China's VMP raises $46M to take its metal 3D-printing powders global
What's the deal? Jiangsu Vilory Advanced Materials (VMP) has raised $46 million in a late-stage venture round at a $310 million valuation, announced in December 2025. The Chinese company makes metal powders for additive manufacturing, or 3D printing, and posted $51 million in revenue.
What's the endgame? VMP wants to become a "globally leading supplier of high-end metal additive manufacturing powders," according to global sales manager Zhang Lei. It produces steels, titanium, superalloys, copper, and cobalt-chromium for aerospace, medical, and consumer electronics customers.
Why now? China's 15th Five-Year Plan prioritises a vertically integrated, China-only supply chain of advanced materials, including specialty steels and high-temperature alloys. That agenda points to heavy investment in the alloys underpinning additive manufacturing — and VMP is positioned to absorb it.
The backstory: VMP began in 2015 as a spin-off of Xuzhou Mining Group, a state enterprise owned by the Jiangsu Provincial People's Government. It started with 30 staff in an old ceramics factory, targeting "bottleneck 3D printing materials." A single-point focus on tool steels won its first break, after eight R&D iterations got its 18Ni300-grade steel accepted by a mould-tooling firm.
Today VMP runs 30 powder lines on equipment it builds itself, backed by 80 R&D staff and 200 patents. It holds ISO 9001, AS9100D, and ISO 13485 certifications, plus CNAS laboratory accreditation.
What could go wrong? Chinese powder producers have traditionally had little impact on the global additive market, typically offering low-cost powders with limited settings or application support. VMP's second step — placing domestic high-end powders into aerospace and medical, the sectors with the highest barriers — is unproven.
The signal: Lei frames VMP's ambition in two steps. The first is done: over a decade, China's metal 3D-printing powder market shifted from 90% import-dependent to 90% domestically supplied. This round is a bet on the harder second step — competing abroad — as Beijing's industrial policy pushes to turn national "little giant" firms into global leaders.
Image credit: Oregon State University
