The additive manufacturing (AM) market reached a new phase of structural maturity in 2025. This followed several years of experimentation, rapid technology development, fluctuating venture capital activity, and turbulent public market performance. Investment activity, mergers and acquisitions, and strategic partnerships reflected concentrated capital investments, technology consolidation, and a focus on commercially validated, market-aligned use cases.
Rather than indicating a contracting market, 2025 reflected a shift toward application-driven growth, industrial relevance, and disciplined capital deployment as the industry moves from “proof of concept” to “proof of value.”
AM Venture Capital Investments
Additive manufacturing venture capital investments are grouped into four categories based on technology and value chain position:
Core investments represent developers across AM processes, 3D printers, and postprocessing equipment alongside 3D printing service providers, online marketplaces, and other hardware technology enablers.
Applications companies include specialized service companies focused on a particular industry or product class, such as heat exchangers, consumer goods, or medical implants.
Materials investments cover materials suppliers, formulators, and developers.
Software includes companies specializing in additive manufacturing software across the computer-aided design, engineering, or manufacturing workflow.
(Note: All investment and M&A data exclude biological, construction, food, and desktop consumer-focused 3D printing companies.)
Global AM venture capital (VC) investments reached $1.14 billion in 2025, a significant increase from 2024. While global VC investments rebounded closer to long-term averages, the composition of capital deployment notably shifted.
Shifting From Core to Applications
Applications accounted for 77% of all AM VC investments in 2025, increasing from $164 million in 2024 to $884 million. This marked increase follows investors’ reduced interest in broad, platform-centered innovation lacking clear end-use adoption pathways. In contrast, investments in core technologies decreased by 31% year over year (YOY), accounting for one-third of VC investment deals in 2025 but only 17% of invested capital.
The shift in deal composition away from core technologies was not driven by an increase in deal volume, as the number of additive-related VC deals remained constant from the previous year. Rather, a sharp increase in average deal size was the defining feature for 2025, with the average VC investment more than doubling from $15.8 million in 2024 to $32.7 million in 2025. This reflects investors’ growing preference for fewer, larger, application-focused funding rounds.
Large funding rounds across aerospace and defense underscored this trend. Investment rounds, including Divergent Technologies’ $290 million Series E, X-Bow’s $105 million Series B, Firehawk Aerospace’s $60 million Series C, and Ursa Major’s $100 million Series E, suggested growing investor confidence in AM’s ability to deliver scalable, mission-critical components for high-pressure applications. Beyond aerospace and defense, medical and industrial applications also drew significant capital. Companies like Restor3D, LuxCreo, and CurifyLabs continued to raise funding as AM proves its value in personalized health care and regulated production environments.
Other companies supporting production-scale applications continued to attract funding: Caracol, Fabric8Labs, and Carbon raised significant capital, reflecting investor willingness to back core platforms tied to identifiable production use cases.
Materials
Material investments followed a similar pattern. Although material investments declined YOY, companies such as Alloyed and Avimetal Powder Metallurgy secured funding for advanced alloy development and material qualification for aerospace and defense applications.
Software
Software investments remained smaller but continued to support automation, process monitoring, and digital workflow optimization. As demand grows for end-to-end ecosystems, digital twins, and AI-enabled process control, AM software has reemerged as a strategically important enabler of industrial adoption.
Public and Private Investments
In addition to venture capital, public market activity, private equity, and government funding played a significant role in AM’s capital growth in 2025. Notable public transactions and initial public offerings (IPOs) included Velo3D’s $17.5 million IPO on the Nasdaq, 6K Additive’s $31.8 million IPO on the ASX, Graphy’s $21 million IPO on the Kosdaq, and Amaero’s $32.3 million equity offering.
Government funding and contract activity continued to support AM qualification and production scaling, particularly for defense-adjacent and domestic manufacturing priorities, through contracts awarded to companies such as IperionX, Velo3D, Continuous Composites, Firestorm Labs, Firehawk Aerospace, Nikon SLM Solutions, and 3D Systems. These awards reflected continued public sector interest in domestic reshoring, supply chain resilience, and enhanced production capacity.
In parallel, growth equity and sector-focused investors, including the Stifel North Atlantic AM-Forward Fund, provided capital to production-scale AM companies. These investments also reinforced investor confidence in mature, application-driven businesses aligned with strategic end markets, like aerospace and defense.
Additive Manufacturing Mergers and Acquisitions
The AM market continued to experience significant organizational restructuring and consolidation in 2025 as companies pursued acquisitions, partnerships, and rebranding initiatives to refine technology portfolios, expand global presence, and strengthen industrial capabilities. Additive-related M&As increased 18% YOY, rising from 27 transactions in both 2023 and 2024 to 32 in 2025. Many of the year’s transactions reflected portfolio rationalization and targeted vertical integration rather than expansion into speculative new platforms and technologies.
Notable M&As and partnerships included:
Stratasys acquired key assets from Nexa3D and Forward AM Technologies and invested in Tritone Technologies to expand into the metal AM market.
Sintokogio Group acquired Bosch Advanced Ceramics and rebranded the company as Sinto Advanced Ceramics Europe, with global expansion plans.
Arc Impact acquired Desktop Metal and select assets from ExOne.
Anzu Partners acquired EnvisionTec, ExOne, and Voxeljet, merging ExOne and Voxeljet into ExOne Global Holdings.
SprintRay acquired EnvisionTec’s dental assets.
Quantum acquired BCN3D.
American Axle & Manufacturing acquired GKN Automotive and GKN Powder Metallurgy.
Ametek acquired FARO Technologies.
The DUBAG Group acquired Trumpf’s additive manufacturing business and formed the new company Atlix.
Sodick acquired Prima Additive, and rebranded the company as AltForm.
While some companies exited the AM market in 2025, like Arburg, others relaunched or rebranded, including Shapeways, Admatec, Formatec, Atlix, and AltForm, reflecting the enduring value of these companies’ legacies. The increased M&A activity reflected a strategic emphasis on technology alignment, operational efficiency, and vertical integration, rather than broad expansion.
The data from 2020 to 2025 illustrates an industry transitioning from exploration to execution. While deal counts have stabilized and core investment activity has declined, capital continues to enter the market, gravitating toward companies with clear value propositions, proven applications, and scalable business models. As the AM industry moves into 2026, continued emphasis on specialization, materials qualification, and application-driven growth is likely to define the next phase of industrial adoption.
To read the rest of the State of Additive Issue of MT Magazine, click here.
