Tuozhu is nearly completing a new round of financing, with large enterprises participating. Its valuation may reach $10 billion | Exclusive from 36Kr

Author | Zhang Ziyi

Editors | Yuan Silai, Yang Xuan

Recently, multiple investors and industry insiders in the 3D printing field told Yingke that Tuozhu is close to completing its latest round of financing, with Tencent participating. The company's valuation may reach $10 billion.

There were precursors to this financing. On July 30th this year, Tuozhu reached a comprehensive cooperation with Tencent Cloud. Its 3D model platform, MakerWorld, will be fully integrated with Tencent's Hunyuan 3D generation model. An investor told Yingke: "After Tencent's investment, the two sides will cooperate to a certain extent on the software side in the future."

Yingke verified the above information with Tuozhu and Tencent, and both sides said the news was false.

It's worth noting that Tencent is also one of the shareholders of the established 3D printing company Creality, which is seeking to list on the Hong Kong stock market.

Tuozhu is one of the most prominent unicorn companies in the primary market in recent years. According to a research report by Soochow Securities, Tuozhu's revenue last year was estimated to reach 5.5 - 6 billion yuan, with a net profit close to 2 billion yuan. Meanwhile, multiple media reported that Tuozhu's shipment volume has exceeded 1.2 million units, accounting for 29% of the global market share.

Tuozhu completed its previous round of financing in 2023. The investors included Mingshi Investment, Temasek, True Light, and Wuyuan Capital. The specific investment amount was not disclosed.

Tuozhu's astonishing growth rate stems from the scarcity of its business model: it not only found a rapidly growing market but also quickly expanded its market share with products two generations ahead of its peers.

The latest data from Precedence Research shows that the global 3D printing market size reached $24.61 billion in 2024, equivalent to approximately 170 billion yuan in RMB. The annual growth rate from 2024 - 2034 is expected to reach 18.5%, and the industry is in a golden period of rapid development.

Before Tuozhu emerged, desktop 3D printers were mostly dominated by open - source communities, requiring users to spend a lot of time on leveling and maintenance. Tuozhu solved two core pain points in 3D printing: slow speed and complex operation by integrating automatic leveling, a fully enclosed structure, and its iconic multi - color printing system (AMS). It increased the printing speed several times, and users only need to perform a "one - click" operation, greatly lowering the entry threshold for non - technical users.

"Tuozhu has greatly increased the penetration rate of multi - color printing. From the time Tuozhu launched its first product to when its competitors could successfully follow and imitate its high - speed and multi - color printing solutions, there was a full two - year 'technology window period'. During these two years, Tuozhu developed rapidly." An industry insider in 3D printing analyzed to Yingke.

In the view of the above - mentioned person, Tuozhu has hardly made any mistakes since its founding. "Sometimes we envy Tao Ye (founder of Tuozhu). His work in 3D printing is like an open - book exam. He doesn't need to make trial - and - error attempts. He already knows the answers."

Tuozhu has initiated an arms race in the 3D printing industry. While the industry is following and imitating Tuozhu, it is also focusing on reducing the usage threshold of 3D printing. Consumer - grade 3D printing is getting closer to the out - of - the - box experience, and the success rate and yield of 3D printing are constantly improving. 3D printers are no longer just geek toys and are starting to enter many ordinary families, where they can be used to print children's handicrafts or gifts.

In the B - end market, Tuozhu also has an overwhelming market share. According to Tuozhu's estimate, more than 70% of 3D printing farms globally are equipped with the P1 series printers.

Many hardware companies that Yingke visited have Tuozhu 3D printers within their companies, which are used to print product demos or parts.

However, because this market is so attractive, competitors are waiting for an opportunity.

Under Tuozhu's influence, almost all mainstream 3D printer manufacturers have launched their own high - speed models in the past two years and have even started to imitate Tuozhu's multi - color printing system.

The most concerning competition comes from DJI, Tao Ye's former employer. DJI recently announced that it is making a cross - border investment in the 3D printer company SmartPie.

DJI responded to the outside world: "The news that we are investing in the 3D printing company SmartPie is true. This investment is based on our optimism about the development potential of consumer - grade 3D printing technology and the growth potential of the industry, which is in line with DJI's consistent concept of innovative technology and forward - looking layout."

SmartPie is also an established 3D printing company in the industry. It has factories and production lines and has the strength in hardware manufacturing. Moreover, on November 10th, SmartPie launched the open - source 3D model aggregation and creation platform, Nexprint China. This platform integrates mainstream model platforms including Thingiverse, Printables, and MakerWorld, enabling one - stop searching. It can be seen as a counter - move against Tuozhu's community, MakeWorld.

Today, the competition in the 3D printing industry is no longer limited to hardware parameters. Who can provide more stable and user - friendly software, more comprehensive cloud services, a more convenient consumables ecosystem, and lower learning costs will also become the new focus of competition.

There is no doubt that the battle has just begun.