What Nanoscribe does

Nanoscribe GmbH & Co. KG is a Germany-based manufacturer of high-resolution 3D laser lithography systems built on proprietary Two-Photon Polymerization (2PP) technology. Founded in 2007 as a spin-off from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and now part of the LAB14 Group, the company pioneered the commercialization of 2PP-based additive manufacturing and currently operates with over 100 employees from offices in Germany (Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen headquarters), China (Shanghai), and the United States. As of December 2025, Nanoscribe had installed 400 systems in over 30 countries, marking an explicit transition from academic tooling into industrial supply chains.

The company's Quantum X platform comprises four purpose-built systems — Quantum X shape (universal high-resolution 3D printer), Quantum X align (nanoprecision-aligned optics printer), Quantum X bio (3D bioprinter for life sciences), and Quantum X litho (2.5D grayscale lithography system) — supported by proprietary technologies including Two-Photon Grayscale Lithography (2GL®) and Aligned 2-Photon Lithography (A2PL®). These enable feature sizes down to 100 nm, surface roughness ≤ 5 nm Ra, and up to 60-fold faster fabrication than conventional methods. The platform is monetized through enterprise hardware sales (consultation-based multi-year contracts), a captive consumables stream of proprietary photoresins (IP-S, IP-Dip2, IPX-Clear, GP-Silica, etc.), software subscriptions (DeScribeX, GrayScribeX, nanoPrintX, nanoConnectX), and professional services delivered via direct sales in core markets plus a certified distributor network elsewhere.

Nanoscribe serves four primary verticals: research institutions and universities, photonics and optics manufacturers, life sciences and biomedical organizations, and semiconductor manufacturers, with an emerging presence in inertial fusion energy target fabrication. Its customer base includes named industrial adopters such as Opti-Cal GmbH, PHIX Photonics Assembly, and Printoptix, alongside a long tail of academic users. The business model combines high-margin, low-volume enterprise hardware sales with a growing recurring revenue base tied to proprietary consumables and software.

Name

Nanoscribe

Legal name

Nanoscribe GmbH & Co. KG

Website

https://nanoscribe.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Nanoscribe GmbH & Co. KG is a German manufacturer of Two-Photon Polymerization-based 3D laser lithography systems and proprietary photoresins, serving research institutions, photonics manufacturers, semiconductor firms, and biomedical organizations across 30+ countries with its Quantum X platform.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

High-Resolution 3D Microfabrication Equipment

NAICS

Semiconductor Machinery Manufacturing (333242), Research and Development in Nanotechnology (541713)

SIC

Printing Trades Machinery & Equipment (3555), Optical Instruments & Lenses (3827), Miscellaneous Chemical Products (2890)

akta.pro primary industry

Micro/Nanoscale & Precision 3D Printers (Two-Photon, Micro-SLA) (IMAAAAAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Photoresists & Lithography Materials (Resists, Developers, Strippers) (IMAEAKAB), 3D Printers (Additive Manufacturing) (HDACAEAH)

Keywords

• 3D laser lithography
• Two-Photon Polymerization
• High-resolution 3D printing
• Microfabrication systems
• Photonic packaging

Headquarters

HQ city

Karlsruhe

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. 3D Printing Hardware Systems: Sale of Quantum X platform systems including Quantum X shape, Quantum X align, Quantum X bio, and Quantum X litho. Systems range from high-resolution 3D printers for research to precision optics manufacturing systems. Enterprise sales model with consultation and demonstrations.
2. Printing Materials and Photoresins: Sale of proprietary photoresins and printing materials including IP-S, IP-Dip2, IPX-M, IPX-Q, IP-PDMS, IP-Visio, IPX-Clear, IPX-S, IPX-M, and GP-Silica. Also partner materials from BIO INX and Advanced BioMatrix for bioprinting applications.
3. Software Licenses: Software solutions including DeScribeX, GrayScribeX, nanoPrintX, and nanoConnectX for print job development, 3D alignment, and remote system control. Provided as integrated solutions with hardware.
4. Service and Support: Technical support, training, and customer success services. Access to NanoGuide online knowledge base, customer-exclusive device knowledge database, and microfabrication experience centers.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Nanoscribe designs, manufactures, and sells high-resolution 3D printing and grayscale lithography systems (the Quantum X platform) based on proprietary Two-Photon Polymerization (2PP) technology. Its offerings include hardware systems (Quantum X shape, Quantum X align, Quantum X bio, Quantum X litho), proprietary photoresins and printing materials, application software (DeScribeX, GrayScribeX, nanoPrintX, nanoConnectX), and turnkey process-line solutions serving research institutions and industrial manufacturers in photonics, optics, semiconductor, and life sciences.

Product overview

Nanoscribe offers a platform-plus-modules architecture centered on the Quantum X series, comprising four specialized systems: Quantum X shape (universal high-resolution 3D printer), Quantum X align (high-precision optics printer with alignment capabilities), Quantum X bio (high-resolution 3D bioprinter for life sciences), and Quantum X litho (2.5D grayscale lithography system). The platform is powered by proprietary Two-Photon Polymerization (2PP), Two-Photon Grayscale Lithography (2GL), and Aligned 2-Photon Lithography (A2PL) technologies. Supporting the hardware are specialized print sets (SF, MF, LF, XLF for different scales), software tools (DeScribeX, GrayScribeX, nanoPrintX, nanoConnectX), application-specific photoresins (IP-S, IP-Dip2, IP-PDMS, IPX-Clear, GP-Silica), and bioprinting materials from partners (BIO INX, Advanced BioMatrix). The company also provides turnkey process-line solutions for industrial scaling.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Quantum X shape High-resolution 3D printer based on Two-Photon Polymerization (2PP) for rapid prototyping and wafer-scale batch production of complex 2.5D and 3D shapes across nano- to centimeter scales with submicron precision.
• Quantum X align High-precision 3D optics printer with Aligned 2-Photon Lithography (A2PL) for nanoprecision alignment on fibers, chips, and wafers, enabling low-loss photonic coupling for optics manufacturing and photonics packaging.
• Quantum X bio High-resolution 3D bioprinter for tissue engineering, microfluidics, and life sciences applications with temperature/humidity control, HEPA-filtered airflow, and sterile printing environment.
• Quantum X litho 2.5D grayscale lithography system powered by Two-Photon Grayscale Lithography (2GL) for high-throughput microfabrication, rapid prototyping, patterning, master template fabrication, and wafer-scale production.
• Turnkey Process-Line Solution Comprehensive assessment, optimization, and scaling of customer designs for industrial production with reliable metrics, leveraging Nanoscribe's microfabrication expertise.
• 2PP Printing Materials (Photoresins) Proprietary photoresins and printing materials for high-resolution 2PP printing, including IP-S, IP-Dip2, IPX-M, IPX-Q, IP-PDMS, IP-Visio, IPX-Clear, and GP-Silica (glass nanocomposite).
• Bioprinting Materials Bioprinting materials including BIO INX (Hydrobio INX N400) and Advanced BioMatrix (PhotoGel GelMA, PhotoHA, PhotoDextran) for live-cell printing, tissue engineering, and biofabrication.

Quantifiable outcome

• Up to 60-fold faster fabrication compared to conventional methods with 2GL technology
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• LAB14 GroupcoreOthersLAB14 Group is the parent company of Nanoscribe, uniting eight high-tech companies focused on nanofabrication, microfabrication, and surface analysis. Nanoscribe joined the group to leverage complementary products and services for advanced manufacturing solutions.
• PHIX Photonics AssemblymajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPHIX provides photonics assembly services using Nanoscribe's Quantum X align system for manufacturing lensed fiber arrays and lensed chips. Joint go-to-market for photonics packaging solutions.
• PrintoptixmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrintoptix provides micro-optics manufacturing services and lens design expertise, collaborating with Nanoscribe on optical component fabrication including stacked lens systems for applications like endomicroscopy.
• Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerKIT is the founding institution where Nanoscribe originated as a spinoff. Ongoing research collaboration including development of tailored atomic force microscope probes using Nanoscribe's 3D laser lithography technology.
• MIT.nano ConsortiumminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLAB14 Group (parent company) joined MIT.nano Consortium enabling collaboration between LAB14's industry network and MIT.nano researchers. Contributed equipment including VPG 300 DI maskless stepper from Heidelberg Instruments.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• UpNano: UpNano (Austria) is a direct competitor in two-photon polymerization (2PP)-based high-resolution 3D printing, offering systems like the NanoOne for research and industrial microfabrication, with overlapping applications in microfluidics, optics, and biomedical engineering.
• Heidelberg Instruments: Heidelberg Instruments manufactures maskless lithography systems (DWL, µMLA) used in micro/nanofabrication. It is the closest direct peer to Nanoscribe in maskless, high-resolution patterning and is an adjacent LAB14 Group company; both sell precision lithography tools to photonics, MEMS, and semiconductor R&D customers.
• Microlight3D: Microlight3D (France) develops micro-scale 2PP 3D printing systems for research and industry. Directly comparable to Nanoscribe in technology (two-photon polymerization), product category, and target customers in photonics, microfluidics, and MEMS.

Emerging players

• Aspect Biosystems: Aspect Biosystems is a bioprinting company developing 3D-printed tissue therapeutics. Comparable as an emerging peer in 3D bioprinting — a primary growth vertical for Nanoscribe's Quantum X bio — though focused on therapeutic applications rather than research tools.
• BICO (CELLINK): BICO (parent of CELLINK) is a bioconvergence company offering bioprinters, bioinks, and tissue engineering workflows. Comparable as a partner (Nanoscribe and CELLINK have a Bioprinting Model Library collaboration) and as an emerging peer in bioprinting ecosystems.

Broad incumbents

• Jenoptik: Jenoptik is a photonics and semiconductor equipment incumbent offering optical systems, laser processing, and micro-optics manufacturing. Comparable as a broader photonics industry incumbent and potential acquirer/competitor in micro-optics manufacturing where Nanoscribe's Quantum X align operates.
• EV Group: EV Group is an established semiconductor and MEMS equipment incumbent offering wafer-level nanoimprint lithography and bonding systems. Comparable as a strategic partner (Nanoscribe 2GL masters replicated via EVG NIL tools) and as an adjacent lithography equipment vendor to the same photonics/semiconductor customers.
• Stratasys: Stratasys is a major industrial 3D printing incumbent (FDM, PolyJet, stereolithography). Comparable as a broad additive manufacturing peer addressing prototyping and production customers, although operating at significantly lower resolution than Nanoscribe's 2PP platform.
• 3D Systems: 3D Systems is a broad additive manufacturing incumbent with a portfolio spanning polymer, metal, and bioprinting systems. Comparable as a category peer in 3D printing hardware, though Nanoscribe's sub-micron 2PP technology targets a much more specialized precision niche.
• SUSS MicroTec: SUSS MicroTec manufactures lithography, coating, and bonding equipment for semiconductor and MEMS manufacturing. Comparable as a broader incumbent in mask alignment, lithography, and wafer processing sold to overlapping semiconductor, photonics, and advanced packaging customers.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks1 record

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/NanoscribeGmbH
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/nanoscribe
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/nanoscribe

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

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 Nanoscribe