After a decade in operation, Aniwaa, a prominent B2B platform for additive manufacturing, has shut down, underscoring the difficulties of maintaining specialized technology information services.

Aniwaa, recognized as one of the largest repositories of 3D printers, has officially announced its closure. Starting as a small side project and eventually growing into a huge B2B platform for professionals within the additive manufacturing industry, the French company entered the market in 2013, founded by Martin Lansard and Pierre-Antoine Arrighi. For ten years, Aniwaa has been a trusted source of information for technical buyers and industry experts who want comparative information on 3D printing equipment, and the shutting down of Aniwaa marks the end of that endeavor.

The closure creates a huge knowledge vacuum in everything about 3D printing for the people dependent on Aniwaa's extensive database of more than 1,900 3D printers, 440 scanners, and over 150 types of post-processing equipment. Much as Aniwaa was a great service to the industry, it could not save itself with a sustainable business model.

Founded by its two co-founders to get organized and easily digestible information out to the ever-quickening pace of advance of the 3D printing technology market, Aniwaa as a side project set out to provide detailed technical specifications, comparisons, and market trends that helped professionals navigate the dense forest of additive manufacturing technology.

Over time, Aniwaa's product offerings would expand from consumer 3D printers alone, thus industrial systems, post-processing tools, and 3D scanners. In a post on LinkedIn, Martin Lansard indicated that the decision to close the company was made after thorough consideration of the platform's financial sustainability. Despite numerous efforts to monetize its vast database and industry knowledge, Aniwaa has struggled to create a viable business model in a market where manufacturers increasingly prefer direct communication with potential customers.