Markforged's $25 million problem
Markforged's $25 million problem
The Atomic Layers: S2E24 (00050)
Atomic Layer of the Day:
Markforged announced that it has entered into a “Settlement and Patent License Agreement” with Continuous Composites Inc., effectively ending the lawsuit, which began in July 2021. Continuous Composites accussed Markforged for unauthorized use of its patented continuous fiber 3D printing technology. Initially, four patents were asserted against Markforged, but by April 2023, these were removed from the case, leaving four claims from a patent added in 2022.
On April 11, the jury decided that Markforged had infringed one of the patent claims, awarding Continuous Composites $17.34 million. Both companies filed post-trial motions: Markforged challenged the verdict, while Continuous Composites sought additional royalty payments. However eventually the companies came to the settlement.
Markforged will make an upfront payment of $18 million to Continuous Composites in the end of 2024. Then it pay three additional payments of $1 million, $2 million, and $4 million in the fourth quarters of fiscal years 2025, 2026, and 2027. Overall, Markforged will pay $25 million.
Now, that’s a huge blow for Markforged…
The company has been facing numerous problems for months, both business-related, financial, and on the stock market. It’s laying off employees. It’s relocating to a smaller, cheaper office. In short, it’s looking for savings wherever possible.
An extra $18 million to be paid by the end of this year could seriously hurt the company and bring it to the brink of survival. The subsequent payments are currently more symbolic. We’ll see if Markforged even makes it that far, and if so, in what condition?
Atomic Layer from the Past:
09-24-2015: Autodesk acquired Netfabb and entered into a strategic partnership with FIT AG.
Atomic News & Gossips:
SketchFab is fading into history… Epic Games (owner of the site) will combine it with Quixel, Unreal Engine Marketplace and ArtStation Marketplace into one unified platform called “Fab”.
Check out Crystal Maker - a brand new online tool designed to generate crystals for 3D printing!
This is the 50th edition of the Atomic Layers newsletter. I would have never guessed where and under what circumstances I would be publishing it... I hope I'll be able to share more details with you in the reasonably near future.