What Silhouette America, Inc. does

Silhouette America, Inc., operating as a d/b/a of Graphtec America Inc. (a Utah corporation wholly owned by Japan's Graphtec Corporation), is a consumer crafting equipment and software company headquartered in Lindon, Utah. It designs, markets, and supports a portfolio of electronic cutting machines — including the CAMEO 5α, CAMEO 5α Plus, CAMEO Pro MK-II, Portrait 4, and Curio 2 — alongside heat press machines (CloChé) and a personal stamp maker (Mint). The company's core technology stack centers on the proprietary Silhouette Studio design software (available in Basic, Designer, Designer Plus, and Business editions as perpetual licenses at $49.99-$149.99), the Silhouette Connect plug-in for Adobe Illustrator and CorelDRAW, and hardware-specific features such as AutoBlade, PixScan, the four-point registration mark system, Power Carriage, and Electrostatic Mat technology that enable Print & Cut workflows on materials up to 15 inches wide.

Name

Silhouette America, Inc.

Legal name

Graphtec America Inc.

Website

https://silhouetteamerica.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Silhouette America, Inc. is a US subsidiary of Japan's Graphtec Corporation that designs and sells electronic cutting machines, proprietary design software, and crafting materials (vinyl, heat transfer, mats, blades) to hobbyists, educators, and small businesses through direct-to-consumer e-commerce.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Crafting Machines

NAICS

Small Electrical Appliance Manufacturing (335210)

SIC

Pens, Pencils & Other Artists' Materials (3950)

akta.pro primary industry

Crafting Machines & Accessories Retail (Die-Cut, Cricut/Silhouette, 3D Pens) (CRALACAK)

Keywords

• Electronic cutting machines
• Digital crafting equipment
• Vinyl cutting tools
• Design software
• Heat press machines

Headquarters

HQ city

Lindon

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Hardware Sales: Sale of cutting machines (CAMEO 5a, CAMEO 5a Plus, Cameo Pro MK-II, Portrait 4, Curio 2), heat presses (CloChe), and stamp makers (Mint). One-time hardware purchase model.
2. Software Licenses: Silhouette Studio software sold in tiers: Basic (included with machine), Designer Edition upgrade ($49.99), Designer Plus upgrade ($74.99), Business Edition upgrade ($99.99-$149.99). Perpetual license model with upgrade path.
3. Materials and Consumables: Continuous revenue from consumables including vinyl (glossy, matte, glitter, metallic), heat transfer materials (fabric, smooth, flocked, glitter, metallic, reflective), specialty materials (sticker sheets, tattoo paper, cardstock, rhinestones, magnet paper, window cling, fabric ink, sketch pens, 3D filament), and Mint stamp materials (ink, stamp kits, stamp sheets).
4. Club Silhouette Membership: Subscription membership offering 10% off products and materials, free shipping on $50+ orders, and free blade and mat 3x per year. Provides recurring revenue and customer loyalty.
5. Design Store / Marketplace: Silhouette Design Store offering 350,000+ designs for purchase and download. Commission-based marketplace for digital designs used with Silhouette machines.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Silhouette America designs, manufactures, and sells electronic cutting machines (CAMEO series, Portrait 4, Curio 2), heat presses (CloChé), and stamp makers (Mint), bundled with proprietary Silhouette Studio design software and supported by a continuous stream of consumable materials (vinyl, heat transfer, specialty materials) and a digital Design Store marketplace offering 350,000+ designs. The products target hobbyists, crafters, educators, and small businesses for DIY projects, vinyl decals, heat transfer designs, and custom merchandise creation.

Product overview

Silhouette America offers a comprehensive crafting ecosystem consisting of cutting machines (CAMEO, Portrait, Curio series), design software (Silhouette Studio, Silhouette Connect, Silhouette Web, Silhouette Go, Mint Studio, Silhouette 3D), specialty tools (AutoBlades, Heat Pens, Kraft Blades, Rotary Blade, Embossing Tools), and crafting materials (vinyl, heat transfer, specialty materials, mint stamps). The core platform is Silhouette Studio design software, which pairs with cutting machines to enable precision cutting, printing, and crafting across materials like vinyl, cardstock, fabric, and heat transfer materials. The company also offers heat press machines (CloChé) and stamp makers (Mint) as complementary product lines.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Silhouette Studio: Pro-grade design software for all Silhouette cutting machines
• Silhouette Connect
• Silhouette Web
• Silhouette Go
• Silhouette Mint
• Silhouette 3D
• Club Silhouette
• CloChe
• Cameo
• Portrait
• Curio

Products and services

• Silhouette Studio

Quantifiable outcome

• 500+ Partnered Artists contributing designs and inspiring the community
• +3 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Graphtec America Inc.coreOthersGraphtec America Inc. is the parent company doing business as (d/b/a) Silhouette America. Graphtec Corporation is the parent company based in Japan that manufactures and sells electronic cutting plotters and related products globally. Silhouette America operates as the U.S. subsidiary and consumer-facing brand for Silhouette crafting products and cutting machines.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Cricut: Cricut is the dominant direct competitor in consumer cutting machines, offering the Maker, Explore, and Joy lines plus a similar design software and materials ecosystem. It is the primary benchmark for Silhouette's product strategy, pricing, and marketplace economics.
• Sizzix: Sizzix is a long-standing die-cutting machine brand (Big Shot, Big Shot Plus) serving the same hobbyist and paper-crafting audience as Silhouette. It is a direct peer in manual/electronic die-cutting for personal and small-business crafting.
• Crafter's Companion: Crafter's Companion sells electronic cutting machines (Gemini, Spectrum) alongside crafting tools and materials to hobbyists and small businesses, mirroring Silhouette's integrated ecosystem approach. It is a UK-rooted direct competitor expanding in North America.
• Heat Press Nation: Heat Press Nation sells heat presses, vinyl cutters, and HTV supplies to hobbyists and small custom-apparel businesses. It overlaps directly with Silhouette's CloChe heat press and heat transfer material product lines.
• Xyron: Xyron manufactures craft laminators, sticker makers, and magnetic/transfer machines used by hobbyists, scrapbookers, and educators. It overlaps with Silhouette on consumable-based crafting tools for the same DIY customer base.
• Stahls': Stahls' provides heat presses, heat transfer vinyl, and custom apparel decoration equipment to small businesses and decorators. Its HTV and heat press offering directly overlaps with Silhouette's CloChe and heat transfer material lines.
• Ellison Educational: Ellison Educational makes die-cutting systems (Ellison SureCut) primarily targeting schools, teachers, and educational institutions. It overlaps directly with Silhouette's educator segment and classroom use cases for cutting-based learning projects.
• USCutter: USCutter sells vinyl cutters and cutting plotters (MH, Titan series) targeted at small business sign-making and crafting, overlapping with Silhouette's small-business segment on the Cameo Pro MK-II side of the lineup.

Broad incumbents

• Brother: Brother offers the ScanNCut line of consumer cutting machines integrated with its much broader sewing, embroidery, and printing hardware portfolio. It competes with Silhouette in cutting machines while leveraging a substantially larger global brand and retail footprint.
• Roland DGA: Roland DGA is a major manufacturer of professional vinyl cutters and print-and-cut plotters (CAMM-1, TrueVIS) with a much broader pro/industrial focus. It competes indirectly at the high end of Silhouette's Cameo Pro MK-II professional segment.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/silhouetteam
• YouTubeyoutube.com/silhouetteamerica
• Facebookfacebook.com/silhouetteglobal
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/silhouette-america-inc.
• Instagraminstagram.com/silhouetteamerica

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Silhouette America, Inc.