For our Startup Spotlights, Times of Entrepreneurship scouted the most successful startups that spun out of top university competitions and programs. The impact of such awards can be many years in the making, especially in the DeepTech space.
Startup: 3D Castor
Industrial 3D printer software
Tel Aviv, Israel
Interviewee: Omer Blaier, CEO and Co-Founder of CASTOR, Tel Aviv University MBA 2017
The Coller $100K Startup Competition: 3D Castor won first place in this competition at Tel Aviv University in 2018. The prize is $100,000.
What is your elevator pitch? CASTOR is a decision support software to utilize industrial 3D printing. We allow manufacturers to decide whether to prefer 3D printing over traditional manufacturing methods when it saves them time and money, by providing technical analysis and cost-saving advice for a full machine design.
What should we know about you? CASTOR was founded in 2017 by Omer Blaier (CEO) and Elad Schiller (CTO). The idea for the company was born after Omer worked in the field of 3D printing for a few years and discovered that manufacturers are struggling to stay up to speed with the leaps of 3D printing technology and lack the in-house expertise to make informed decisions and take advantage of the technology.
What are you looking for?
As we are refining our product market fit, we are looking for more early adapters to use our software, as well as an investment that suits this stage.
Why should someone invest in you?
We have already analyzed close to 30,000 parts and received feedback from more than 80 users from all over the world, during a year and a half of beta phase. We managed to have a lot of traction and in less than 10 months we already generated revenue from Fortune 500 companies.
Is there a clear evidence of success you would like to share?
One of our success stories is the case with Stanley Black & Decker, a giant manufacturing company. CASTOR found the first 3D printed metal part for Stanley Engineered Fastening (a Division of Stanley Black & Decker) and helped the company achieve 50% cost reduction and eight weeks lead time saving.
Number of employees: 12 employees
Followup funding: $2.3M. The investors in the company’s seed round were TAU Ventures, Chartered Group, and Evonik Venture Capital.
If your startup had a superpower, what would it be?
We have an exceptionally dedicated team, on a professional and personal level. CASTOR’s Co-founders Omer and Elad are longtime friends from the Israeli Air Force, both served as combat soldiers in unit 669 and stuck ever since. They both have years of experience, each in his field of expertise, plus a strong background of entrepreneurship. Today our team consists of 12 talented and passionate employees, and it keeps growing.
If you have a Startup Spotlight to suggest, please contact Shirly Piperno, [email protected]. To subscribe to Times of E’s free weekly email for advance notice of spotlights, sign up here: www.timesofe.com/introduction.
