Spectroplast AG
Spectroplast
Silicone 3D printing service provider Spectroplast AG has raised just under €1.4 million in a seed funding round led by strategic investor AM Ventures.
The investment from AM Ventures comes 11 months after the launch of Spectroplast, which spun out of ETH Zurich after five years of research and development. This R&D phase centred initially on developing silicone resins, with a stereolithography printing technology being optimised to process those materials three years into the project.
Spectroplast is set to leverage the funding to scale up its silicone printing service which is being primarily targeted at the medical sector, with ISO 10993-5 and ISO 10993-10 certifications already achieved. Suitable applications in this sector include prostheses, implants and medical models, while the company also has a big play in soft robotics.
Read more from TCT's interview with Spectroplast as the company launched last September.
It is hoping with the financial backing of AM Ventures that significant growth will be facilitated. The company wants to expand into more vertical markets, scale up its production capabilities, and ultimately achieve leadership status in the additive manufacture of silicone products.
“Spectroplast’s introduction of silicones to the world of additive manufacturing is well-timed with the rapidly growing demand for customised silicone products that we not only observe in the healthcare sector, but also in many other markets,” commented Johann Oberhofer, Chief Technology Officer at Spectroplast.
“As an industry, we are just starting to understand how powerful [the] 3D printing of functional products will become when it is combined with the massive potential offered by industrial scale production,” added Manuel Schaffner, Chief Executive Officer. “Having the financial support and domain expertise of AMV will help us execute our mission even more rapidly and broadly.
“The traction in the market is shown by our growing customer base. It is our defined mission to become the world’s leading provider of customised silicone products. This will impact many industries around the globe.”
