Insider Brief
- Nikon Corporation has announced an investment (amount undisclosed) in UK-based 3D printing software specialist Ai Build Limited through the Nikon-SBI Innovation Fund, aiming to enhance additive manufacturing (AM) services and expedite business growth.
- Ai Build’s software is compatible with Nikon’s directed energy deposition (DED) AM technology and, when used with Nikon’s Metal 3D Printer Lasermeister 100A series, provides a comprehensive AM solution that supports automation and multi-variety variable production.
- The investment aligns with Nikon’s Medium-Term Management Plan announced in April 2022, which highlights the intention to strengthen the digital manufacturing business and positions material processing as a central growth driver, capitalizing on their long-standing expertise in opto-electronics and precision control technologies.
PRESS RELEASE — TOKYO /October 19, 2023 — Nikon Corporation (Nikon) today announced an investment in Ai Build Limited, based in U.K. (CEO: Daghan Cam, hereafter Ai Build), which specializes in 3D printing software, through the Nikon-SBI Innovation Fund*1 (investment amount undisclosed). This investment will expand the range of value delivered to our customers in additive manufacturing (AM) and accelerate Nikon’s business expansion.
Ai Build’s 3D printing software is compatible with Nikon’s adopted AM technology, the directed energy deposition (DED) method*2, allowing for rapid generation of modeling paths even for complex and difficult-to-manufacture shapes. When utilized in combination with Nikon’s Metal 3D Printer Lasermeister 100A series, it provides a comprehensive solution for AM that enables automation and multi-variety variable production.
In the Medium-Term Management Plan announced in April 2022, Nikon emphasized strengthening digital manufacturing business with a particular focus on positioning material processing as a growth driver. Leveraging long-standing expertise in opto-electronics technologies and precision control technologies, Nikon, in collaboration with Ai Build, will drive innovation in the manufacturing industry by delivering tailored solutions that align with customers’ modeling needs.
- *1A private fund jointly established by Nikon and SBI Investment Co., Ltd.
- *2A method in which metal powder and laser are simultaneously irradiated to melt and build up layers for AM
About Ai Build
Ai Build is a fast-growing London based Software-as-a-Service company, that is disrupting the Additive Manufacturing industry on a global scale. Ai Build’s clients are tier 1 companies operating in the Aerospace, Automotive, Construction, Marine and Energy verticals. Ai Build’s unique software enables them to fully automate the additive manufacturing process from plan to print, radically improving speed, quality, scalability, and application range, across the entire enterprise. Ai Build integrate and partner with a growing network of hardware manufacturers, and we are backed by first class investors. Ai Build was recognized as the Winner of the prestigious “Software Award” at TCT 2023.
For more information about Ai Build: https://www.ai-build.com/
