Desktop Metal

Desktop Metal, Inc.

Company type	Public
Industry	3D printing technology
Founded	October 1, 2015 (2015-10-01) in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States
Founder	Ric Fulop, Jonah Myerberg, Rick Chin, Yet-Ming Chiang, Ely Sachs, Christopher Schuh, A. John Hart
Fate	Filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection (July 2025)
Headquarters	Burlington , United States
Area served	Worldwide (sales operations across 48 countries as of 2019)
Key people	Ric Fulop (CEO), Michael Mazen Jafar (CEO of Desktop Health division)
Products	Studio System, Production System, Shop System, Fiber printer, Live Parts software
Number of employees	~300 (2019) (2019)
Website	www.desktopmetal.com

Desktop Metal, Inc. is a publicly traded American technology company that focuses on the development and commercialization of 3D printing systems. Based in Burlington, Massachusetts, the firm has secured $438 million in venture funding from backers such as Google Ventures, BMW, and Ford Motor Company.

The company's initial offerings were launched in April 2017: the Studio System, a metal 3D printing solution tailored for engineers and limited production runs, alongside the Production System, which targets manufacturers requiring high-volume printing. Later, in November 2019, Desktop Metal broadened its lineup with the Shop System designed for machine shops and the Fiber printer, which delivers industrial-grade composite printing through automated fiber placement. The World Economic Forum honored Desktop Metal as a Technology Pioneer in 2017.

2015–2016

In October 2015, Desktop Metal was established in Cambridge, Massachusetts as a startup concentrating on metal 3D printing technology. The founding team consisted of seven members including Ric Fulop, Jonah Myerberg from A123 Systems, Rick Chin formerly of SolidWorks, along with MIT affiliates Yet-Ming Chiang, Ely Sachs, Christopher Schuh, and A. John Hart. Notably, Sachs had previously coined the term 3D printing. The company’s mission was to create a rapid and compact metal 3D printing process suitable for office environments. According to Xconomy, the goal was to manufacture parts more quickly and produce printers that were smaller, safer, more affordable, and easier to use than existing machines. To enhance safety and simplicity, the design avoided hazardous elements like lasers. By October 2015, Desktop Metal employed 11 staff members with Ric Fulop acting as CEO.

The startup initially raised approximately $14 million in early-stage financing from Series A investors including New Enterprise Associates, Kleiner Perkins, and Lux Capital. By spring 2016, operating out of Lexington, Massachusetts, Desktop Metal had developed working prototypes. In April 2016, it secured an additional $34 million from previous investors, followed by further funding from GE Ventures and Saudi Aramco Energy Ventures during the summer. In February 2017, the company moved its headquarters to Burlington, Massachusetts. That same month, it completed a $45 million Series C round led by GV, with contributions from BMW iVentures and Lowe's Ventures, increasing total capital raised to $97 million. These funds were allocated toward research and development aimed at launching products across multiple sectors later that year.

2017

By 2017, Desktop Metal had formed partnerships with Ford Motor Company's research and advanced engineering teams to optimize its system for manufacturing applications. Concurrently, it collaborated with BMW in Munich to minimize inventory storage needs while companies such as Milwaukee Tools and Jabil Circuit tested its printers for production environments. In April of that year, Desktop Metal introduced two metal 3D printing platforms: the Studio System for rapid prototyping and small-batch production within office settings, and a Production System designed for high-speed part manufacturing. Both solutions include a printer unit, furnace, and cloud-based software capable of processing hundreds of alloy types. Forbes described their pricing as "competitive," estimating costs at roughly one-tenth that of existing alternatives.

In May 2017, Stratasys—an investor in Desktop Metal—announced that its reseller network would distribute Desktop Metal’s products. The World Economic Forum recognized Desktop Metal as one of its Technology Pioneers for 2017, while MIT Technology Review ranked it among the top 50 Smartest Companies worldwide that year. In July 2017, Desktop Metal secured $115 million through a Series D funding round—the largest in its history—bringing total funding to $212 million. These resources supported ongoing R&D efforts, sales growth, and expansion into international markets.

The company commenced shipments of the Studio System in December 2017 under a "Pioneer" program. Early adopters comprised Google's Advanced Technology and Products Group, the United States Navy, Built-Rite Tool & Die, and Lumenium.

2018

By early 2018, Desktop Metal had acquired two patents related to separable supports and interface layers, while approximately 100 additional patents were pending, covering nearly 200 innovations. In February, the company unveiled Live Parts, a software platform designed to automatically create designs ready for 3D printing.

At CES 2018, Desktop Metal earned recognition as an emerging technology leader from Digital Trends and secured a Gold Edison Award. In March, Ford Motor Company spearheaded a $65 million funding round, with Ford’s Chief Technology Officer joining Desktop Metal’s board of directors. By May, the firm achieved a $1.2 billion valuation, becoming the fastest U.S. startup to reach "unicorn" status in just 21 months. During Formnext 2018, Desktop Metal enhanced its industrial printers, claiming a 50% boost in printing speed, branding them as "the fastest metal printers worldwide." Co-founder Ric Fulop highlighted that this advancement dramatically lowered part production costs—from $700 to as little as $50 per kilogram in some instances.

2019–present

In January 2019, Desktop Metal secured $160 million in funding, raising its valuation to $1.5 billion. By May of that year, the company employed roughly 300 staff members—primarily engineers—while outsourcing manufacturing and maintaining sales operations across 48 countries. European distribution commenced in June. With total funding reaching $437 million by 2019, Desktop Metal stood among three 3D printing companies valued over $1 billion. In November, it introduced new systems aimed at metal job shops and fiber placement manufacturing.

In December 2020, Desktop Metal became publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange through a reverse merger with Trine Acquisition Corp., adopting the ticker symbol DM.

In January 2021, Desktop Metal acquired EnvisionTEC, a German firm specializing in photopolymer printing technologies. Two months later, it launched Desktop Health—a division focused on healthcare applications such as dentistry, orthopedics, cardiology, and regenerative medicine—with Michael Mazen Jafar appointed as CEO of this unit.

In May 2023, Stratasys announced plans to acquire Desktop Metal through an all-stock transaction valuing the combined entity at $1.8 billion; under this deal, Desktop Metal shareholders would own approximately 41%. However, by September, Stratasys called off the acquisition following shareholder resistance and competing bids.

In July 2024, Nano Dimension revealed intentions to purchase Desktop Metal for between $135 million and $183 million in an all-cash deal.

By July 2025, Desktop Metal filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection as part of a strategy to divest its European assets.

Printer systems

Desktop Metal introduced its initial two products in April 2017: the Studio System—a metal 3D printing solution tailored for engineers and small batch manufacturing—and the Production System designed for large-scale industrial production. In 2019, the company expanded its portfolio with the Shop System, a metal binder jetting printer targeting machine shops and metal job shops, alongside Fiber—a continuous carbon fiber printer employing automated fiber placement (AFP) technology.

Studio System

The Studio System and Production System both consist of two principal elements: a printer that fabricates small metal objects from metal powders and a sintering furnace that densifies those objects via heat treatment. These systems support printing with various materials including steels, copper, aluminum, and specialty alloys such as Inconel. The powders utilized—common in the metal injection molding industry—are supplied in replaceable cartridges developed by both metallurgical companies and Desktop Metal. Since these processes do not require high-powered lasers or hazardous substances, the Studio System is safe to operate within typical office settings using standard electrical outlets.

The Studio System uses proprietary Bound Metal Deposition technology resembling fused deposition modeling (FDM), where a blend of metal powder and polymers is extruded layer-by-layer to form parts. Once printed, components are placed inside a furnace that removes polymers through thermal debinding and sinters metal particles just below their melting point—bonding them without distortion. The system’s software accounts for expected shrinkage during sintering by producing parts slightly larger than final dimensions. Additionally, the Studio System includes a debinder unit that partially eliminates polymer binders before sintering commences.

Production System

The Production System utilizes Single Pass Jetting, a printing technique that deposits droplets of a binding agent onto layers of heated metal powder. This approach allows for swift manufacturing of metal components, achieving a processing speed of 8,200 cubic centimeters per hour—approximately 100 times faster than conventional laser-based powder bed fusion (PBF) technologies. It also facilitates the concurrent fabrication of multiple parts. In 2017, Popular Science honored this system as one of the leading engineering breakthroughs.

Live Parts software

Desktop Metal's Live Parts is an AI-powered software solution that automatically designs printable objects according to user inputs. It generates digital models compatible with any 3D printing platform, optimizing the transition from design to manufacturing.