California-based nanotech and 3D manufacturing company Zeda Inc. has raised $52 million in a round supported by industrial heavyweights.
Previously trading as PrinterPrezz and Vertex Manufacturing, the series B funding round is an unspecified mix of debt and equity and brings total funding to $68 million. The value of the enterprise was not disclosed. Zeda provides industrial 3D printing and nanotech services for medical, space, aerospace, and defense industries.
CEO Shri Shetty, said Zeda “is seeing exponential growth in our served market,” with this funding success further validating “our visions for the company and the capabilities of our exceptional team to execute against our business plan”. “We are delighted to have closed a substantial round, particularly with the current economic headwinds”, continued Shetty.
While Zeda may not be a name familiar to many in the 3D printing industry, the company’s CTO and Co-founder Greg Morris is significantly more well known. Morris, as co-owner of Morris Technologies (MTI) brought the first DMLS printer to the USA in 2003. MTI would be acquired by GE as the engineering behemoth took strides along its journey into additive.
Backing the magic Morris touch are existing investors, and joint round leaders, Boutique Venture Partners, Berkeley Catalyst Fund, DOV Management, and Solvay Ventures. Dr. Rami El Assal, Managing General Partner and Co-founder of Boutique Venture Partners, expressed delight at having been able to support Zeda during the funding round, a company he sees as “dramatically speeding innovation” in the medical sector.
A number of new institutional and strategic investors also participated, with Michelin, Fives Group, and Taiyo Nippon Sanso Corporation, a Mitsubishi Chemical Group company, all taking joining the round. “We are very excited to be a partner of Zeda and are impressed with Zeda’s quality control system for printed implants”, commented Mr. Kobayashi, Head of the Corporate Office of Innovation at Taiyo Nippon Sanso Corporation. “We also believe that TNSC’s technologies, including purity control of printing atmosphere and surface modification parts, will further enhance Zeda’s process”.
The proceeds of the funding round will be used to finance the company’s new, Cincinnati-based, advanced manufacturing digital foundry. Funding will also be put towards the expansion of facilities globally, in order to address the growing demand for 3D printing within the medical, defense, aerospace, space and energy verticals.
Last year it was announced that Zeda (then PrinterPrezz) had signed an agreement with the Singapore Healthcare Cluster and the National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Cluster (NAMIC), to regionally grow the 3D printed implant market. Consequently, it has been affirmed that a portion of the funds will also contribute to the expansion of Zeda’s medical implant applications within the Asian market.
PrinterPrezz and its Vertex subsidiary rebrand to Zeda, Inc.
This funding round follows an announcement made last month that PrinterPrezz Inc. and its subsidiary Vertex manufacturing had rebranded to form Zeda Inc. The company claims that this new name reflects its “Z to A” approach, starting with the customer in mind and ending with a product. Zeda is also said to represent the strength and progress of both PrinterPress and Vertex over the previous five years, achieved by combining advanced manufacturing processes with semiconductor technologies. “Zeda reflects where we came from, where we are today, and where we intend to go”, according to Shetty.
Now possessing 140,000 square feet across multiple facilities in Silicon Valley, California, New Jersey, Ohio, and Singapore, Zeda has grown through the strategic acquisition of companies such as Vertex. “This is the next chapter in our growth”, said Zeda CTO, and Vertex founder, Greg Morris. “As one brand, we are in a stronger position to leverage the full capabilities of both companies more effectively”.
Although initially founded to address the evolving needs of the orthopedic devices industry, Zeda has now expanded to partner with companies in a variety of sectors. CEO Shetty has explained how they soon realized that combining advanced technologies from the semiconductor industry with manufacturing processes such as 3D printing “could revolutionize not just healthcare but advancements in the space, defense, semiconductor, and aerospace industries”.
Recent fundraising in the 3D printing industry
Away from Zeda, Volumetric 3D printer developer Xolo recently announced its successful completion of a Series A funding round, raising $8.6 million. This followed a 2021 seed round, which saw the company raise $2.7 million. Through their proprietary printer Xube, and their Xolography technology, Xolo offers a novel volumetric process for faster printing. It is claimed that this funding will help Xolo achieve its vision to “reshape the 3D printing industry.”
Furthermore, water filtration technology provider Evove, based in the UK, has closed a £5.7 million funding round, funded by At One Ventures and AM Ventures. Existing investors Innovate UK and Imagine H20 also contributed to the round. It is said that this funding will allow Evove to expand production capabilities and scale up its 3D printed membrane process. Evove CEO Chris Wyres expressed how thrilled he was to have received the funding, with this capital set to “enable us to increase manufacturing capacity and expand our service and support network.”
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Featured image shows the new Zeda logo. Photo via Zeda Inc.
