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Singapore firm Prototype Asia sees potential in prototyping market

Singapore-based 3D printing and prototyping startup Prototype Asia shares more about current challenges, next steps and how investors think there’s a bubble.

Is 3D printing the next big thing or will it just be a bubble? Awareness of the industry is on the rise here in Singapore, with startups like Pirate3D getting its consumer-centric printer successfully crowd funded on Kickstarter and Nanyang Technological University gearing toward the age of manufacturing with a US$30 million research centre. They first started when prototyping services in Singapore were not popular or a common sight. There was a huge, untapped market.

He said, “We have done electronics before, we have done mechanics, we have done software and I don’t understand why nobody has done prototyping.”

The team had worked with computer systems like Raspberry Pi and Arduino, so electronics and software were not issues. Lending expertise to clients

With startups, bigger companies and advertising agencies as clients, Guillaume found the same problem facing all three. Prototype Asia has quite a good mix of customers, and is able to help users improve ideas and make feasible items. He said, “They have an idea about hardware but don’t really know how to [launch their idea] so we help them with that. We help them with proof of concept so they can show to investors. Later on, we can help them with production prototype.”

For the big guys, it’s not that different. Prototype Asia has both the speciality and experience to help the corporate companies, which might not have the expertise in building hardware. Current challenges

Starting out in an industry that is still nascent, there are many challenges Prototype Asia has to overcome.

One of the challenges they are facing is to find investors for new markets. Investors are worried 3D printing is going to be the next bubble, like what happened with the Internet bubble. De Lazzer cited they do not have competitors in Singapore or in Southeast Asia yet; however, there are similar companies in Europe and the US. One would be Stratasys, which has opened its Singapore office on October 1.

At the recent Inside 3D Printing Conference which was held in Singapore, it is evident that the growing interest signifies an impending boom of 3D printing and prototyping services.