Exclusive: Shapeways CEO Talks SPAC Deal, Partnerships, Market Opportunity On 'SPACs Attack'

Shapeways, a leader in digital manufacturing, and special purpose acquisition company Galileo Acquisition Corp GLEO announced Wednesday that the two companies entered into a definitive merger agreement.

Gregory Kress, CEO of Shapeways, appeared on Benzinga's YouTube show "SPACs Attack" for an exclusive interview Friday. 

Shapeways provides access to high-quality, industrial-grade additive manufacturing, Kress said. 

The company has delivered over 21 million individual parts to 1 million customers in 160 countries, the CEO told Benzinga. 

Shapeways has developed a manufacturing operating system that enables the company to deliver high quality products economically, he said. 

Kress On Manufacturing Partnerships: The medical, aerospace, industrial and automotive industries are aggressively leaning into additive manufacturing, Kress said, adding that companies in these industries are looking for partners to facilitate the process — and "Shapeways is one of those partners."

Shapeways signed a partnership with Desktop Metal Inc DM that enables the company to help bring its partner's technologies to market, Kress told Benzinga. 

The Shapeways CEO compared the company's complementary position in the space to the way that Amazon Web Services complements its customers. 

Market Expansion: The company has about 90 materials and finishes, the Shapeways CEO said, adding that the company plans to expand to over 250 materials and finishes over the next five years. 

The digital manufacturing market is expected to grow from $39 billion today to $120 billion by 2030 with additive manufacturing fueling the growth, Kress said. 

The SPAC Merger: The Shapeways CEO described the SPAC route to the public markets as a streamlined process that gave the company a great opportunity to partner with an "incredible SPAC sponsor."

Upon closing of the transaction, the combined company, Shapeways Holdings, Inc., will have an implied initial enterprise value of approximately $410 million and be listed on New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “SHPW."

Cathie Wood, the CEO and CIO of ARK Investment Management has become quite popular in recent years as her funds continue to outperform. 

She announced the purchase of around 1 million shares of Galileo Acquisition Corp for the ARK Autonomous Technology & Robotics ETF ARKQ over the last two days.

Galileo Acquisition Corp was up 0.39% at 10.17 at last check Friday.