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GrabCAD has raised $13.3M across 5 funding rounds.
Key people at GrabCAD.
GrabCAD was founded in 2009 by Hardi Meybaum (Co-Founder & CEO).
GrabCAD has raised $13.3M in total across 5 funding rounds.
GrabCAD provides an open, enterprise-ready software platform designed to scale additive manufacturing operations. Its suite of connected solutions, including GrabCAD Print, Print Pro, Control, Streamline Pro, and Develop APIs, streamlines workflows from asset management and planning to programming, execution, and quality assurance. The platform integrates seamlessly to enhance productivity and facilitate advanced 3D printing processes across various industrial applications.
The company was founded in Estonia in 2009 by Hardi Meybaum, a mechanical engineer, and Indrek Narusk. Initially conceived as a marketplace and a community for engineers to share CAD models, GrabCAD rapidly evolved from this insight. The founders aimed to consolidate the essential tools engineers require for managing and sharing CAD files into a single, unified platform, ultimately relocating its headquarters to Cambridge, Massachusetts in 2011.
Engineering teams, designers, manufacturers, and STEM students utilize GrabCAD's offerings to improve their design and production cycles. The platform supports customers in developing efficient additive manufacturing workflows and is pivotal in helping businesses innovate within the Industry 4.0 landscape. GrabCAD's enduring vision centers on connecting and empowering the additive manufacturing ecosystem to achieve large-scale production capabilities.
GrabCAD is a Cambridge, Massachusetts-based portfolio company that builds a free cloud-based collaboration platform for engineering teams to manage, view, and share CAD files, alongside the world's largest online community for engineers to access over 5.5 million open-source CAD models.[1][2][8] It serves mechanical engineers, designers, manufacturers, STEM students, and product development teams by solving collaboration bottlenecks in CAD workflows, such as file sharing, version control, and repetitive tasks, while integrating 3D printing tools like GrabCAD Print for Stratasys printers.[1][3][4] Post-acquisition by Stratasys in 2014, GrabCAD has shown strong growth, reaching over 11 million users by 2023 and enabling faster product development through community challenges and tools like Workbench.[1][6]
GrabCAD was founded in 2009 in Tallinn, Estonia, by Hardi Meybaum (current CEO) and Indrek Narusk, both mechanical engineers who previously ran a product development company.[1][3][5] They identified inefficiencies in engineering workflows—wasted time on repetitive tasks and poor CAD file management—leading them to create a unified marketplace for CAD services, libraries, and community collaboration.[3] Early traction came from evolving into a free CAD model library, with over 1 million downloads by 2011; the company expanded internationally, opening offices in Cambridge, MA (2012) and the UK, and launched Workbench in 2013 for real-time CAD collaboration.[1][6] A pivotal moment was its acquisition by Stratasys in September 2014 for an undisclosed amount after raising $13.29M, which accelerated development of 3D printing integrations like GrabCAD Print.[2][6]
GrabCAD rides the open engineering and digital manufacturing trends, enabling global collaboration in mechanical design amid rising 3D printing adoption and remote work.[5][6] Its timing aligns with the shift from siloed CAD tools to cloud platforms, accelerated by Stratasys' acquisition, which leveraged additive manufacturing growth—Stratasys specializes in 3D printers for prototyping and production.[1][4] Market forces like supply chain demands for faster iteration and talent shortages favor its model, connecting engineers with jobs and reducing development cycles.[2][7] It influences the ecosystem by democratizing CAD resources for professionals, students, and hobbyists, competing with PLM giants like Siemens and Aras while pushing native CAD-to-print workflows.[2]
GrabCAD is poised to expand as a core enabler in Industry 4.0, with AI-driven design tools, expanded printer compatibility, and deeper enterprise integrations likely next amid growing 3D printing markets.[4][6] Trends like generative design, sustainable manufacturing, and metaverse prototyping will shape its path, potentially growing its community beyond 15 million users. As Stratasys' asset, its influence could evolve toward full digital thread solutions, solidifying its role in speeding products to market—from Estonian startup to global engineering backbone.[1][8]
Key people at GrabCAD.
GrabCAD has raised $13.3M across 5 funding rounds. Most recently, it raised $8.0M Series B in October 2012.
GrabCAD was founded in 2009 by Hardi Meybaum (Co-Founder & CEO).
GrabCAD has raised $13.3M in total across 5 funding rounds.
GrabCAD's investors include CRV, Amicus Capital, Craft Ventures, Flybridge Capital Partners, Founders Co-op, Khosla Ventures, NextView Ventures, NFX, Practical Venture Capital, SciFi VC, Shasta Ventures, The Engine.
