Manufacturing startup Carbon is working with the White House to address the country's shortage of medical supplies with 3D-printed products, a company spokeswoman told Business Insider.
- The Redwood City, California-based startup is developing swabs to test patients and face shields for healthcare professionals and first responders.
- Carbon was last valued by venture-capital investors at $2.46 billion and has backers including Sequoia Capital, Madrone, and GV, as well as Adidas Ventures, Johnson & Johnson Innovation, Nikon, and BMW.
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As the coronavirus pandemic spreads, manufacturing startup Carbon is working with the White House to address the country's shortage of medical supplies with 3D-printed products, a company spokeswoman told Business Insider.
The Redwood City, California-based startup, which lets other companies outsource its 3D printing capabilities, said it is working on developing swabs to test patients and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) face shields for healthcare professionals and first responders fighting the coronavirus.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Carbon president and CEO Ellen Kullman and co-founder and executive chairman Dr. Joseph DeSimone are leading Carbon's response efforts.
3D printing technology has touched many industries from toys to food. Now it is being put to the test as countries grapple with a shortage of medical supplies to combat the coronavirus. Along with Carbon, a group of 300 engineers and medical researchers came together to design and produce an open-source ventilator using 3D-printed materials, TechCrunch reported.
Carbon has worked with Alphabet-owned company Verily, the company behind the COVID-19 online screening website Project Baseline, to design the face shields. Carbon said the shields can be produced on industrial 3D Printers and that it planned to make its design open-source and available on its website later this week.
Carbon is also sending the face shield designs to its customers and other 3D printing companies like HP to address medical needs in their local areas. It has nearly 1,000 printers in 14 countries and makes everything from Adidas sneakers to dentures to Ford auto parts.
Carbon was last valued by venture-capital investors at $2.46 billion and has backers including Sequoia Capital, Madrone, and GV, as well as Adidas Ventures, Johnson & Johnson Innovation, Nikon, Autodesk, and BMW.