CIA-Backed VC Firm Invests in Voxel8’s 3D Printer for Electronics
Startups making 3D printers have electrified the tech industry. Just ask Voxel8, a Boston-based startup that makes what it says is the first 3D printer able to print electronic devices. Or ask In-Q-Tel, the venture capital firm with links to the Central Intelligence Agency. In-Q-Tel recently made a strategic equity investment in Voxel8 and also signed a technology development agreement with the startup. Voxel8 announced the news Thursday, although it did not disclose how much the firm invested.
Voxel8 has developed a 3D printer that allows users to add embedded electronic circuits to the plastic objects they create. The machine does so by printing with a silver ink that conducts electricity. The machine also works with the conventional thermoplastics used by other 3D printers.
Harvard University professor and material scientist Jennifer Lewis developed the technology in her lab, along with other 3D-printing technology. Voxel8 was spun out last year to focus on commercializing 3D-printed electronics. Xconomy reported in January that the company has raised about $2 million in venture capital, including an investment from Braemar Energy Ventures, and $50,000 from winning the MassChallenge business plan competition....MORE
