3D Printing

Nano Dimension Sells Off Its PCB Printing Business

Posted on by Techtime

Image: DragonFly system for on-demand 3D printing of printed circuit boards (PCBs)

By Yohai Schwiger

Nano Dimension is divesting the business that once defined it. The company announced the sale of its Additively Manufactured Electronics (AME) division to Inspira Technologies in a deal worth up to $12.5 million. The transaction includes $2 million in cash at closing and up to $10.5 million in performance-based payments over the coming year.

Under the agreement, Inspira will acquire not only AME’s product lines but also its intellectual property, engineering know-how, manufacturing and laboratory infrastructure, and parts of its workforce. Operational control will transfer immediately, while formal closing remains subject to regulatory approvals.

The move carries both symbolic and strategic weight. AME is built around Nano Dimension’s original breakthrough: on-demand manufacturing of printed circuit boards using systems such as the DragonFly. Developed in Ness Ziona, the technology aimed to revolutionize electronics development by allowing engineers to print functional circuit boards in-house, dramatically shortening prototyping cycles.

The deal also includes what remains of the Fabrica product line—high-precision micro-3D printers originally developed by Israel’s NanoFabrica, which Nano Dimension acquired in 2021 for approximately $55–60 million. The company estimates the divestment will reduce its annual cash burn by around $10 million.

A Bargain Sale of a Once-Promising Technology

The buyer is intimately familiar with the technology it is acquiring at what appears to be a steep discount. Inspira is a relatively small Nasdaq-listed company with a market capitalization of about $20 million. It operates primarily in the medical device space, focusing on advanced respiratory systems that also monitor blood parameters.

In 2025, the company reported less than $300,000 in revenue and a net loss exceeding $13 million, reflecting its early commercialization stage and ongoing search for growth directions.

Its CEO and founder, Dagi Ben-Noon, is no stranger to Nano Dimension. He was one of the company’s co-founders and a key developer of its PCB-printing technology, serving as COO in its early years before leaving around 2017. That same year, he founded Inspira.

Announcing the deal, Ben-Noon said: “We have deep and intimate knowledge of the AME technology, and we believe in our ability to unlock its potential in new directions.”

Inspira plans to repurpose the technology for quantum computing applications—specifically, for building components used in dilution cryostats, ultra-low temperature cooling systems required to operate quantum processors at near absolute zero (10–20 millikelvin). The company believes AME’s ability to produce complex 3D electronic structures could help address connectivity challenges inside these systems.

Dual Strategy: Medical Devices and Quantum Ambitions

Inspira emphasized that its core medical device business will not be abandoned. Instead, it will be transferred into a wholly owned subsidiary and continue operating independently. This effectively creates a dual-structure company: one arm focused on medical technologies, and another on quantum computing—an area that appears to be emerging as its primary strategic focus.

The company is even planning a rebranding to “QTREX” to reflect this shift.

From Breakthrough Promise to Strategic Exit

Founded in 2012, Nano Dimension set out to transform electronics manufacturing with its inkjet-based PCB printing technology, combining conductive and insulating materials in a layered 3D process. The technology achieved notable milestones, including the production of aerospace-grade circuits with embedded passive components such as capacitors, resistors, and coils.

The vision attracted significant investor enthusiasm. The company raised hundreds of millions of dollars through public and private offerings, peaking in 2021 with approximately $1.4 billion in cash on its balance sheet.

However, commercial adoption fell short of expectations. Over time, Nano Dimension shifted its focus through a series of acquisitions, most notably Markforged, which specializes in metal and advanced materials printing.

The company also pursued additional acquisitions that, in retrospect, appeared less cohesive, including an unsuccessful attempt to acquire Stratasys. Management turbulence followed, culminating in the departure of CEO Yoav Stern.

Gradually, electronic printing products faded from investor discussions, and Nano Dimension repositioned itself as a broader digital manufacturing solutions provider. At the same time, its geographic center of gravity moved away from Israel.

Last week, the company announced a re-domestication process expected to conclude in the first half of 2026, after which it will operate as a fully U.S.-based company.

Against this backdrop, the sale of the AME and Fabrica businesses marks more than a divestment—it represents a definitive exit from the technology and geography that once defined Nano Dimension. Technologies that attracted hundreds of millions of dollars in investment are now being sold for up to $12.5 million.

Shahaf PY Expands into Concrete 3D Printing Manufacturing

Posted on by Techtime

By Yohai Schweiger

Shahaf PY, a company based in Kibbutz Moran and active in 3D concrete printing for the construction industry, is looking to expand its business model beyond supplying printing systems and build a full manufacturing operation — from service bureaus for prototyping and production runs to the future deployment of robots on construction sites and in defense applications.

According to founder and CEO Eran Carmi, speaking with Techtime, the move is driven by growing demand in the construction sector for solutions that can shorten processes, reduce dependence on manpower, and enable greater design freedom. “There is a shortage of labor in construction, while demand for building continues to rise. Younger generations are less interested in entering construction work, while projects themselves are becoming more complex. This is exactly the space where automation and concrete printing can create real value.”

“Concrete is a living material”

The company’s roots lie in the world of complex architectural projects. About five years ago, it decided to enter the field of printed architecture after identifying a gap between the design vision of architects and engineers and the production capabilities available in the market.

“We went out into the world looking for printers capable of producing facades and complex architectural elements, and realized there were no printers truly designed for architecture, design, and construction,” Carmi said. “The challenge was both scale and raw material, and that is where we realized our advantage would be in concrete printing.”

Shahaf’s system is based on proprietary mixing and feeding systems, printheads, and software developed by the company for large-scale 3D concrete printing in complex geometries. The printing method is FDM — layered printing — but its application in concrete presents very different challenges from those known in plastics or metals. For the physical execution of the print movement, the system is integrated with robotic arms from KUKA and ABB, fitted with printing components developed by Shahaf.

According to Carmi, the core of the technology is not only the machine itself, but the ability to manage a material that changes in real time. “Concrete is a living material. From the moment it meets water, chemical processes begin and its properties change dynamically. That means there must be a very strong connection between the hardware, the software, and the material. You need to precisely control print speed, geometry, and material behavior.”

To address this challenge, the company has also developed software that manages the printing process, plans work paths, supports BIM integration, and aims to translate complex design into industrial execution.

From thermal-management walls in data centers to fortifications

According to Carmi, the technology’s main advantage is its ability to break free from the constraints of traditional formwork and molds. Instead of producing each component according to a rigid قالب, different and complex shapes can be printed in customized form, with relatively fast transitions between versions and products.

“Architects today do not want to remain loyal to a mold,” he said. “Partly because AI tools now allow designs to be generated very quickly, there is a growing need for much more flexible execution.” In his view, the combination of digital planning, robotic printing, and material control opens a new space for formal freedom alongside functional manufacturing.

That capability is not intended only for aesthetics. Shahaf is targeting applications in which geometry itself creates engineering or economic value. These may include walls with internal cavities that can help manage heat in data centers, acoustic walls whose tailored internal structure can significantly reduce the amount of concrete required, complex concrete molds, landscape architecture elements, infrastructure components, roads, large industrial tanks, as well as solutions for marine architecture and underwater systems.

“We are not enslaved to the mold,” Carmi said, “which means we can rethink not only the shape of an element, but also its function.”

This direction aligns with broader needs in the global construction market. The sector faces a chronic labor shortage, rising costs, long schedules, and growing demands for efficiency as well as lower waste and emissions. The cement industry is also one of the most polluting in the world, so any solution that enables structural optimization, reduced material use, and less dependence on manual formwork attracts increasing attention.

For Shahaf, this is not only a technological opportunity but also a business opportunity: offering the construction sector a way to produce complex components faster, with greater flexibility, and with more precise use of material.

A full platform, from AI-based design to on-site printing

Against this backdrop, the company is trying to build a broader business model than system sales alone. One of its main directions is the establishment of robot farms that would serve as service bureaus for concrete printing. In such a model, customers could bring in a design, order a prototype, and later produce small batches or complex components without having to build a full manufacturing operation of their own.

“In my opinion, the major breakthrough between prototype manufacturing and serial production will happen דווקא in concrete,” Carmi said.

Alongside its civilian activity, Shahaf also sees potential in the defense market. According to Carmi, work in this sector began after October 7, with the rapid printing of fortifications for communities. Since then, the company has also been examining ballistic protection applications and direct field printing.

His longer-term vision is a system that could move on a tracked platform, connect to a concrete source, and print in the field according to the required geometry, with as high a level of autonomy as possible. “The goal is for the end user to be able to do everything in the field,” he said.

Looking ahead, Carmi sees Shahaf as a company that connects digital design, AI, and industrial manufacturing. One of the capabilities the company is developing is software that can convert a design generated in AI tools into a plan that is adapted for execution by the printer.

If that direction matures, Shahaf will seek to position itself not only as a supplier of printing systems, but as a manufacturing platform for printed concrete — one that links architecture, engineering, robotics, and materials, and is aimed at serving the construction, infrastructure, and defense markets.

[Main image: Shahaf PY]

Has Nano Dimension Been Swallowed by the Company It Acquired?

Posted on by Techtime

[Photo: A Markforged printer. Source: Markforged]

By Yochai Schweiger

During Nano Dimension’s earnings call last Thursday, following the publication of its Q3 2025 results, the company’s new CEO, David Stehlin, mentioned the name Nano Dimension exactly once — in the formal opening line. From that moment on, the discussion revolved almost exclusively around the commercial activity and product lines of Markforged, the U.S. 3D-printer manufacturer Nano Dimension acquired and finalized the merger with a few months ago. Flagship FX10 and FX20 printers, the Digital Forge platform, use cases in defense, aerospace, automotive and industrial sectors — these dominated the call, while Nano’s original business disappeared almost entirely from the agenda.

The absence of any reference to Nano’s historical core operations stood out sharply. Its 3D printed-electronics technology, the DragonFly printer, and the broader focus on additive electronics — all central to the company’s identity for years — were not mentioned once.

In its early years, Nano Dimension issued press releases for nearly every DragonFly sale. But for several years now it has not announced any such deals, and the brand that once represented its technological edge has effectively vanished. Sales volumes in that legacy business can now be inferred only indirectly. After the Markforged acquisition, the company even changed its business description from “additive manufacturing of advanced electronics” to “digital manufacturing solutions.” Earlier in 2024, Nano Dimension also carried out a substantial workforce reduction in Israel.

Control Shifts From Nano Dimension to Markforged

This transition is visible not only in the narrative but also in senior leadership. Management gravity has shifted outward from Israel, and control appears to have moved from Nano’s leadership to Markforged’s.

Stehlin, the new CEO, comes from the telecom sector rather than the 3D-printing industry. His appointment surprised investors, as he replaced Ofir Baharav — a veteran of Israel’s additive-manufacturing sector via XJet — who was dismissed after just a few months in the role. Financial leadership has similarly shifted: Nano’s CFO, Assaf Zipori, has departed and was replaced by Markforged’s CFO, John Brenton.

A Loss-Making Company Taps Into Nano Dimension’s Cash Pile

Nano Dimension acquired Markforged in April 2025 for approximately $116 million. Founded in 2013 and based in Waltham, Massachusetts, Markforged employs several hundred people and specializes in industrial 3D printing of metals and composites for aerospace, automotive and industrial equipment sectors. In 2024 it generated $85.1 million in revenue but posted a net loss of $85.6 million, weighed down by $127.7 million in operating expenses.

The merger — combining a larger, higher-revenue but deeply loss-making Markforged with the smaller but cash-rich Nano Dimension — has effectively created a new company. This is clearly reflected in the financial structure shown in the first report of the combined entity: revenues surged, but profitability deteriorated sharply.

The numbers are stark. Q3 revenue jumped to $26.9 million — up 81% year-over-year — but $17.5 million of that came from Markforged. Without the acquisition, Nano’s legacy revenue dropped to just $9.4 million, a 37% decline. The message is clear: nearly all growth is coming from the acquired business, while printed-electronics revenues have shrunk to a secondary segment.

As a consequence, adjusted gross margin eroded from 50.5% to 47.4%. Unadjusted gross margin — which includes inventory charges, integration costs and accounting impacts related to the Markforged deal — fell far more sharply, from 48% to around 30%, signaling heavy one-time (and likely multiquarter) burdens.

Bottom line: if Nano Dimension lost $9.9 million in Q3 2024, the latest quarter ended with a net loss of $29.5 million. With Markforged now consolidated, Nano has also added more than $100 million in annual fixed operating expenses. Quarterly operating costs surged to roughly $29.2 million, an increase of $8–10 million per quarter versus Nano’s pre-merger expense profile.

From Markforged’s perspective, the deal is close to ideal. The company is now housed inside a cash-rich entity holding more than half a billion dollars — financial oxygen it lacked as a standalone business. Markforged has effectively joined a firm capable of funding its loss trajectory and long investment cycles, giving its product roadmap a significantly more stable foundation.

The 3D-Printing Industry’s Vicious Circle

Viewed in a broader context, the Nano–Markforged merger mirrors a familiar pattern in the 3D-printing sector. For more than a decade, the industry has oscillated between sky-high expectations and slow-moving commercial reality: expensive R&D, long sales cycles for industrial customers, and the need for heavy service and sales infrastructures. Many companies attempted to solve the problem through acquisitions — stitching together broader “platforms” in hopes of achieving operational scale and technological synergy. In practice, these moves often produced integration challenges, cost inflation and financial structures mismatched to market size.

Nano Dimension launched its acquisition strategy in 2022 after raising roughly $1 billion in cash, becoming one of the most capital-rich players in the space. Over the next two years it acquired five to six companies in 3D printing and electronic manufacturing. Most of these efforts ultimately failed: in recent quarters, Nano has shut down or significantly downsized most of the acquired operations. The clearest example is Desktop Metal — a deal in which Nano bore part of the cost burden — which ended in bankruptcy and was classified as a discontinued operation. Against this backdrop, Markforged seemed like the more sensible acquisition: a larger company with meaningful revenue and a global customer base. Yet the latest results show that Markforged also brings with it the industry’s characteristic traits: chronic unprofitability and heavy cost structures.

Nano Dimension had hoped to be the company that breaks this cycle — leveraging its cash reserves and its unique printed-electronics technology to reach profitability where many competitors failed. But judging from the latest report and the accompanying earnings call, the company is now in a transition period in which its historical core is shrinking, the acquired business dominates, and the organizational identity is shifting.

The process is still unfolding — but the question already hangs in the air:
Did Nano Dimension acquire Markforged, or has the acquired company become so dominant that it’s no longer clear who actually absorbed whom?

Nano Dimension Acquires NanoFabrica for $55 million

Posted on by Techtime

Above: Miniature structure created by NanoFabrica’s Tera 250 machine

In a surprising  move to expand its footprint in the market of additive manufaturing for the Electronics industry, Nano Dimension announced that it has signed and closed a definitive agreement to acquire NanoFabrica for $54.9-$59.4 million. Out of that, between $23 million to $27.5 million will be paid in cash (depending upon certain milestones), and approximately $32 million was paid in American Depositary Shares (ADSs) of Nano Dimension.

The Tel aviv based NanoFabrica has developed a 3D Printing technology for miniature parts. Its Tera 250 machine is capable of producing thousands mm-size parts in a single run and in a resolution of down to 1 micron. Nano Dimension’s produce a PCB printer for the Electronics industry. It uses nanoparticle ink to enable in-house rapid prototyping of professional, multi-layer printed circuit boards (PCBs) and passive devices such as resistors, capcitors, inductors and antennas.

High-end components in a digital format

NanoFabrica’s scientists and engineers are expected to now join Nano Dimension and continue to be led by NanoFabrica’s two founders: Dr. Jon Donner and Eyal Shelef. Yoav Stern, Chief Executive Officer of Nano Dimension, stated, “Our mutual vision is to merge the technologies of our micro-electronic 3D-fabrications machines for Hi-PEDs (Hi-Performance Electronic Devices) with NanoFabrica’s micro-mechanic 3D printing.

“The future of Hi-PEDs and miniaturized high-performance printed circuit boards (PCBs) is interlaced with micro-mechanical printing applications. Eventually, the end goal is to reach a capability for maintaining an inventory of high-end PCB devices, micro-mechanical parts and Hi-PEDs in digital form: print them as you need them, where you need them, only the quantity you need, in the best quality at competitive prices.”

Stratasys is looking for Production Technologies

Posted on by Techtime

Stratasys plans to make a strategic move and shift its focus from prototyping-oriented technologies into full scale production. “Stratasys today leads the industry with the largest share in material extrusion and material jetting through our FDM and PolyJet technologies,” said the CEO Yoav Zeif (pictured above), during a conference call after the company had reported disappointing Q2 2020 results.

“However, these two technologies currently address only about one-third of the total additive manufacturing hardware opportunity. Further, their growth rates have slowed in comparison to the growth rates of other technologies that suit the needs of faster growing applications, especially in production.” Stratasys ended the quarter with a net loss of $28 million, joining a loss of $21.7 million in the first quarter – a total of $50 million in H1 2020.

COVID-19 hit the entire 3D Printing Market

This weakness characterizes the entire 3D printing market: Stratasys’s main competitor, 3D Systems, also reported a double-digit decline in revenue and losses in the last two quarters. Among other things, this is the result of COVID-19 crisis that led to a downsizing of many equipment purchasing plans in key industries around the world.

“We have already started the journey into true manufacturing,” added Zeif. “There are over 100,000 Polymer parts flying today that have been printed on Stratasys systems. Therefore, to help us win in these faster growing areas, we will invest organically and inorganically in new Polymer technologies such as PBM, VAT Photopolymerization and others.”

In PBM – Powder Bed Fusion technology –  a powdered polymer is solidified using a heat source such as a laser or a thermal print head. In VAT Photo Polymer technology, a solution of a light-sensitive polymeric substance is solidified by exposing it to ultraviolet radiation. Zeif revealed that in order to implement this strategy, the company is considering to acquire companies that specialize in these technologies.

Stratasys is Downsizing its Workforce by 10%

Posted on by Techtime

The US-Israel based Stratasys Ltd. announced that it is reducing its global workforce as part of a strategic plan to accelerate growth. This resizing was expected according to the company’s long term strategy, but advanced sooner due to the impact of COVID-19. It will affect approximately 10% of its 2,300 employees. The vast majority of the reduction will take place this month. Stratasys plans to complete the reduction during the third quarter of 2020.

“This reduction in force is a difficult but essential step in our ongoing strategic process,” said Yoav Zeif (photo above), Chief Executive Officer of Stratasys. “This measure is not expected to affect the progress on our forthcoming product launch plans.” The move will reduce annualized operating expenses by approximately $30 million. The company will incur a charge of approximately $6 million in severance costs, primarily in the second quarter of 2020.

Stratasys is a global provider of industrial additive manufacturing (3D printing) solutions that are used to create prototypes, manufacturing tools, and production parts for industries, including aerospace, automotive, healthcare, consumer products and education. The company was heavily impacted by the COVID-19 epidemic. Revenue for the first quarter of 2020 was $132.9 million, compared to $155.3 million for the same period last year. The 14.4% reduction was driven primarily by the adverse impact of COVID-19 on the company’s customers.

Lately, in mid May, Zeif said the company had secured resources to contain the crisis: “We have over $325 million in cash and equivalents and no debt. It’s clear that this crisis has helped generate significant awareness that 3D printing is becoming essential for accelerating design, speeding up time to market and creating more resilient supply chains.”