Lightforce正畸, a provider of custom 3D printed orthodontic brackets, has raised $50 million in its latest round of Series C funding.
资金回合由投资公司领导Kleiner Perkins, and saw participation from LightForce Orthodontics’ existing investorsMatrix Partners,Tyche Partners, andAM Ventures. The investment follows a particularly successful year for the company, in which it posted a 500 percent revenue growth rate, developed two new products, and tripled its team.
With the new funds, LightForce Orthodontics will look to offer training to orthodontists in order to maximize the technology for their patients, alongside continuing to scale up its operations and go-to-market efforts.
“LightForce was founded to provide fully customized, USA-made treatment options for orthodontists interested in offering modern braces to their patients,” said Dr. Alfred Griffin, LightForce CEO and Co-founder. “The investment from Kleiner Perkins allows us to continue creating mass-customized braces that enable orthodontists to provide a personalized patient experience within an industry that has not evolved the use of braces in the last 25 years.”
One size fits one
LightForce’s 3D printing technology is used by orthodontists to produce custom individualized braces for patients, with the intention of reducing the number of follow-on visits for bracket adjustments.
公司launched its first fully customized 3D printed braces2019年7月，使用基于光的添加剂制造系统和基于云的CAD软件制造。雷电竞充值在收到FDA批准后，其括号进入了当年晚些时候的市场。
In September 2020, the firmraised $14 million in a Series B funding round进一步发展其技术并扩大其运营，以满足对牙套的不断增长的需求。该公司正在寻求摆脱统治正畸的古老的“一种尺寸适合所有尺寸”的哲学，而是通过特定于患者的支架系统实现大规模定制和个性化。
Operating under the slogan ‘one size fits one’, the LightForce service enables orthodontists to send in a 3D scan of a patient’s teeth, along with their treatment plan, from which LightForce will print the corresponding brackets and trays in-house before sending them to the practice.
The brackets are 3D printed in a dental ceramic with mechanical properties comparable to those of traditional injection-molded brackets, however fit the unique tooth morphology of each patient. The technology reportedly delivers shorter lead times, fewer appointments, and a more efficient experience for patients, and is able to deliver precision down to a thousandth of a millimeter.
“Without LightForce, patients today would likely be wearing the same sort of braces their parents did back when they were teenagers,” Griffin said. “With these new funds, LightForce will further champion the unmet needs of the modern teen market by complementing aligner cases and allowing orthodontists to take their practices fully digital, while capitalizing on the advancement of 3D printing technology, modern materials, and advanced application-specific CAD software.”
扩大个性化牙套
Both the LightForce brackets and the trays they come in are 3D printed, enabling orthodontists to place the brackets in the exact desired position on a patient’s tooth. Over the last year, LightForce has developed new products such as its Light Bracket, its line of translucent braces. A more aesthetic option for patients, the brackets appear to be the same color as the teeth, leaving them much less visible.
格里芬继续说：“患者的牙齿都是雪花的独特之处，如今正畸医生像对待者的案例一样，在治疗计划中可以解决这种个人主义的技术。”“我们很高兴能以新的和创新的方式继续在正畸中实施3D打印技术，以为所有牙套患者创建新的护理标准。”
Scaling an operation where each set of ceramic brace brackets is custom printed for each patient will certainly throw up complex challenges, however the latest $50 million cash injection will go some way towards achieving this, Griffin hopes.
他说：“扩展，大规模定制是一个非常独特的问题，在理论上，大多数人都谈论，但实际上很少有人处理。”“目前，公司中大约有200个人，我们可能会在明年的两倍。销售和工程可能是最大的费用，但是就员工而言，在物理和数字制造方面，我们需要在制造技术人员方面发展最多的费用。”
Taking the lead in the Series C funding round is Kleiner Perkins, which cut its teeth in the orthodontics business some 25 years ago after investing in dental aligner manufacturerInvisalign.
“LightForce t一个行业的创新方法hat has lacked technological disruptiveness for the past 25 years is what initially attracted us to this investment opportunity,” said Wen Hsieh, Partner at Kleiner Perkins. “Having previously invested in the first digital revolution of orthodontics decades ago through Align Technology, Kleiner Perkins is excited to invest in the second wave of orthodontics digitization through LightForce.
“我们很高兴与联合创始人 - 首席执行官阿尔弗雷德·格里芬（Alfred Griffin）和Lightforce团队合作，利用最新的3D打印技术来进一步增强医生和基于支架的正畸技术的患者体验。”
3D printing in the dental sector
Orthodontics is one of the largest commercial applications of 3D printing technology, with the dental sector benefiting greatly from advancements in additive manufacturing.
One such advancement is therecent slew of announcements来自3D打印机制造商formlabs关于其牙科3D打印业务。公司的Fuse 1 SLS systemhas been validated for the 3D printing of orthodontic models, its popular Model Resin is to be reformulated to double its printing speed, and the Form 3B, Form 3BL, and Fuse 1 printers have all been validated for integration with software developer3Shape’s Clear Aligner Enterprise platform.
Elsewhere, industrial 3D printer manufacturer桌面金属healthcare subsidiary桌面健康最近expanded its dental technology portfolioto deliver binder jet 3D printing capabilities to dental labs, while Dutch 3D printing material manufacturerLiqcreatehas launched two newdental-oriented photopolymer resins.
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Featured image showsLightforce Orthodontics已筹集了5000万美元的C系列资金。通过Lightforce正畸照片照片。
