Nobula
A deep-tech startup providing a complete glass 3D printing solution that makes manufacturing complex glass components as fast, affordable, and energy-efficient as printing plastic.
- CEO / Founder
- Chunxin Liu
- Team Size
- 1-10
- Stage
- Commercial
- Total Funding
- $4.0M
- Latest Round
- Grant
- Key Investors
- European Innovation Council (EIC), Icebreaker.vc, KTH Holding, Sting (Stockholm Innovation & Growth), Capitral, EIT RawMaterials
Technology & Products
Key Products
["Nobula Glass 3D Printer (Desktop & Industrial units)","Proprietary Glass Filaments (including multi-component and custom compositions)","Nobula Slicing & Control Software","Printing as a Service (PaaS) for custom development and production"]
Technological Advantage
Eliminates the need for high-temperature furnace post-processing (sintering/debinding), significantly reducing energy consumption and production time while maintaining the material purity of fused silica glass.
Differentiation
Value Proposition
Unlocks the ability to produce high-precision, complex glass geometries with micron-scale resolution (10 μm to 0.5 mm) without the need for expensive tooling or extensive post-processing.
How They Differentiate
Nobula utilizes proprietary Direct Glass Laser Deposition (DGLD™) which prints pure glass filaments directly. Unlike competitors like Glassomer or Lithoz, which use glass-filled resins or slurries requiring lengthy post-processing (debinding and sintering in a furnace), Nobula’s process is a single-step method that saves significant energy and time while maintaining high material purity.
Market & Competition
Target Customers
Research laboratories, medical device manufacturers, aerospace engineers, optical component designers, and luxury goods producers.
Industry Verticals
["Medical & Life Sciences (Lab-on-a-chip, Organ-on-a-chip)","Photonics & Optics (Microlenses, Fiber optics)","Aerospace & Defense","Energy (Solid-state batteries)","Luxury Goods (Art, Jewelry, Watchmaking)"]
Competitors
Glassomer; Lithoz; Maple Glass Printing
Growth & Milestones
Growth Metrics
Currently executing over 40 active industrial projects; Winner of Formnext Start-up Challenge and 3D Pioneers Challenge.
Major Milestones
["Winner of the Formnext Start-up Challenge 2021","Winner of the 3D Pioneers Challenge 2022","Awarded €2.5M EIC Accelerator Grant in 2023","Successful commercialization of the world's first desktop glass 3D printer"]
Notable Customers
KTH Royal Institute of Technology; European Innovation Council; Confidential Medical Device Manufacturers; Research Laboratories