May 31, 2016 | By Tess
Finnish designer and pioneer of 3D printing design, Janne Kyttanen, has announced that he will be leaving the 3D printing industry to launch a new venture capital fund that will effectively conceive of and launch new design tech startups. Kyttanen, who has worked in the 3D printing industry for over 15 years, having founded his own 3D printing design studio, Freedom of Creation, and having worked for 3D Systems for 15 years, most recently as its creative director, decided to leave the large, albeit struggling, company last month. Now, with the announcement of his latest venture, it seems the designer is cutting more ties with the additive manufacturing world.
Kyttanen’s new venture capital company, called WTFVC, will effectively be turning out new companies as its products, hoping to inspire and innovate within the field of design. As the designer explains, "We are a startup designing startups. I have countless ideas for new products, brands, apps, experiences, companies etc. and also the means and skill to build organisations around them.” The company’s mission he says, is “to push out new companies at the speed of designing new products.”
This turn away from the 3D printing industry, though indirect, was spurred on by Kyttanen’s frustration with how the industry was headed and how investors were affecting it. He explains that early hype surrounding the potentials of additive manufacturing led to a surge of investments, when the technology did not deliver certain things right away, however, investors became frustrated and pulled out. Kyttanen says, “Wall Street started to impact our priorities. The stock market was painting a picture that we would all be 3D-printing organs in six months time, or 3D printing food in our living rooms at the push of a button."
Of course, as we know, these technologies and breakthroughs in 3D printing take time, but for investors who wanted to see virtually direct results, many areas of the industry have arguably become inflated and as Kyttanen adds, “overrated”.
WTFVC was launched by Kyttanen in collaboration with Dutch entrepreneur Eduard Zanen, the co-founder of Bugaboo, a popular brand of baby carriage. The new company will differ somewhat from other Venture Capital firms, who simply invest growth equities or loan capital to promising companies, as it will itself be conceiving of the new startups. With the idea born in WTFVC, the company can then bring it to life by seeking out suitable teams and CEOs to run the new business. WTFVC will also provide capital, along with basic legal, finance, operations, and accounting teams for the startups. CEOs will be provided with a salary along with a small equity share in the new company.
The company, which will be based in Los Angeles, will also reimagine how their startups are run, opting for inexpensive cloud-based services instead of hired expertise. Kyttanen explains, “Our mentality about the ownership of things is changing, and this shift helps businesses to flourish in a new sharing economy. You don't need to own a car, you take an Uber. You don't need big servers, you use the cloud. You don't need a bookkeeper, you use Expensify. You don't need an office, you can just rent space at WeWork. We live in a very interesting time; creating new products and starting new companies has become very easy.”
We can expect to see WTFVC’s first startups, an eyewear brand and a food-related company, this summer. And while we do not yet know the details of the first startups, Kyttanen has said the new companies will focus on design and the integration of technologies like 3D printing, virtual and augmented reality, machine learning, and artificial intelligence.
Kyttanen is known for his innovative and visually appealing 3D printed designs. In fact, the designer was one of the first to introduce 3D printing to light, furniture, and clothing design, making some truly unique and breakthrough pieces. To see more of Janne Kyttanen’s work, check out his amazing lightweight 3D printed sofa design, and his stunning 3D printed and ‘explosion welded’ Metsidian table design.
Posted in 3D Printer Company
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sorry....was doing some catching up with 3d printing. I think it is disgusting for such a large company to go hound an artist for money. Take it somewhere else. Thanks.
David B. Ellis wrote at 6/1/2016 11:33:24 PM:
Mr. Kyttanen, I'm the a financial analyst with 3D Systems Corp. The A/R department is attempting to invoice based upon the executed IP License contract. To accomplish this A/R department is requesting contact information. Phone number and e-mail address. Keith Roberson simply referred me to this web site. Keith did indicate that you may be currently operating out of Los Angeles. If you could kindly call myself or Keith Roberson that would be great. Best Regards, David B. Ellis Sr. Financial Analyst 3D Systems Corporation 803.326.4621
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