Germany-based
AM Ventures, a leading venture capital firm in additive manufacturing (AM), last month announced the initial closing of the ‘first-ever 100-million-euro venture capital fund dedicated to industrial 3-D printing’. The company and major shareholder the
Langer Group, have ‘joined forces’ with (
KGAL — an independent investment and asset manager for capital investment in Europe — bringing the fund close to ‘50% of the targeted commitment’.
Hans Langer, founding partner in the newly formed fund and representative of the Langer Group, said: “After six years of successfully investing in AM-based start-up companies, we decided to jointly take our business to the next level and join forces with the international asset manager KGAL.
“I am thankful for the achievements the AM Ventures team has made since we started in 2015 and I am very happy to now be working alongside my two former managing directors as new managing partners in the fund.”
Klaus Wolf, chief investment officer at KGAL, added: “This is a perfect match. The expertise of AM Ventures and KGAL ideally complement each other. AM Ventures, through its shareholder base, brings in-depth knowledge of industrial 3-D printing thanks to its long commercial presence in this field; KGAL in turn has a proven track record in access to investors.
“AM offers impressive potential to produce industrial goods in a resource-effective and sustainable way. Through this joint venture we are laying the foundations for a long-term partnership and for further funds in a strong growth market.”
AM Ventures is well known for its investments in AM start-ups. To date, 15 new companies based in six countries on three continents have been funded in more than two dozen funding rounds. They include DyeMansion (the first AM Ventures investment), which has become a world-market-leader for polymer finishing solutions, turning 3-D printed raw parts into high-value products.
Additive Drives is the latest company to join the AM Ventures “fAMily”; this company is supporting electro-mobility by developing and manufacturing 3-D printed electric motor components for ‘more flexibility in development and huge performance increases’.