Carbon Named to Fast Company’s 2021 World’s Most Innovative Companies List

REDWOOD CITY, CA, March 9, 2021 — Carbon, the leading 3D printing technology company,  has been named to Fast Company’s prestigious annual list of the World’s Most Innovative Companies for 2021.

The list honors the businesses that have not only found a way to be resilient in the past year, but also turned those challenges into impact-making processes. These companies did more than survive, they thrived—making an impact on their industries and culture as a whole. To coincide with the reveal of the list, Fast Company will host its first-ever Most Innovative Companies Summit on March 9 and 10. Carbon’s President & CEO, Ellen Kullman, will participate in a panel, “Beyond Resilience: Building a Business That Gets Better with Adversity” during the virtual event.

“Manufacturing and supply chain industries showed immense resilience in the last year. These industries have realized that traditional practices and systems will not always meet the needs of today’s reality. The 3D printing process has proven the ability to bring better products to market in less time, with the ability to produce these products where we need them,” said Ellen Kullman, President and CEO of Carbon. “This recognition of innovation by Fast Company is a proud moment for Carbon and the 3D printing industry.”

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit and shelter-in-place orders were issued in March 2020, Carbon leveraged its Digital Light SynthesisTM (DLSTM) process to innovate and produce urgently needed products, including face shields and nasopharyngeal swabs for COVID-19 testing.

• Carbon created and validated an open-source face shield design, posting the design publicly on the company website in a matter of days allowing partners across the globe, as well as others with industrial-grade 3D printers, to manufacture face shields for healthcare and essential workers in their local communities.
• Carbon partnered with Resolution Medical—an FDA registered in vitro diagnostic and medical device manufacturer in the Carbon Production Network—to design, manufacture, and launch The Resolution Medical Lattice Swab—in less than 3 weeks. This timeline is unheard of for a medical product, and the achievement was enabled with Carbon’s technology and design capabilities.

Carbon recently made Carbon Design Engine, its design software used to create the Resolution Medical Lattice Swab,  available to its subscribers. This software, which enables product designers to quickly and easily generate lattice designs, was also used in the development of the Specialized S-Works Power Saddle with Mirror technology, and CCM Super Tacks X helmets.

Fast Company’s editors and writers sought out the most groundbreaking businesses across the globe and industries.

The World’s Most Innovative Companies provides both a snapshot and a road map for the future of innovation across the most dynamic sectors of the economy. “In a year of unprecedented challenges, the companies on this list exhibit fearlessness, ingenuity, and creativity in the face of crisis,” said Fast Company Deputy Editor David Lidsky, who oversaw the issue with Senior Editor Amy Farley.

Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies issue (March/April 2021) is now available online here, as well as in app form via iTunes and on newsstands beginning March 16, 2021. The hashtag is #FCMostInnovative.