AM Craft secures 600,000 euros in a pre-financing round

Breakthrough for 3D printing in aviation. AM Craft creates fast and cost-effective parts delivery for airlines and aircraft maintenance with new manufacturing model

Riga, May 2024 - AM Craft has announced the closing of its €600,000 pre-funding round, led by Change Ventures, with the participation of BadIdeas.Fund. AM Craft is an EASA Part 21G authorized aerospace supplier that leverages its expertise in polymer additive manufacturing, design, airworthy certification and a distributed manufacturing network to provide an end-to-end service for aviation customers. The distributed manufacturing network originated with AM Craft's headquarters in Riga and now includes a manufacturing hub in Dubai.

Founders Didzis Dejus and Janis Jatnieks are veterans in 3D printing and together established a sales operation for Stratasys, the manufacturer of industrial 3D printers. Previously, they spent several years investigating why 3D printed parts were not more widely adopted by airlines and aircraft maintenance companies. The problem is structural. Airlines and maintenance stores typically do not manufacture or certify parts, and established 3D printing companies have focused on supplying printing equipment to manufacturers. This has left the airline and aircraft maintenance market with a strong aptitude for 3D printing, but no means to integrate the technology into their existing supply chain and business model.

Challenges in the aerospace parts industry overcome

AM Craft solves both challenges by providing a network partner manufacturing model that allows them to supply airworthy certified parts locally under AM Craft's EASA Part 21G authorization, as well as a growing library of pre-approved parts that many airlines can source for shared components of various aircraft and cabin models.

As Didzis Dejus, CEO of AM Craft, explained:"The vision is to enable cost-effective, rapid sourcing of a large library of parts sustainably supplied from local certified manufacturing centers around the world, massively increasing the use of additive manufacturing in spare parts sourcing and ultimately OEM manufacturing. In addition,the wider adoption of 3D printing should help airlines accelerate the sustainability goals that the industry is pursuing."

Dubai as another location in the global network

Dubai is just the first step in building a global network.

Andris K. Berzins, Partner at Change Ventures

The company already operates one of Europe's largest 3D printing hubs at its European headquarters in Riga, Latvia, and opened its first network partner manufacturing hub in Dubai on September 21, 2023. Co-founder and Chief Commercial Officer of AM Craft, Janis Jatneiks, explains: "Together with our manufacturing partner, Paradigm 3D, we will be able to produce certified parts exactly where they are needed by our customers. AM Craft has enabled Paradigm 3D to become the first facility in the Middle East that can produce 3D printed parts that meet strict aviation-specific regulations and can be delivered with an EASA Part 21G airworthiness certificate. As a next step, we plan to qualify sites in Central Europe, Southeast Asia and eventually the US."

Andris K. Berzins, Partner at Change Ventures, the venture capital fund backing ambitious founders from the Baltic States, said:"The AM Craft team has achieved a very difficult to obtain certification, EASA Part 21G, to be able to supply certified, airworthy parts for airlines, MROs and manufacturers. After considering an investment over some time, it became clear that they understand the industry very well and have a vision for how they can adapt it to a new world where additive manufacturing can enable fast, flexible and cost-effective parts delivery globally. "