Dubai-based Immensa Technology Labs, the region’s leading additive manufacturing company has successfully entered the Saudi market, closing a $7 million Series A investment round which marked the first-ever investment of its kind in the Middle East in the field of 3D printing and digital warehousing solutions. The company confirmed that it intends to use the financing to expand its capabilities in Saudi Arabia as a starting point for targeting international markets.
The investment represents a remarkable event for the Saudi market in light of the Kingdom’s efforts to become a global leader in the field of smart industries and advanced technologies, based on the international momentum witnessed by this sector since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. The size of the 3D-printed assembly manufacturing sector is expected to reach about $52 billion by 2026, compared to $15 billion in 2020, reflecting the high speed of growth. Organized by Jet Capital, the funding round was led by Energy Capital Group (ECG), Alturki Holding, and several other investors.
Immensa is the first global company to provide an integrated digital solution for asset management in the energy and utilities sector by utilizing machine learning, data digitization, and industrial 3D printing technologies. The company aims to benefit from Saudi Arabia’s efforts to enhance the competitiveness of its industrial sector as part of its economic diversification strategy. The 3D-printed assemblies sector is expected to inject at least $4.95 billion into the Kingdom’s economy over the next three years. In 2021, Immensa opened its third and largest facility in the region, in Dammam, to significantly enhance the company’s presence and capabilities in the Kingdom.
Commenting on the announcement, Fahmi Al-Shawwa, founder and CEO of Immensa, says, “We are delighted to be able to secure this Series A funding and plan to use this investment to implement our ambitious growth strategy. The digitization of supply chains and the adoption of advanced digital industries is a fundamental pillar to achieve the Fourth Industrial Revolution. In this context, 3D printing is critical to industrial growth, as it helps increase productivity, enhance efficiency, improve product quality, and business continuity.”
“More than $65 billion worth of spare parts will be available in the power and utilities sectors annually through the digital supply chain by 2030. By being in the Kingdom, we will be able to seize these opportunities early, and investors are already recognizing the value of cooperating with a leading company in this market that still suffers from a scarcity of these services. We hope in the near future to be able to secure other Series 2 and 3 funding rounds, which will allow the company to grow its business while also helping to establish a new set of industries and open new career paths for Saudis,” adds Al-Shawwa.
It is worth noting that during the past year, more than five billion dollars of funding was directed towards 3D printing and digital solutions globally, and during the past decade this sector has witnessed an annual growth of 20% and experts expect it to witness further growth. In the past, the Middle East was not able to catch up with the pace of global development in the adoption of 3D printing solutions, but this situation began to change in 2020, where the growth of this sector in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries today exceeds 300% annually.
For his part, Omar Abuhabaya, General Manager of Immensa KSA and COO of Immensa Group, says, “This investment round will enable us to grow rapidly in addition to expanding in new cities and countries in the region soon by repeating our successful experience in the areas we currently serve. Our focus in the coming period will be providing digital storage solutions for spare parts and developing digital warehouses for government and private sector institutions, which are largely in line with the Kingdom’s 2030 vision. We are confident that Immensa will have a vital role in building an ecosystem that adopts the foundations of assembly manufacturing and customized manufacturing.”
Immensa was established in 2016 and includes its operations in Saudi Arabia and the UAE, in addition to serving clients in the GCC countries and around the world.
