Italy-based pioneer in large-format robotic 3D printing Caracol just raised a $40 million Series B round and is going all in on the United States. CEO Francesco De Stefano calls the U.S. the company’s “primary strategic priority” and the place where it will define the future of large-scale 3D printing.
“We knew that if we wanted to be a global leader in robotic additive manufacturing (AM), the U.S. was the place to go,” De Stefano says. Caracol’s new Austin, Texas, headquarters, which opened in September, will serve as its first full manufacturing hub outside Europe, where the company will assemble its robotic 3D printing systems for both polymer and metal production.
Strong market traction and the rapid adoption of large-format additive manufacturing across key industrial sectors is the first reason Caracol decided to expand its U.S. presence. Yet, recent reshoring policies and trade measures in the U.S. also played a role, De Stefano says. “[These] created a favorable context for advanced manufacturing companies like ours, reinforcing our decision to invest further.”
In fact, mobile additive manufacturing robots, as they’re called, are experiencing increased adoption, says Aaron Prather, director of robotics & autonomous systems programs at ASTM International, the American materials and manufacturing standards organization. “We are seeing these in defense, shipbuilding, and other heavy industries— pretty much anywhere you want to print big parts, faster, and at lower costs than traditional casting or smaller AM efforts.”
Caracol’s technology enables the creation of parts far larger than can be produced using conventional 3D printers. On the polymer side, customers are already printing full dashboards for train simulators, for example, and even full boat hulls. On the metal side, Caracol’s systems produce stainless-steel valves and marine propellers. The company now employs more than 100 people across offices in Milan, Austin, and Dubai, and has a presence in over 50 countries. The latest funding round was co-led by European investors Omnes Capital, Move Capital Fund I, and Italy’s CDP Venture Capital.
A Competitive White Space
De Stefano, who earned his MBA from Columbia University, says the U.S. market was always the long-term target. His time there revealed what he calls a “competitive white space” in large-format robotic 3D printing, particularly in polymers — a segment still early in adoption but showing signs of industrial scale demand.
From the beginning, the company tied its strategy to a made-in-America approach. “At the end of 2020 we realized that the main international expansion focus for Caracol was the U.S., but then there was COVID, so we focused on building and scaling the business in Europe,” he says. Now, with renewed U.S. investment in domestic manufacturing, rising defense spending, and accelerating adoption of additive production, De Stefano believes the window is open.
“I knew that if we wanted to get in the U.S. and be successful, especially for those highly regulated industries, we had to put real boots on the ground,” he says. “We had to do things in the U.S.”
The American market already accounts for more than 40% of Caracol’s overall business, with more than 50 customers. One, the general contractor HITT, uses its Caracol system to produce furniture from recycled plastic.
From Polymers to Metals
Although the company began in polymer 3D printing, it expanded into metal in 2024 with the launch of its Vipra AM system. The platform uses wire arc additive manufacturing (WAAM), where an electric arc melts metal wire and deposits it layer by layer via robotic arm, similar to welding. WAAM has proved faster than casting or forging for many non-structural metal applications.
“Metal parts are one of the fastest growing segments that we have in our portfolio,” says De Stefano.
In fact, Caracol’s technology is intended as a direct replacement for traditional industrial manufacturing processes, including forging, casting, and large-format tooling.
Yet Prather says the robotic AM market for metal parts is still nascent. “While still early on, the potential hurdles we are seeing are in QA/NDE, qualification of parts, and just on-going integrating issues that most robot deployments have as they enter a new field and use case.” Key players include GE Additive, as well as the leaders in robotic arms, such as ABB and KUKA, which can be fitted with metal or polymer 3D printing heads.
Sell Parts and Printers
Caracol’s origins are as a service bureau — producing parts for customers before selling machines. It remains core to the company’s adoption strategy.
To win trust in high-stakes industries such as aerospace, maritime, and defense, Caracol uses what De Stefano calls a “hybrid approach.” The company helps customers take a part from prototype to full qualification, and for those not ready to buy equipment, it leverages a network of 30 manufacturing partners, including eight in the U.S.
“When a customer wants only parts and not technology, we refer them to the closest manufacturing partner that can provide parts to them,” De Stefano says. This dual model — selling both the technology and part production — has been central to the company’s focus on application development.
A Market Poised for Expansion
Large-format or robotic additive manufacturing spans polymers, metals, and even concrete-like materials used in construction printing.
The global robotic large-format 3D printing market is forecast to grow from $1.2B in 2024 to $6.8B in 2033 (21.7% CAGR), though estimates vary.
“There aren’t exact numbers on this segment because it is an extremely niche market for large robot arm manufacturers,” notes Prather. “However, there is growing evidence that we are moving away from just demoing these capabilities in real-world deployments.”
Prather says that over the next five years, the AM industry will see “substantial growth” across multiple robotic technologies.
The long-term ambition for Caracol and other robotic AM system manufacturers is to replace offshore production of large molds, dies, and cast parts — a shift that would move high-value manufacturing back to domestic supply chains.
Doubling Down with $40M
De Stefano did not detail why now is the moment for U.S. expansion, but the use of funds offers clues. A key portion of the investment will go toward “local research and development programs in the U.S.,” he says, including efforts to “intensify the ramp-up of its metal additive manufacturing technologies” for regulated sectors such as energy, maritime, and defense.
“Funding has always been a means and not an objective,” says De Stefano. With several AM companies consolidating recently, including Trumpf selling off its 3D printing division and ExOne’s assets spinning off after Desktop Metal’s bankruptcy, Caracol is using new capital not for survival, but expansion.
For De Stefano, success is measured not simply by growth or valuation.
“If in five years, we have 10 times the application we have today, we’ve done a good job,” he says. “Because it means that there was value for our customers in evolving this technology.”