Additive Manufacturing at a Crossroads

Additive manufacturing is at a crossroads. Simultaneously, we find ourselves between certain very different modalities, applications, and industries. Rather than being able to explore them all, companies will now have to specialize, focus, and concentrate their efforts to win outsized opportunities. Success will be more explosively rewarded but will be more difficult to achieve.

Three Phases

We can divide the history of additive manufacturing into several chapters. Initially, in the invention phase (1984 to 2009), several firms such as 3D Systems, DTM, EOS, and Stratasys commercialized their own technologies, focusing on that technology silo and those applications that would work with their machines. Later, from 2010 to 2025, the Hype phase saw an influx of VC, corporate, and SPAC money