Advanced Manufacturing · Defense Industrial Base
Velo3D
Metal additive manufacturing systems and production services for mission-critical parts.
VELO
NASDAQ
Velo3D is shifting from selling metal printers toward operating a combined equipment, software and production-services platform. Defense demand now supplies several of its largest disclosed opportunities, but the company remains loss-making, dependent on outside capital and subject to a formal going-concern warning.
Velo3D designs and assembles industrial laser powder bed fusion systems that build complex metal components one thin layer at a time. Its integrated platform combines print-preparation software, Sapphire-family printers, automated process controls and in-process quality monitoring. The objective is repeatable production of parts with internal channels, thin walls and other geometries that are difficult or uneconomic to make through conventional casting, forging or machining.
The national-security value is supply-chain substitution. A qualified digital design can be produced on compatible machines closer to the point of need, reducing reliance on scarce tooling, aging suppliers or long overseas lead times. That promise is not automatic. Each defense part still requires material characterization, process qualification, inspection and customer acceptance before it can enter a weapon-system supply chain.
Velo3D also sells Rapid Production Solutions, or RPS, for customers that need finished parts and engineering support without buying and operating their own printers. This service model gives the company a path to recurring production revenue, but it also requires working capital, trained operators, post-processing capability and sustained utilization of an expanding factory footprint.
Sapphire, Sapphire 1MZ, Sapphire XC and Sapphire XC 1MZ are industrial metal printers built around laser powder bed fusion. The larger XC systems support parts up to roughly 600 millimeters in diameter, while 1MZ configurations extend the vertical build envelope to one meter. The installed fleet targets propulsion, turbomachinery, heat exchangers, defense sustainment and other high-value applications.
Flow prepares build files and process instructions. Assure records machine and build data for quality control. Intelligent Fusion combines software, sensors, calibration and process controls to maintain print consistency. Velo3D markets the resulting Golden Print File as a portable production recipe that can run across qualified Sapphire systems without redesigning the part for each machine.
RPS combines application engineering, design-for-additive work, material development, printing, post-processing and qualification support. Forge 1, the company's nearly 289,000-square-foot Livermore campus, is planned as the principal production and system-assembly center. It has infrastructure for more than 40 large-format systems and could expand beyond 100 systems over time. The campus opened in July 2026 but is entering service in phases and is not yet operating at scale.
Velo3D was founded in 2014 by Benny Buller and delivered its first Sapphire system in 2018. The company built its early reputation around support-free printing, complex internal geometries and repeatable production for rocket, aviation, energy and semiconductor customers. It became public in September 2021 through a merger with special-purpose acquisition company JAWS Spitfire Acquisition Corporation and initially traded on the New York Stock Exchange as VLD.
Commercial growth did not produce a durable financial model. Repeated losses, cash pressure, debt and execution problems drove strategic reviews, leadership changes and extreme dilution. The New York Stock Exchange suspended trading in September 2024. Velo3D moved to OTCQX as VLDX, completed a 1-for-15 reverse split in July 2025 and began Nasdaq trading as VELO on 19 AUG 2025.
Dr. Arun Jeldi became chief executive in December 2024 after an affiliate he controls acquired Velo3D debt and completed a debt-for-equity exchange. By March 2026, entities affiliated with Arrayed Notes Acquisition Corp. and Jeldi beneficially owned 48.6% of outstanding shares. Subsequent equity issuance reduced that percentage, but Jeldi remains chief executive, board chairman and the company's most influential shareholder.
The current strategy couples printer sales with RPS manufacturing, defense qualification work and distributed production partnerships. Velo3D opened Forge 1 in July 2026, expanded its Mears Machine relationship and began executing Department of Defense work aimed at munitions bottlenecks, legacy-part sustainment and ground-vehicle supply chains.
Velo3D generated $20.7 million in Q2 2026 revenue, up 52.3% from $13.6 million one year earlier. Printer and parts sales supplied $19.0 million, or about 92% of quarterly revenue. Support services contributed $1.5 million and other revenue contributed $0.2 million. Gross margin improved to 21.5% from negative 11.7% as selling prices, product mix and factory efficiency improved.
The company reported $29 million of Q2 bookings and ended June with $31 million of backlog. Backlog is an order indicator, not guaranteed revenue. Delivery timing, qualification milestones, customer acceptance, funding and cancellation rights can change the amount or timing ultimately recognized.
Management raised full-year 2026 revenue guidance to $65 million–$75 million and continues to target gross margin above 30% during the second half. Its principal growth levers are Sapphire system deliveries, RPS part production, Forge 1 utilization, Mears fleet expansion and conversion of defense development agreements into recurring production orders.
The constraint is capital. Velo3D recorded an $11.5 million Q2 net loss and used $39.5 million of cash in operations during the first half. The $91.1 million cash balance was rebuilt largely through equity issuance. During the first half, the company raised about $50 million gross through a registered direct offering and $59.4 million gross through its at-the-market program.
| Filed | Form | Description | Link |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 AUG 2026 | 10-Q | Quarter ended 30 JUN 2026; financial statements, liquidity, contracts, dilution and controls. | View → |
| 11 AUG 2026 | 8-K | Q2 2026 results and increased full-year revenue guidance. | Exhibit → |
| 15 MAY 2026 | 424B5 | Prospectus supplement for up to $100 million of at-the-market common-stock sales. | View → |
| 27 APR 2026 | DEF 14A | 2026 proxy; directors, executive compensation, ownership and related-party disclosures. | View → |
| 31 MAR 2026 | 10-K | Fiscal 2025 annual report; business, audited financials, risks and controls. | View → |
| Date | Awarding Body | Program / Scope | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22 DEC 2025 | Defense Innovation Unit · U.S. Navy · industry prime | Project FORGE Other Transaction Agreement to prototype and qualify additive alternatives for a bottleneck affecting a weapon-system program of record. | $32.6M total stated value | Base, option and funded split not publicly disclosed |
| 30 MAR 2026 | Defense Logistics Agency | Joint Additive Manufacturing Acceptability IV Pilot Parts Program; laser powder bed fusion parts for joint-force sustainment. | Up to $9.8M | Five-year IDIQ; task orders govern funding |
| 13 JAN 2026 | U.S. Army DEVCOM Ground Vehicle Systems Center | Cooperative Research and Development Agreement to qualify additive alternatives for combat-vehicle and military-system supply chains. | Undisclosed | Development and qualification; not a procurement award |
| 10 NOV 2025 | Customer not disclosed · supports U.S. Navy Maritime Industrial Base | Sales and service agreements to develop and qualify copper-nickel alloy for Sapphire systems and ship-repair applications. | $6.0M stated agreement value | Direct customer, funding and option structure not disclosed |
| 04 JUN 2025 | NAVAIR · NAWCAD · Fleet Readiness Center East | Cooperative Research and Development Agreement for materials characterization and flight-system applications. | Undisclosed | Research agreement; no procurement value disclosed |
| Date | Insider / Role | Type | Shares | Price | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 29 JUN 2026 | Arun Jeldi · Chief Executive and Chairman | Option grant | 964,474 | $18.40 exercise | No cash transaction |
| 27 JUN 2026 | Stefan Krause · Director | RSU vesting | 3,188 | $0 acquisition | Non-cash vesting |
| 27 JUN 2026 | Adrian Keppler · Director | RSU vesting | 3,188 | $0 acquisition | Non-cash vesting |
| 27 JUN 2026 | Jason Lloyd · Lead Independent Director | RSU vesting | 3,188 | $0 acquisition | Non-cash vesting |
Velo3D has found a strategically credible problem to solve: qualified U.S. production of hard-to-source metal parts. The company has not yet proved that this problem can support its factory plan, margins and capital needs at the same time.
The bull case is operational. Revenue is rising, quarterly gross margin turned positive, backlog reached $31 million and defense work moved from general experimentation toward named vehicles tied to munitions throughput and sustainment. Forge 1 can unite printer assembly, production, post-processing, inspection and customer acceptance in one campus. If qualified parts move into recurring production, RPS can add higher-frequency revenue beside lumpy printer deliveries.
The bear case is financial and institutional. Velo3D remains deeply unprofitable, management still reports substantial doubt about continuing as a going concern and disclosure controls remain ineffective. The company financed its improved cash balance by issuing stock, leaving investors exposed to continued dilution. Forge 1 adds lease, commissioning and equipment obligations before utilization is proven.
Decision-makers should watch four tests: funded orders under the $32.6 million Project FORGE agreement, task-order activity under the DLA IDIQ, Forge 1 system installation and qualification, and whether second-half gross margin exceeds 30% without another step-change in dilution. Passing those tests would show that defense qualification is turning into repeatable manufacturing rather than remaining a collection of promising pilots.
Competition divides into two lanes: companies selling large-format metal additive systems and manufacturers selling qualified finished parts. Velo3D increasingly competes in both.
Velo3D's strongest technical claim is machine-to-machine repeatability across an integrated hardware and software stack. If a customer can qualify a Golden Print File once and move it among compatible systems without extensive re-engineering, switching and scale costs fall. That matters for distributed defense production because a validated file is useful only if the receiving machines can reproduce the same material and geometry within the approved process window.
The company also combines domestic system assembly, large-format build capability, application engineering and in-house part production. Project FORGE and the Army, Navy and DLA relationships can produce qualification data and procurement familiarity that a general industrial printer vendor lacks.
The moat remains conditional. Patents and process knowledge do not eliminate competition from better-capitalized equipment suppliers or specialized production houses. Defense qualification is typically part-specific and process-specific, which can create switching costs but also slows Velo3D's own revenue conversion. The real moat will be measured in recurring qualified production, fleet utilization and customer renewal, not in the number of cooperative agreements announced.
Management concluded in the Q2 2026 Form 10-Q that substantial doubt about Velo3D's ability to continue as a going concern remains. The company expects to require additional financing despite the June cash balance. First-half equity raises materially increased shares outstanding and a $100 million at-the-market authorization leaves further dilution available.
Disclosure controls were ineffective at 30 JUN 2026. Unremediated material weaknesses cover staffing and control environment, inventory, contract assets and liabilities, financial-statement preparation, stock compensation, leased-equipment depreciation and information-technology controls. These weaknesses increase reporting and governance risk even though management says remediation is underway.
The campus is not yet operating at scale. Commissioning systems, qualifying processes, hiring skilled workers and adding post-processing and inspection capacity will consume capital. Delays, cost overruns or weak utilization could turn planned capacity into fixed-cost pressure.
The DLA vehicle requires task orders. Cooperative research agreements are not production awards. Project FORGE's disclosed $32.6 million total value does not publicly separate funded work, options or milestone timing. Defense schedules can move with qualification results, appropriations, shutdowns and program priorities.
Two customers represented 17.1% and 15.8% of Q2 revenue. One customer represented 18.9% of accounts receivable at quarter-end. Jeldi combines the chief executive and chairman roles and controls a large block through affiliated entities, creating influence over strategy, financing and board outcomes.
Q2 2026 revenue: Customer 1, 17.1%; Customer 2, 15.8%. Accounts receivable: Customer 1, 18.9%. Project and customer identities were not disclosed in the Form 10-Q.