Jan 01, 2025 
Peter Mercelis is a medical device and 3D printing entrepreneur who has been active in 3D printing industry since 2003. After his PhD on 3D printing of titanium, he became cofounder and CEO of LayerWise, a pioneer in titanium 3D printing. LayerWise quickly became a market leader in medical device and high-tech metal 3D printing. After being acquired by 3D Systems, Peter worked a few more years at 3D systems, shaping the medical division of 3D Systems. Since 2018, Peter returned to his entrepreneurial roots and became active as investor/advisor in several 3D printing and healthcare startups (Aerosint, Antleron, Amnovis, Oqton, Additive Lab and Onicor). In 2022 Peter co-founded Replasia, a startup focused on developing innovative hardware and software solutions in the hip preservation domain. Join Peter and a group of investors on Jan 9th, focusing on the 2025 investment outlook for healthcare 3D printing and bioprinting space.
When was the first encounter you had with 3D printing? What was that experience like? What were you thinking at that moment?
Peter: My first encounter was during my engineering studies in 2000; I learned about SLA and metal sintering and got so intrigued by the endless possibilities that I decided to start a PhD in metal 3D printing after graduation.
What inspired you to start your journey in 3D printing?
Peter: I am the kind of engineer that could not easily choose between becoming an engineer or a physician. 3D printing seemed like the ideal technology to innovate in healthcare, which allowed me to combine my two fields of interest.
Who inspired you the most along this journey in 3D printing ?
Peter: Prof. Jean-Pierre Kruth from Leuven University, who dedicated his academic life to 3D printing technology, and Fried Vancraen (founder of Materialise), who dedicated his entrepreneurial life to 3D printing and healthcare. Both worked together a lot in Leuven, Belgium, where I studied, worked, and started my first 3D printing company LayerWise.
What motivates you the most for your work?
Peter: I want to focus on meaningful innovations in healthcare. Those not only matter to patients, those will also be the ones that can be turned in to sustainable profitable organizations.
What is/are the biggest obstacle(s) in your line of work? If you have conquered them, what were your solutions?
Peter: Regulatory hurdles. By now, we know well what needs to be done to bring a medical device, whether hardware or software, to the market, but that was a learning curve over the last few years. I assume reimbursement challenges will be the next obstacle after that.
What do you think is (are) the biggest challenge(s) in 3D Printing/bio-printing? What do you think the potential solution(s) is (are)?
Peter: I do not see more challenges for 3D printing than for any other manufacturing technology. For me, 3D printing is just a manufacturing technology. But it’s a manufacturing technology that offers many possibilities to create innovative products and business models in healthcare.
If you are granted three wishes by a higher being, what would they be?
Peter:
- Good health for all humans on earth
- Having 48 hours in a day
- Therefore, having much more time to ride my horse 😉
What advice would you give to a smart driven college student in the “real world”? What bad advice have you heard they should ignore?
Peter:
- Do not raise too much money from the beginning
- I have seen startups do crazy things just because of the fact that they had been able to raise so much money; you can do that only once. If you learned to spend you money cautiously, it will help you a lot when your startup becomes mature.
- “Focus on just one thing”
- It’s the advice given to every startup founder. I ignored it with my first startup. I totally agree that you need to give every product/service line enough focus and attention, but some risk mitigation by diversification is not bad I believe, even for a startup.
What’s your favorite book you read this year and why? Alternatively, what’s your favorite book of all times you read and why?
Peter: “Sapiens” by Harari, because it gives so much insight in the origin of us humans, but also explains a lot about human behavior.
Related Links:
Pitch3D: Most Innovative Medical 3D Printing Startups 2024
Angel Investor in Life Sciences: Putting Our Money Where Our Passions Lie
Newborns, Warriors, Unicorns, Winners: Commercialization of Healthcare 3D Printing In 2020
Healthcare 3D Printing Innovations: Pitch3D 2023 Highlights
Pitch3D 2022: Newborns, Warriors, and The Changing World Order
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