GE Additive
Former entity
Colibrium Additive, a GE Aerospace company, leads the additive manufacturing industry with innovative technology in metal 3D printers, additive powders, and end-to-end solutions for aerospace and other industries.
- CEO / Founder
- H. Lawrence Culp Jr.
- Team Size
- 10000+
- Stage
- Public
- Total Funding
- Publicly Traded
- Latest Round
- Corporate Round
- Key Investors
- ["GE Aerospace"]
Technology & Products
Key Products
Colibrium Additive (a GE Aerospace company) develops and deploys metal additive manufacturing systems and solutions including M2 Series 5, M Line, X Line 2000R, Spectra series printers and metal powders for aerospace, healthcare, and energy sectors.
Technological Advantage
Proprietary binder jetting and LPBF processes achieve 99.7% density vs industry standard 98.5%, protected by extensive patent portfolio (e.g., European Patent Office data shows GE submitted most 3D printing patents 2001-2020).
Patent position
GE Additive filed 91 patent families in 2022–2024, up from 86 in 2019–2021, while tracked AM filings in the same patent offices fell 15%; its filings rose 6%. Powder bed fusion’s share rose from 43% to 71%. AMPulse analysis
- Filing momentum
- 91 families filed 2022–2024, 86 in 2019–2021 (+6%); all tracked AM filings in the same offices -15%
- Process mix, 2019–2021 → 2022–2024
- Powder bed fusion 43% → 71%Directed energy deposition 25% → 22%Binder or fusing-agent jetting 38% → 18%
- Focus, 2019–2021 → 2022–2024
- Materials 77% → 84%Equipment 83% → 76%Software 11% → 26%Applications 17% → 10%
- Filed in
- EP 26%WO 26%CN 25%US 23%JP 1%
219 AM patent families in total. Recent years are still being published, so read a filing change against the same-office figure.
Differentiation
Value Proposition
Provides end-to-end metal additive manufacturing solutions including design, materials, and process expertise through AddWorks™ team of 70+ global engineers, enabling complex, high-specification regulated parts production.
How They Differentiate
GE differentiates through its scale, extensive intellectual property, aftermarket dominance, and advanced materials, yielding durable differentiation versus industry rivals. They also offer 3x faster build speed than EOS M290 (120cm³/hr vs 40cm³/hr) for titanium aerospace brackets, 30% lower cost-per-part, and proprietary material formulations for high-temperature applications.
Market & Competition
Target Customers
Aerospace OEMs, defense contractors, healthcare device manufacturers, energy companies
Industry Verticals
Aerospace; Defense; Healthcare; Energy; Automotive
Competitors
Honeywell International Inc.
Growth & Milestones
Growth Metrics
Revenue ~$45.85B TTM (2024), commercial services segment grew 33% YoY in Q3 2025, GE Aerospace projects $50.8B revenue by 2028 with 6.9% annual growth.
Major Milestones
Founded in 2016 as GE Additive, rebranded to Colibrium Additive in 2024 following GE's restructuring; Acquired Arcam AB and Concept Laser GmbH for over $1B in 2016; Launched M Line 4 x 1 kW system for serial production (2025); $31M NAVAIR contract awarded for Additive Manufacturing Capability initiative
Notable Customers
Major commercial airlines, military branches, and aircraft original equipment manufacturers (OEMs).
AM patents
AM-relevant patents linked to this company.
- Patents
- 223
- Granted
- 9
- Families
- 219
Leading domains: process (220), material (180), equipment (173)
Filings by year: 2026: 1 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 49 · 2023: 16 · 2022: 26 · 2021: 19
- IN-SITU MONITORING SYSTEM ASSISTED MATERIAL AND PARAMETER DEVELOPMENT FOR ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING3941667 · EP
- Water-based adhesive solutions for additive manufacturing processes117467376 · CN
- ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING SYSTEMS AND METHODS INCLUDING ROTATING BUILD PLATFORM2020171922 · WO
- POWDER REMOVAL SYSTEMS AND ASSEMBLIES FOR ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING20240293970 · US
- AUTOMATED DE-POWDERING OF ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING BUILD4592009 · EP