Shapeways Stairwell
They seem to grow bigger with each passing day but Shapeways look set to set to take over the 3D printing world as they receive a further $30 million in funding from venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz.
Just to give you a handle on who Andreessen Horowitz are, they were responsible for Skype’s resurrection after the eBay years, they invested $80 million in Twitter, they became the first firm to hold stock in all four of the highest-valued, privately held social media companies: Facebook, Groupon, Twitter and Zynga. Andreessen Horowitz has also invested in Airbnb and Foursquare , they were ranked first in CNET’s 2011 most influential investors list. They usually back winners, which is magnificent news for Shapeways.
"Our vision is big; we want to make 3D printing affordable and accessible for everyone worldwide. This funding will help us realize our vision at an even faster rate," said Co-Founder & CEO, Peter Weijmarshausen. "Andreessen Horowitz has a great track record of investing in companies solving unique problems, and like us, believes that 3D Printing has the potential to completely change the world. We couldn't be more excited about working together."
"Shapeways eliminates the fixed costs of manufacturing and makes use of breakthrough advances in 3D printing," says Chris Dixon, General Partner at Andreessen Horowitz. "We believe that technology is at its best when it enables human creativity. The Internet unlocked the world of bits. 3D printing is unlocking the world of atoms."
Our friends at Shapeways plans to use the Series C financing to grow its team, build more factories, and continue to overcome the technological challenges that will allow them to revolutionize 3D printing even further.
