MakerBot & Ultimaker to merge to accelerate global adoption of 3D printing

Two major players in desktop 3D printing have announced they are to merge in a deal they say will accelerate the adoption of additive manufacturing by providing a comprehensive desktop 3D printing ecosystem of hardware, software, and materials.

The US' MakerBot and the Netherlands' Ultimaker will merge into an as-yet-unnamed entity, backed by existing investors, NPM Capital and Stratasys, and will benefit from a planned cash investment of $62.4 million (€60.1 million) to fuel innovation and expansion into new markets.

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The new company will be led by Nadav Goshen, current MakerBot CEO, and Jürgen von Hollen, current Ultimaker CEO, who will act as Co-CEOs, with Nadav managing operations and R&D and Jürgen managing the commercial functions.

“This merger marks an important milestone for Ultimaker and MakerBot,” said Jürgen von Hollen, CEO of Ultimaker.

“Innovation and growth are both critical to bringing desktop 3D printing from a specialty technology into mainstream business adoption. The new company will leverage and expand its combined global footprint with sales and operations in the Americas, EMEA and APAC.”

“Technological innovation is paramount in growing the availability of easy-to-use professional 3D printing solutions,” added Nadav Goshen, CEO of MakerBot.

“By combining our teams and leveraging the additional funding, we can accelerate the development of advanced solutions to provide our customers with a broad portfolio of hardware and software solutions to serve a wide spectrum of customers and applications."

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The new company will aim to offer easy-to-use and accessible desktop 3D printing solutions for any application and says it wants to inspire the industry to a future state of responsible and sustainable manufacturing. 

The new company will maintain headquarters in both The Netherlands and New York. The transaction is still subject to consultation of appropriate employee representative bodies and regulatory approvals, with closing currently expected over the course of the second or third quarters of 2022.

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