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Fuel3D, the company that makes a high resolution scanner that transforms objects in the real world to 3D models with geometric accuracy and color, has received $2.6 million in early stage funding, TechCrunch reported. Ben Gill of London-based Chimera Partners led the group of private investors who supported the startup. The recent funding round came after Fuel3D was able to raise $300,000 in its crowdfunding campaign on the Kickstarter platform.

Plans are also on the way to follow up the most recent round with a mezzanine financing round which is expected to happen before the summer. Talks of an early initial public offering are also rife, which could happen as early as next year, the report said.

Gill said in a statement about the funding, "We have established a core group of shareholders that have taken a long term view on the technology and management of Fuel 3D Technologies. The 3D printing market is the focus of significant investor interest at the moment, and Fuel 3D's disruptive technology feeds that interest from a unique angle. We are actively exploring a number of interesting financing options, including the possibility of an early IPO."

According to Fuel3D, the immense response it got from its Kickstarter campaign helped get the attention of the broader investment community. The crowdfunding campaign initially only targeted $75,000 but it was able to gather four times that amount, the report said.

In a statement, Fuel 3D Technologies Chief Executive Officer Stuart Mead said, "We had a phenomenal response to our product on Kickstarter and the attention this generated led to many enquiries from the broader investment community. We have always been confident that our technology has the potential to revolutionize the industry and are delighted to have found a group of ambitious and well-resourced investors who share our vision."

MeshUP and Fuel3D from Uformia on Vimeo.