LightForce Orthodontics received US$50 million in Series C financing to promote the development of 3D printed custom braces

Light Force Orthodontics is a customized3D printingThe supplier of orthodontic brackets, Antarctic Bear understands that the company is in its latest round of C roundFinancingRaised 50 million US dollars in China, the funds will be used to advance their company3D printingFurther development of custom braces business

This round of financing is funded by
invest
The company’s Kleiner Perkins leader, LightForce Orthodontics’ existing investors Matrix Partners, Tyche Partners and AM Ventures also participated.However, it is important to point out that this investment was obtained one year after LightForce’s great success. During this year, the company’s
profit
The growth rate reached 500%, two new products were released, and the team tripled.

With new funding, LightForce Orthodontics will provide orthodontists withTraining, In order to maximize the use of additive manufacturing technology for their patients, and at the same time continue to expand their business scale and market efforts.

Dr. Alfred Griffin, CEO and co-founder of LightForce, said: “LightForce was established to provide a fully customized, American-made treatment plan for orthodontists who are interested in providing patients with modern orthodontics. From Kleiner Perkins This investment allows us to continue to create mass-customized braces, enabling orthodontists to provide a personalized patient experience in a brace industry that has rarely been technologically innovative in the past 25 years.”

△LightForce Orthodontics has raised $50 million in Series C financing. Photo from LightForceOrthodontics.

Customized size

Light Force3D printingThe technology is used by orthodontists to make customized personalized braces for patients, with the goal of reducing the number of subsequent adjustments to the braces.
The company launched the first fully customized3D printingBraces, using light-based additive manufacturing systems and cloud-based CAD
software
Made.In the United States
food
With the approval of the Drug Administration, its braces entered the market later that year.

In September 2020, Light Force raised US$14 million in Series B financing to further develop technology and expand its business scale to meet the growing demand for braces in the market. The company is seeking to get rid of the old “one size fits all” philosophy that dominates orthodontics, and instead achieve mass customization and personalized services through patient-specific bracket systems.

LightForce’s service upholds a new treatment concept, enabling orthodontists to share 3D scan data of patients’ teeth and their treatment plans. They will print the corresponding brackets and trays internally and send them to the doctor.

Bracket is usedDentistryceramics3D printingYes, its mechanical properties are comparable to traditional injection molded brackets, but it is suitable for each patient’s unique tooth shape. According to reports, this technology shortens delivery time, reduces appointments, provides a more effective experience for patients, and can provide accuracy to one thousandth of a millimeter.

Griffin said: “Without LightForce, today’s patients might wear the kind of braces their parents wore during their teenage years. Griffin said: “With these new funds, LightForce will further support the unsatisfied modern youth market. Needs to supplement orthodontic cases and allow orthodontists to fully digitize their practice while using3D printingAdvances in technology, modern materials and advanced CAD software for specific applications. “

△Light Force co-founder Dr. LouShuman (left) and Dr. Alfred Griffin (right). The picture comes from Light Force Orthodontics.

Expand the scale of personalized appliances

LightForce brackets and brackets are3D printingYes, so that the orthodontist can accurately place the brackets in the ideal position on the patient’s teeth. In the past year, LightForce has developed new products, such as Light Bracket-a series of translucent braces. For the patient, this is a more aesthetic option. The bracket looks the same color as the teeth, making it less visible.

Griffin continued: “Each patient’s teeth are as unique as snowflakes. Now orthodontists have the technology to take this personality into account in their treatment plans, just like their appliance cases. We are very Happy to continue to implement new and innovative ways in the field of orthodontics3D printingTechnology to create new care for all braces patientsstandard“.

He also said: “Scaling and mass customization is a very unique problem. Most people talk about it in theory, but few people have dealt with it in practice. Now there are about 200 people in our company, and we may add one more next year. Times. Sales and engineering may be the biggest expenses, but in terms of personnel, we need to grow manufacturing technicians, including physical and digital manufacturing.”

The leading role in the C round of financing is KleinerPerkins, which invested in orthodontic appliance manufacturer Invisalign about 25 years ago, thus emerging in the orthodontic business.

Kleiner Perkins partner WenHsieh said: “LightForce’s innovative approach to an industry that lacks technological disruption in the past 25 years was the initial investment opportunity that attracted us. Decades ago, Kleiner Perkins invested in orthodontics through Align Technology for the first time. With the digital revolution, Kleiner Perkins is pleased to invest in the second wave of orthodontic digitization through LightForce. We are pleased to work with co-founder and CEO Alfred Griffin and the Lightforce team to take advantage of the latest3D printingTechnology to further improve the experience of bracket orthodontics for doctors and patients. “

△3D printingLight Force bracket. Photo from Light Force.

3D printingApplication in the field of dentistry

Dentistry is3D printingOne of the largest commercial applications of technology, the dental industry has benefited greatly from the advancement of additive manufacturing.

One of the developments is3D printingMachine manufacturerFormlabsRecently released a series of3D printingBusiness announcement.The company’s Fuse 1 SLS system has been verified for use in orthodontic models3D printing, Its popular Model Resin will be reconfigured to double the printing speed, and Form 3B, Form 3BL and Fuse1 printers have all been verified to be integrated with software developer 3Shape’s ClearAligner Enterprise platform.

△one3D printingLightForce bonding disc. Photo courtesy of LightForce.

In other respects, industry3D printingMachine manufacturer DesktopMetalMedical treatmentDesktop Health, a healthcare subsidiary, recently expanded its dental technology portfolio to provide adhesive jets for dental laboratories3D printingFunction, while the Netherlands3D printingMaterial manufacturer Liqcreate has introduced two new dental photopolymer resins.

(Editor in charge: admin)

LightForce Orthodontics received US$50 million in Series C financing to promote the development of 3D printed custom braces

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