Balderton invests in 3D Hubs

The company stated it had received funding from several investors in the round. Balderton typically makes an initial investment of $5m in a business.

The idea of 3D Hubs' platform is to make 3D printing accessible to local communities, by allowing them to make use of a 3D printer when it is not being used by the owner. A 3D printer owner can join the company's online listings for their local area and establish a fee for use of their printer.

According to 3D Hubs' manifesto, a city is considered "unlocked" once 10 3D printers have been listed on the platform's local listings. Current unlocked cities include London, Amsterdam, Berlin, Antwerp and Copenhagen.

Balderton believes that the company is currently operating "in a space with huge potential", and therefore possesses the ability to grow substantially.

Previous funding
Rockstart Accelerator, an Amsterdam-based start-up accelerator, is also a backer of the company, having selected 3D Hubs for its 2013 acceleration programme earlier this year. Rockstart can supply up to €15,000 to start-ups in exchange for an 8% stake in the business.

Company
Founded in April this year and publicly launched on 27 August, 3D Hubs is headquartered in Amsterdam and employs six staff. The company provides a 3D printing production platform, locally connecting 3D printer owners with consumers wanting to use them. 3D Hubs charges a 15% commission of the price a printer owner sets for use of their printer.

The company claims to be the largest network of 3D printers in Europe, currently listing 500 printing locations across 200 cities on its platform.

People
Bram de Zwart is the CEO and co-founder of 3D Hubs, alongside co-founder Brian Garret. Mark Evans is a partner at Balderton.

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• Balderton Capital