We’ve got a lot of business news to catch you up on in today’s 3D Printing News Briefs, starting with an acquisition and a new agreement. 3D printing software provider Beamler has acquired Printr, which closed its doors this fall, and GE has signed a multi-year agreement with ANSYS. Moving right along, biotech startup Pandorum has closed a Series A funding round, while TEI and voxeljet have signed a volume contract for 3D printed sand. Nano Dimension has a new reseller in South Africa, Roboze is opening a new US branch, and the Danish Technological Institute is breaking ground on a new industrial 3D printing facility. Speaking of buildings, Dubai will be 3D printing its first villa for a new government housing program.
Beamler Acquires Printr
3D software startup Printr, based in the Netherlands, was founded in 2014 with the mission of making 3D printing more accessible. The startup seemed well on its way, launching the Element dongle for easy 3D printing and developing its cloud-based Formide 3D printing platform. But unfortunately, its innovations weren’t enough to keep the doors open, and right after raising €750,000 from investors, the startup was forced to halt operations in October due to unexpected industry developments. But they say when one door closes, another one opens, and another Dutch 3D printing software provider, Beamler, announced that it has acquired Printr. The acquisition will allow both companies to rapidly integrate and enhance their respective product offerings.
“Printr is a promising company which is pioneering in our market,” said Beamler Founder Willem-Jan van Loon. “Printr offers an ERP cloud system for desktop 3D printers. This allows engineers to access different 3D printers at the same time from any computer through the cloud. We see this technology as very promising and as a key solution for further development of our industry. The merger of our two businesses is great news for all our stakeholders and it accelerates the market. We intend to continue to invest and grow Printr technology. We will also incorporate different functions to our platform with the software version 1.1 at Q2 2018.”
GE Signs Agreement with ANSYS
Through a new, multi-year agreement with Pittsburgh-based ANSYS, creator of Pervasive Engineering Simulation, GE will attain greater time and cost savings during product development. The company will leverage Pervasive Engineering Simulation to improve product quality, decrease testing time for aviation and power generation applications, and increase product development and analysis. Through the agreement, GE will be granted access to ANSYS’ entire portfolio of engineering simulation experts and software, for the purposes of enabling multiphysics solutions in on-wing and ground-based gas turbine engines.
Ajei Gopal, CEO of ANSYS, said, “ANSYS is committed to driving Pervasive Engineering Simulation and to providing engineers with the tools needed to transform design, manufacturing, operations and product development. With ANSYS technology further integrated into GE’s engineering process, we can take our 30-year collaboration to the next level of strategic partnership, and enable ANSYS and GE to better drive innovation.”
The companies have formed an Executive Management Review Board as part of their agreement, in order to collaborate and increase innovation in areas of mutual interest to both parties.
Pandorum Technologies Closes Series A Funding Round
Bangalore-based biotech startup Pandorum Technologies, which developed India’s first 3D printed artificial human liver tissue, has just closed a round of Series A funding. The startup raised $3.6 million (Rs 23 crore) from several investors, including the Indian Angel Network; venture funds 021 Capital and 500 Startups; the state government-backed Karnataka Information Technology Venture Capital Fund (KITVEN Fund); former Joint Managing Director of two-wheeler manufacturer Hero MotoCorp Sunil Kant Munhal; and Pandorum’s first investor, CEO of e-commerce firm Flipkart Group Binny Bansal. The startup’s goal is to make personalized human organs, like the liver, on demand, and it will use the funding to hire new talent, scale up operations, and deepen its R&D efforts.
“The current fundraising is to help us to make the transition from advanced prototype to market-ready product stage,” said Co-Founder of Pandorum Technologies Tuhin Bhowmick. “This will include capacity enhancement in key areas including team, tech, infrastructure, scale up and regulatory compliance.”
TEI and voxeljet Sign Volume Contract