HardwareCambridge, Massachusetts and Austin, TexasFounded 2024· One of 1757 Hardware companies tracked by AMPulse
A chip-based, coin-sized 3D printer that uses a photonic chip with no moving parts to cure resin using steerable beams of light.
CEO / Founder
Jelena Notaros
Team Size
1-10
Stage
Active
Total Funding
$10M
Latest Round
Grant
Key Investors
NSF, DARPA
Technology & Products
Key Products
["Proof-of-concept prototype of a non-mechanical, chip-based 3D printer"]
Technological Advantage
Significantly reduces size and complexity compared to conventional 3D printers by leveraging silicon photonics technology.
Differentiation
Value Proposition
Delivers a highly compact, portable, and potentially low-cost 3D printing solution by eliminating mechanical parts and utilizing a novel photonic curing method.
How They Differentiate
Eliminates mechanical moving parts and miniaturizes the entire 3D printing system onto a photonic chip, which is unlike traditional 3D printers.
Market & Competition
Target Customers
Clinicians in need of custom medical device components and engineers for rapid prototyping
Industry Verticals
["Medical Devices","Aerospace and Defense","Engineering and Prototyping"]
Competitors
Formlabs; Readily3D
Growth & Milestones
Major Milestones
["Successful demonstration of the first chip-based 3D printer prototype","Publication in Nature Light Science and Applications (June 2024)"]
This chip-based 3D printer project, led by MIT Associate Professor Jelena Notaros, aims to replace the mechanical scanning systems of conventional VPP-DLP printers with a solid-state photonic chip. By steering beams of light to cure photopolymer resin without any moving parts, the design achieves a form factor roughly the size of a coin. The proof-of-concept prototype, published in Nature Light Science and Applications in June 2024, represents a radical departure from the gantry-based or rotating-vat architectures used by incumbent polymer AM systems.
The core technology leverages silicon photonics to generate and direct steerable light beams, enabling layer-by-layer curing in a compact, portable package. This approach could dramatically lower the cost and complexity of resin-based 3D printing, opening applications where size, weight, or power constraints rule out conventional printers. Target use cases include clinicians fabricating custom medical device components at the point of care and engineers performing rapid prototyping in field settings.
The project is pre-commercial and funded by NSF and DARPA, with a team of 1-10 researchers. Key partners include MIT and the University of Texas at Austin. The technology competes indirectly with established polymer AM vendors like Formlabs and volumetric printing startups such as Readily3D, but its chip-based architecture offers a fundamentally different path to miniaturization. The main open question is whether the photonic chip can deliver the print speed, resolution, and material compatibility needed to move from lab prototype to practical product.