Tencent and Shenzhen Qianhai Venture Capital Bet on Creality3D Rushing to Become First Consumer-Grade 3D Printing Stock

Science and Technology Innovation Board Daily March 12 News (Reporter Xu Chihao), Shenzhen Chuangxiang 3D Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Chuangxiang 3D”) recently submitted an IPO prospectus to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, planning to list on the Main Board of Hong Kong, with China International Capital Corporation (CICC) as the sole sponsor.

It is noteworthy that at the end of December 2023, Chuangxiang 3D sought to list on the A-shares market and received IPO guidance from CICC. However, in August last year, the company terminated its A-share IPO guidance and shifted focus to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

In February this year, the company officially obtained the filing for overseas issuance and listing from the China Securities Regulatory Commission, planning to issue no more than 151 million ordinary shares for overseas listing and to be listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. This also means it is only a step away from becoming the “first consumer-grade 3D printing stock in Hong Kong.”

Lost 180 million yuan last year

Chuangxiang 3D is a provider of consumer-grade 3D printing products and services, mainly including 3D printers, 3D printing consumables, 3D scanners, laser engravers, and accessories. According to data from Zhuoshi Consulting, based on 2024 GMV, Chuangxiang 3D ranks second globally in the consumer-grade 3D printer market, first in the consumer-grade 3D scanner market, and third in the consumer-grade laser engraver market.

The consumer-grade 3D printing industry is experiencing rapid segmentation. Known as the “Four Little Dragons” of 3D printing industry—Tuozhu Technology, Chuangxiang 3D, Zongwei Cube, and Zhinenpai—together hold nearly 90% of the global consumer-grade 3D printing market share.

Data disclosed by Zhuoshi Consulting shows that in 2024, these four companies’ 3D printer shipments were 1.2 million, 720,000, 550,000, and 500,000 units respectively. Tuozhu’s market share rose to 29% in 2024, surpassing Chuangxiang 3D’s 16.9%.

In addition to providing products, Chuangxiang 3D has developed two online platforms—Chuangxiang Cloud and Nexbie.

Chuangxiang Cloud is a global online community focused on 3D printing content. According to Zhuoshi Consulting, as of December 31, 2024, Chuangxiang 3D operates the largest online community for 3D printing worldwide on Chuangxiang Cloud. By December 31, 2025, the 3D model library stored on Chuangxiang Cloud exceeded 2.7 million models, with approximately 84,300 model creators, including 1,755 certified modelers.

Nexbie, launched by Chuangxiang 3D in August 2025, is an overseas e-commerce platform currently focused on selling finished 3D printed products, aiming to connect 3D creative product creators with buyers. The prospectus indicates that the platform is still in early development stages, with target markets including Europe, North America, South America, and Asia.

Financial data shows that from 2023 to 2025, Chuangxiang 3D’s operating revenues were 1.883 billion yuan, 2.288 billion yuan, and 3.127 billion yuan respectively; during the same period, annual profits were 129 million yuan, 89 million yuan, and a loss of 182 million yuan. Notably, in 2025, the company not only failed to sustain growth but also recorded a loss exceeding 180 million yuan.

Chuangxiang 3D explained in the prospectus that the loss mainly resulted from issuing shares to investors and paying dividends totaling 240 million yuan that year.

According to the prospectus, in 2021, Chuangxiang 3D paid out a cash dividend of 195 million yuan; in 2022 and 2023, dividends of 36 million yuan and 71 million yuan were paid respectively. In May 2025, just months before listing, the company again declared dividends of 81.4 million yuan to several shareholders, which were fully paid in July.

Tencent Ventures and Shenzhen Capital Group are shareholders

The prospectus discloses that in 2014, the predecessor of Chuangxiang 3D, Shenzhen Bolingda Technology Co., Ltd. (“Bolingda”), was established with a registered capital of 1 million yuan, contributed equally by Ao Dajun and Liu Huilin, beginning exploration of 3D printing business.

In January 2015, Bolingda introduced two shareholders, Chen Chun and Tang Jingke. Chen Chun previously worked as a sales engineer at Zhicheng Computer-Aided Design (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd., and Tang Jingke was a design engineer at Foxconn. That same year, the company’s 3D printer CR-7 achieved mass production, followed by the CR-8 model, which improved printing accuracy and speed by nearly twofold.

From January 2018 to July 2020, to optimize the company structure, founders of Chuangxiang 3D and their spouses established Longgeer Investment, Chuangxiang Industrial, Chuangxiang Chuangwei, and Chuangxiang Venture Capital as holding platforms. The company began restructuring.

In June 2021, the company was restructured into a joint-stock company. After the restructuring, Chuangxiang 3D entered its only funding round to date.

In this Series A financing, investors subscribed at 10.17 yuan per share, with a total registered capital of 6.62 million yuan, raising 508 million yuan. The post-investment valuation of Chuangxiang 3D reached 4 billion yuan.

Notable investors in the Series A include prominent capital such as Qianhai Equity Investment (14 million yuan), Tencent Ventures (7.45 million yuan), and Shenzhen Capital Group (6.45 million yuan).

Regarding equity structure, before the IPO, the four founders—Chen Chun, Ao Dajun, Liu Huilin, and Tang Jingke—were acting in concert, holding a combined 81.98% of voting rights.

Among external shareholders, Qianhai FOF’s Qianhai Equity, Zhongyuan Qianhai, and Zhihui Hulian Telecom Ark held a total of 5.81%, making them the largest external shareholders; other external shareholders include Shenzhen Venture Capital (1.87%), Nanshan Red Soil (2.45%), Tencent Ventures (2.16%), and AVIC Pingshan (1.45%).

It is worth noting that in the industrial-grade 3D printing sector, listed companies such as Polymaker and Huashu Gaoke already exist, but there are no pure leading companies listed in the consumer-grade complete machine market.

From industry growth prospects, Zhuoshi Consulting data shows that in 2024, the consumer-grade 3D printing industry will surpass $4 billion, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 28.0% from 2020 to 2024; by 2029, the industry is expected to reach $16.9 billion, with a CAGR of 33.0% from 2024 to 2029.

A founder of a 3D printing company in Hangzhou analyzed to the “Science and Technology Innovation Board Daily” that the long-term absence of consumer-grade 3D printing companies from the stock market is due to a combination of industry scale, profitability, business models, and capital preferences. The core reasons include small industry scale, profit fluctuations, hardware-focused business models, and fierce competition. However, currently, leading companies have the capacity to go public, and Chuangxiang 3D’s pursuit of Hong Kong stocks marks a turning point for listing. In the next 1–2 years, the first batch of consumer-grade 3D printing companies may go public.