We all know 3D printing is big business these days. There's a storefront dedicated to it on Newbury Street, after all. And a Boston-born company just 3D printed a car in Chicago. Yes, you read that right: A car. Announced Tuesday morning, Cambridge-based CAD file management company GrabCAD is the latest local outfit to make headlines, having been acquired by 3D printing company Stratasys for around $100 million.
Terms of the all-cash transaction have not been disclosed, but once the deal goes through by the end of September, as expected, GrabCAD will operate as a unit within Stratasys, according to a company release.
“GrabCAD was founded to bring the world’s engineers together and help them collaborate to bring better products to market faster,” said Hardi Meybaum, CEO of GrabCAD, in a statement. “By joining forces with Stratasys, a global leader in 3D printing and additive manufacturing, we believe we can extend the reach of one of the most exciting and innovative design collaboration technologies available."
GrabCAD was founded in 2010 and offers, among other services, GrabCAD Workbench, a collaborative, cloud-based platform that enables and encourages designers and engineers to share files and work together. The company also boasts a community of more than 1.5 million members from around the world, according to the release.
Meybaum will stay on to lead GrabCAD within the group.
Oh, and remember that 3D printing space in Boston I alluded to earlier? That's MakerBot, a company Stratasys acquired in late June, 2013 – a combined company TechCrunch reported "will likely dominate 3D printing industry."
Up to this point, GrabCAD has received $13.6 million in funding across six rounds from 13 investors, according to TechCrunch.
Editor's note: An earlier version of this story implied this deal had already gone through. The deal is pending.
Image via release
