Karl Marx once posited in his work “Das Kapital” that true liberation from capitalist constraints requires workers to possess ownership of the production process. It appears that vision may be approaching realization. Wikifactory, which describes itself as a “GitHub for hardware,” recently announced the successful completion of a $3 million funding round, bringing its total funding to $4.5M in a pre-series A stage. While the investors remain anonymous, they are identified as “impact investors.” The collaborative platform asserts its capability to facilitate the remote creation of a vast range of physical products.

The core principle driving Wikifactory’s strategy – the “impact” element – centers on reducing the need for extensive shipping and minimizing the costs associated with maintaining large inventories.

The newly acquired investment will be used to develop a manufacturing marketplace focused on quality assurance, and to establish mirrored servers in China, thereby expanding access to the hardware resources available in Shenzhen. Currently accessible in four languages, Wikifactory plans to broaden its language support to 20 following a Series A funding round anticipated next year.

Furthermore, the company’s newly launched Collaborative CAD Tool, featuring integrated chat functionality, enables designers, engineers, manufacturers, and businesses to engage in remote collaboration on virtually any CAD model, spanning the entire process from initial concept to finalized prototype.

This functionality empowers product developers to examine and discuss 3D models in real-time, supporting over 30 different file formats. The goal is to make product lifecycle management (PLM) software, typically a significant expense, more widely accessible.

According to the startup, since May 2019, approximately 70,000 product developers across 190 countries have utilized Wikifactory to create items such as robotics, electric vehicles, and drones, alongside innovations in agritech, sustainable energy appliances, lab equipment, 3D printers, smart furniture, and biotech fashion materials. The platform also facilitated the production of essential medical supplies, including crucial PPE and ventilators, during periods of global supply chain disruption.

Nicolai Peitersen, co-founder and executive chairman of Wikifactory, stated: “Large-scale global collaboration in the creation of physical goods is now occurring for both open-source and proprietary projects. The global manufacturing sector, valued at USD 35 trillion, is finally experiencing its digital transformation. Online collaboration and distributed manufacturing are becoming increasingly common. We refer to this as the internet of production.”

He further explained that the strains on global supply chains caused by the pandemic have underscored the critical need for a robust, alternative online infrastructure capable of supporting local prototyping and production, while maintaining high standards and prioritizing sustainability – a need that “has never been more pressing.”