World Economic Forum today announced its selection of the worlds 30 most promising Technology Pioneers 2017. Companies were selected for their potential to significantly impact business and society through new technologies, and advance the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Desktop Metal, a company committed to making metal 3D printing an essential tool for engineers and manufacturers around the world, made it to the selection based on its contributions in the field of metal 3D printing.

BURLINGTON, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Desktop Metal, a company accelerating the transformation of manufacturing with end-to-end metal 3D printing solutions, was selected among hundreds of candidates as one of the World Economic Forums "technology pioneers", a selection of the worlds most innovative companies. Pioneers were recognized for their potential to significantly impact business and society through new technologies and advance the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Desktop Metal is changing the rules of traditional metal manufacturing solutions with new approaches to metal 3D printing that reduce costs and significantly increase speed, safety, and print quality from prototyping through mass production.

The World Economic Forums Technology Pioneers community are early-stage companies from around the world that are involved in the design, development and deployment of new technologies and innovations, and are poised to have a significant impact on business and society. The 30 technology pioneers that made it to the final selection are active in artificial intelligence, augmented reality, autonomous vehicles, biotechnology, blockchain, cybersecurity, the (industrial) internet of things, and other pioneering technologies.

Following its selection as Technology Pioneer, CEO and Co-founder Ric Fulop of Desktop Metal, will be participating in the Annual Meeting in Davos, in January 2018, and will continue to participate in dedicated Technology Pioneer community events in the course of the next two years.

"We welcome Desktop Metal in this group of extraordinary pioneers," says Fulvia Montresor, Head of Technology Pioneers at the World Economic Forum. "Desktop Metal has made great strides in increasing the speed, range of materials and accessibility of metal 3D printing. It has the potential to greatly impact product innovation, customization, and invention."

"We are honored to join the prestigious roster of recipients of the World Economic Forum Tech Pioneers program," says Ric Fulop, CEO and Co-founder of Desktop Metal. "WEF has been a leader in the conceptualization and realization of Industry 4.0, and Desktop Metal is looking forward to working with them to advance industry adoption of metal additive manufacturing."

"Until now, metal 3D printing has failed to meet todays manufacturing needs due to high costs, slow processes and hazardous materials," says Fulop. "With a team of some of the worlds leading experts in materials science, engineering and innovation, Desktop Metal is committed to making metal 3D printing accessible for engineers, marking a fundamental shift in how products will be made. We believe this acceleration of product development and manufacturing will have far-reaching impact across industries and applications, increasing levels of product innovation, customization, and invention."

The Technology Pioneers were selected by a selection committee of more than 60 academics, entrepreneurs, venture capitalists and corporate executives. Notable members of the committee include Geoffrey Moore (Adviser, Geoffrey Moore Consulting, USA), Yossi Vardi (Chairman, International Technologies, Israel) and Lee Sang-Yup (Distinguished Professor and Dean, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Republic of Korea). The committee based its decisions on criteria including innovation, potential impact and leadership. Past recipients include Airbnb, Google, Kickstarter, Mozilla, Palantir Technologies, Scribd, Spotify, Twitter and Wikimedia.

All info on this years Technology Pioneers can be found here: http://wef.ch/techpioneers17. The full list of recognized Technology Pioneers can be viewed here. More information on past winners can be found here.

About Desktop Metal: Desktop Metal, Inc., based in Burlington, Massachusetts, is accelerating the transformation of manufacturing with end-to-end metal 3D printing solutions. Founded in 2015 by leaders in advanced manufacturing, metallurgy, and robotics, the company is addressing the unmet challenges of speed, cost and quality to make metal 3D printing an essential tool for engineers and manufacturers around the world. (www.desktopmetal.com)

About World Economic Forum: The World Economic Forum, committed to improving the state of the world, is the International Organization for Public-Private Cooperation. The Forum engages the foremost political, business and other leaders of society to shape global, regional and industry agendas. (www.weforum.org).