3D Printing Sector Maturing As Funding Shifts to Later Stage
As we’ve previously seen, funding into the 3D Printing sector demonstrated robust growth in recent years. Now we are going one level deeper on our 3D Printing research platform to examine its funding by round. From our analysis we can conclude that the 3D Printing sector is maturing.
This conclusion comes from two takeaways:
- While funding amounts in all rounds grew, later stage saw the largest increase
- Funding counts also increased in the later stage
We’ll explain these takeaways with some graphics that show 3D Printing funding activity by round.
To help set the stage, the graphic below illustrates 3D Printing funding amount over time. As you can see, the sector’s overall funding saw strong growth in recent years.
3D Printing Funding by Quarter
3D Printing Funding Amounts Saw Largest Growth in Later Stage
We’ll start off by examining the annual 3D Printing funding amounts by round.
3D Printing Funding Amount by Round
While the funding amounts in all rounds rose, Series C and Series D saw the largest increase. Specifically, Series C funding amounts increased by $135M and Series D increased by $315M from 2012 to 2017.
We’ll now look at the 3D Printing funding amount by round as a percentage of the total, which shows changes independent of the total size.
3D Printing Funding Amount Percentages
The above graph supports our previous observation that later stage funding amounts saw the largest growth from 2012 to 2017. In 2012, Seed, Series A, and Series B events accounted for over 85% of funding. By 2017, there was a complete shift, with Series D events accounting for over 50%. Seed, Series A, and Series B funding amount percentages also dropped significantly in 2017.
So we see that the funding amounts graphs indicate a shift from early stage to later stage from 2012 to 2017. Would the funding event count graphs show the same trend? Let’s examine them in the next section to find out.
3D Printing Funding Counts Shifting to Later Stage
Let’s now look at the annual 3D Printing funding event counts. The below graph shows the 3D Printing funding counts by round as a percentage.
3D Printing Funding Count Percentages
This graph corresponds with the last graph in showing that the funding counts in the later stage saw increases from 2012 to 2017. Specifically, Series C funding counts grew to 20% and Series D grew to 8%. On the other hand, the funding counts in Seed and Series B both decreased.
Combining these two graphics, we can see that 3D Printing funding counts shifted from the Seed stage to the later stage from 2012 to 2017.
Conclusion: The 3D Printing Sector Is Maturing
In conclusion, we have seen that 3D Printing funding amounts saw the largest increase in later stage events. 3D Printing funding counts also grew in the later stage and dropped in the Seed stage. These observations led us to conclude that the 3D Printing sector is maturing. While funding counts decreased recently, investors are putting larger funding into well-established companies.
What are your thoughts on this? Let us know in the comments section below.
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