MyMiniFactory, a curated 3D printing group the place unbiased designers and types promote digital fashions, has accomplished the complete acquisition of Thingiverse from Netherlands-based 3D printer producer Ultimaker.
The transfer brings over eight million customers into MyMiniFactory’s ecosystem and incorporates Thingiverse into its SoulCrafted platform, which emphasizes human-created designs, curated collections, and sustainable monetization. This integration strengthens help, visibility, and earnings alternatives for creators whereas reinforcing a human-first strategy in a panorama more and more affected by AI-generated content material.
“That is about what sort of web and future we wish,” stated Romain Kidd, new CEO of Thingiverse. “AI-generated content material is all over the place now and is a menace to the livelihoods of actual creators all over the place. We all know from launching SoulCrafted that there’s actual demand for areas the place human work is valued and guarded. Thingiverse might be a kind of areas.”
Thingiverse will now function alongside MyMiniFactory’s present ecosystem, together with YouMagine and the SoulCrafted Slicer.
A Creator-Centric Enterprise Mannequin
MyMiniFactory describes the acquisition as an extension of its long-standing creator-first strategy. Over the previous decade, the corporate says it has demonstrated that unbiased designers can construct sustainable companies by means of direct help from almost a million paying prospects on the platform.
The corporate factors to earlier initiatives as examples of this technique in motion. After buying YouMagine in 2024, the repository developed right into a extra specialised technical group the place RC creators have reportedly developed earnings streams. In the meantime, Scan the World, an open, community-driven digital museum undertaking, has enabled volunteers to protect and share 1000’s of cultural artifacts by means of 3D scanning and printable information.
“We’re not promising one thing new,” stated Rees Calder, new CMO of Thingiverse. “We’re making use of what already works. Deal with creators as companions. Give them actual instruments to construct sustainable audiences and earnings.That’s it.”
Platform Course and Neighborhood Engagement
In response to MyMiniFactory, Thingiverse’s open-sharing tradition will stay intact, whereas new monetization pathways and insurance policies are launched to help creator sustainability and prioritize human-generated designs over automated or non-printable content material. The corporate additionally goals to strengthen the platform’s usefulness for each skilled engineers and hobbyists.
Recognizing previous issues inside the group, the brand new management has pledged to contain customers in shaping the platform’s roadmap. A reside Q&A session scheduled for February 17 at 5 p.m. UTC will invite direct suggestions, and customers are inspired to share concepts by means of official Thingiverse dialogue channels. “Thingiverse belongs to the individuals who use it,” stated Kidd. “We would like them concerned in what occurs subsequent.”
Platform Ecosystem Acquisitions Are Accelerating
As an alternative of increasing by means of {hardware} or supplies alone, corporations at the moment are additionally buying established platforms, consumer ecosystems, and software program instruments to reinforce engagement, content material distribution, and creator help throughout the digital manufacturing worth chain.
One comparable instance is Shapeways’ acquisition of a majority stake within the file-sharing platform Thangs, geared toward rebuilding its infrastructure and making a unified ecosystem connecting design discovery, monetization, and manufacturing. The deal sought to create a “seamless ecosystem that spans the complete 3D creation worth chain,” whereas increasing income alternatives for creators by means of print-on-demand manufacturing.
Equally, Stratasys’ acquisition of GrabCAD introduced a longtime engineering collaboration group and cloud workflow platform into its ecosystem, giving the corporate rapid entry to customers and instruments that will have taken years to develop internally.
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Featured picture reveals MyMiniFactory has acquired Thingiverse. Picture MyMiniFactory.
