Best Manufacturing Tech Companies in Minnesota, United States
The 38 best Manufacturing Tech companies in Minnesota, United States in 2026, ranked by funding and momentum. Funding, investors, founders, valuation, tech stack and live signals. Top: Proto Labs.
Our analysis of 50 Manufacturing Tech companies
$5.6b in tracked funding; 95% of the stack-profiled cohort runs cloud-native; funding activity peaked in 2025.
Ranked: Best Manufacturing Tech companies in Minnesota
| # | Company | Disclosed funding | Last round | Stage | Founder | Founded | Tech stack | Patents & IP focus | Recent signals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Proto Labs Provider of rapid prototyping and on-demand production manufacturing services | $52M | 134 mo ago | Public | Daniel Cohn Managing Director | 1999 | SentryUnbounceAddsearch+22 | 55 patents Automated cost quoting and manufacturability analysis for injection molding and additive manufacturing | 1 launch |
| 2 | Fulcrum Developer of cloud manufacturing software providing job tracking and production scheduling | $22M | 39 mo ago | Series A | Yu Han Founder & CEO | 2015 | WebflowVimeoGSAP+27 | 15 patents Patents concentrated in computing, sensing & instrumentation | — |
| 3 | GrabCAD Cloud-based design collaboration software | $15M | 166 mo ago | Acquired | — | 2009 | WordPressMySQLPHP+21 | — | 2 launchs |
| 4 | Exosite Acoustics based condition monitoring solutions | $3M | 133 mo ago | Series A | — | 2009 | — | 18 patents Secure IoT connectivity and blockchain scaling for device data services | — |
| 5 | Third Wave Systems Material-based modeling software | $2M | 200 mo ago | Funding Raised | Kerry Marusich Founder & CEO | 1993 | WordPressMySQLPHP+32 | — | 2 launchs |
| 6 | Machine Safety Management Provider of machine management software | $220K | 148 mo ago | Seed | Jack Reiter Presidient/CEO | 2010 | — | — | — |
| 7 | aspect automation Aspect Automation is a machinery company offering automated manufacturing equipment. | — | — | Private | — | 2007 | — | — | — |
| 8 | Collaborant Solutions Wireless, cloud-based predictive maintenance solutions for businesses of all sizes | — | — | Unfunded | Tim Hadden Co-Founder & CEO | 2014 | — | — | — |
Top 6 Manufacturing Tech companies in Minnesota
#1
Series A · Minneapolis, Minnesota · founded 2015 · 43 employees$21.9Mraised▾
Developer of cloud manufacturing software providing job tracking and production scheduling. The software offers BOM and routing building, sales order quoting, and purchase planning. It features live insights, inventory management, and custom reporting. The software also provides quality control, traceability, and finance reporting capabilities. It supports CNC machine shops and sheet metal fabrication.
- 2023Series A$18M
- Oct 2022Series A$18.8M
- Aug 2020Seed$3.1M
#2
Public · Maple Plain, Minnesota · founded 1999 · 2415 employees$52.2Mraised▾
Provider of rapid prototyping and on-demand production manufacturing services. The company offers injection molding, CNC machining, three-dimensional printing, and sheet metal fabrication. Services include prototyping, production, design guidelines, and various finishing options. The company provides material selection across plastics, metals, and elastomers.
- Jun 2015Grant (prize money)$150K
- Aug 2008Series A$52.2M
#3
Acquired · Eden Prairie, Minnesota · founded 2009 · 1132 employees$14.7Mraised▾
GrabCAD is a cloud-based design collaboration software. The product offerings include GrabCAD Workbench, a design collaboration tool to manage, view, and share CAD files. The features of the product include file locking, revision management, support for all CAD formats, cloud-based, etc. It also offers GrabCAD Print, a 3D printing software with features such as tracking materials, print preparation, scheduling, real-time notifications, etc.
- Oct 2012Series B$8.2M
- Jan 2012Series A$5.2M
- Jun 2011Seed$1.1M
- Mar 2011Seed—
#4
Series A · Minneapolis, Minnesota · founded 2009 · 42 employees$2.7Mraised▾
Exosite’s data platform empowers companies to quickly prototype and deploy their own Internet of Things solution using the web service APIs. It's system is architected with product developers in mind, meaning it has a built-in framework that eliminates the complexities of infrastructure and simplifies IoT development. Their Platform makes it easy for product developers to create cloud-capable products. Texas Instruments recently released the Connected LaunchPad Evaluation Kit which uses the Tiva C Series TM4C1294 microcontroller and ships with Exosite application code already flashed onto the chip Has a office in Taiwan also.
- Jul 2015Series A$2M
- Sep 2014Seed$375.4K
- Feb 2012Seed$50K
- May 2010Seed$300K
#5
Funding Raised · Minneapolis, Minnesota · founded 1993 · 42 employees$2.3Mraised▾
Third Wave Systems is a provider of material-based modeling software. The product offerings include AdvantEdge, a finite element analysis software to analyze the machining process and the features include defining tool geometry, tool & material selection, analyzing temperature & stress, etc; Production Module, a numerical control toolpath optimization software with features as balancing tool loads, analyzing tool path, forces, temperature, etc. It also provides services such as material modeling, high-performance computing, and training. The application of the is in industries such as aerospace engines, aerospace structures, automotive, medical, and cutting tools.
- Dec 2009Grant (prize money)$1.6M
- Jul 2009Grant (prize money)$700K
#6
Seed · Eden Prairie, Minnesota · founded 2010 · 11 employees$220Kraised▾
Machine Safety Management is a provider of machine safety management software solution. The features of the product are machine life cycle tracking, photo documentation of machines, machine history and logging, machine remote access, etc. It also provides products such as Port-A-Table machine bases, Easy Off Power controls, etc.
- Apr 2014Seed$220K
Funding & investor landscape
Notable founders
Market landscape — 10 sub-themes by coverage
Share of Manufacturing Tech coverage by sub-theme.
Regulatory-risk over time rising
Funding & growth over time
funding rising · growth rising
How research on Additive Manufacturing in Minnesota is moving
A read on the academic research around Additive Manufacturing in Minnesota — which themes are gaining ground, the institutions and researchers driving them, and how the tone is shifting. Based on 52 papers.
- University of Minnesota39
- University of Minnesota System6
- University of Minnesota Medical Center4
- University of St. Thomas - Minnesota2
- Southwest Minnesota State University2
- 3D printing2→5
- 3D printing2→7
- 3d printed1→3
- 3D printing3
- 3d printed2
- Nanofiber1
- Scaffold1
- Self-healing hydrogels1
Common questions
Riya reads income statements for fun. She covers the real money in a sector — revenue, growth, who actually earns — and never met a vague claim she didn't want a number for.