Fab@Home team founded by Evan Malone at MIT. Fab@Home was the second major open-source project, alongside RepRap, that developed low-cost, DIY 3D printers based on extrusion technology for pastes, gels, and semi-liquid materials.
The rest of the story is well-known, and I’ve detailed it extensively in my historical series. On September 26, 2012, Formlabs launched a Kickstarter campaign for its debut 3D printer—the Form 1. The initial goal was $100,000, but the company quickly surpassed that, raising over $2.9 million.
Shortly afterward, the young company was sued by 3D Systems for alleged infringement of stereolithography patents—an event we marked the 12th anniversary of just three days ago.
From there, it was a steady climb marked by consistent growth and success. Today, Formlabs stands among the undisputed leaders in the additive manufacturing industry. And it all began 13 years ago...
Source: www.bizjournals.com