2015–2016 Desktop Metal was founded in October 2015 in
Cambridge, Massachusetts, as a startup company focused on 3D metal printing. and Jonah Myerberg of
A123 Systems, Rick Chin of
SolidWorks, and Yet-Ming Chiang, Ely Sachs,
Christopher Schuh,
Xconomy wrote that the company's intent was to create a metal 3D printer that would "churn out parts more quickly" and be "much cheaper, smaller, safer and easier to operate" than alternatives on the market. To eliminate the need for trained personnel to operate the equipment, dangerous features such as lasers were not made a part of the design process. After former investors injected an additional $34 million into Desktop Metal in April 2016, That month the company raised $45 million in a
Series C round of venture funding Desktop Metals was also working with
BMW in
Munich to explore eliminating the need to warehouse parts, The company revealed two distinct metal 3D printing systems in late April 2017: a studio model and a production model. is designed for rapid printing and the production of small volumes, The
World Economic Forum named Desktop Metal to its 2017 Technology Pioneers list of 30 companies in June, and also that month,
MIT Technology Review named Desktop Metal among its 50 Smartest Companies in the World for the year. Desktop Metal raised a total of $115 million in a
Series D round of funding in July 2017, Funds went to R&D, its sales program, and international growth The company began shipping the Studio System in December 2017 and among other early customers were the
United States Navy, Built-Rite Tool & Die, and Lumenium.
2018 By early 2018 the company had been granted two patents for separable support and an interface layer, with around 100 patents pending for around 200 inventions.
Edison Award. With a $1.2 billion valuation, by May 2018 Desktop Metal had been named the fast growing "unicorn" in United States history, surpassing $1 billion after 21 months in operation. Desktop Metal introduced an upgrade to its industrial scale systems at Formnext 2018, claiming the 50% printing speed increase made the model "the fastest metal printer in the world." Cofounder Ric Fulop asserted that the system dropped the price per part significantly compared to other systems, in one case from $700 per kilo of parts to $50 a kilo. By May 2019, the company employed around 300 people, mostly engineers, with the machines made through contract manufacturing. It also had a sales channel distributing in 48 countries. By 2019, the company had raised $437 million from investors, and was one of only three 3D printing unicorns. In November it introduced a system for metal job shops and a system using fiber placement. In January 2021, Desktop Metal purchased
EnvisionTEC, a
German company that specializes in
photopolymer printing. On March 15, Desktop Metal announced its new line Desktop Health, specifically focused on healthcare products in the fields of
dentistry,
orthodontics,
dermatology,
orthopedics,
cardiology,
plastic surgery, and printed
regenerative. Also in March, Michael Mazen Jafar came on board as CEO of the new line. Stratasys terminated the acquisition in September after its shareholders voted against the acquisition after two companies made unsolicited bids for Stratasys. In July 2024, Nano Dimension announced an agreement to acquire Desktop Metal for $135-183million in an all-cash transaction. In July 2025, Desktop Metal filed for
Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection as part of a plan to sell its European assets. ==Products==