The Journey from Corporate Innovation to a New Era of Manufacturing Access
What happens when a leader at one of the world’s largest industrial companies sees the limits of even the most successful additive manufacturing programs?
For our CEO, it sparked the idea for something bigger and the leap into entrepreneurship.
In a recent episode of the Additive Snack podcast, hosted by Fabian Alefeld, Markus shared the story behind founding MakerVerse and why the manufacturing world needs something fundamentally different.
🎧 Listen to the full episode here: Watch on YouTube
From Corporate Success to Industry Pain Points
Before MakerVerse, Markus led additive manufacturing at Siemens Energy, building a 200-person team and one of the world’s largest serial production fleets of laser powder bed fusion systems. They successfully delivered thousands of high-temperature alloy parts for gas turbines.
But as Markus explains, there was a catch:
More and more people outside of the gas turbine business asked if our additive team could help them. And we had to say no. Our expertise was too specific.”
This frustration became the seed of an idea: manufacturing shouldn’t be reserved for a select few with specialised teams and equipment. There should be a way to make advanced manufacturing technologies available to everyone.
The Birth of MakerVerse
Markus and his strategy team examined the market. The conclusion was clear: no solution met the high demands of industrial customers, especially when it came to quality, documentation, and reliability.
We asked ourselves: what if there was something like Amazon for industrial manufacturing?”
But building such a platform inside Siemens wasn’t an option. Network effects and economies of scale require openness, not a closed corporate environment. So the decision was made: spin off the idea, build independently, and give it the complete focus it deserved.
MakerVerse was born.
One Supplier. Various Technologies. Fully Managed.
Today, MakerVerse is more than a digital quoting tool. It’s a fully managed supply chain platform for manufacturing parts using technologies such as additive manufacturing, CNC machining, sheet metal, injection molding, and more.
We’re not just matchmaking. We supply parts. We manage the complexity. If a supplier is late, we solve it. If quality isn’t right, we handle it.”
Customers get instant quotes, reliable lead times, and global access to vetted suppliers through one platform.
Why Now? Why It Matters.
Global supply chains are under pressure like never before. Logistics disruptions, geopolitical tensions, rising costs, and fragmented manufacturing capabilities make sourcing more complicated and risky.
MakerVerse was designed for this reality. The platform uses proprietary AI and machine learning to automate quoting, recommend optimal manufacturing methods, and select the right suppliers for each job based on performance, capacity, and fit.
The result:
- Less manual back-and-forth.
- Faster time-to-market.
- Reduced operational complexity.
Who Is MakerVerse For?
While startups may come to mind, Markus highlights three key customer segments that find real value in the platform:
- Scale-ups need small-series production without the burden of building their supply chains.
- Midsized industrial companies (the famous Mittelstand) seek global sourcing without large procurement teams.
- Large enterprises seek help managing complex projects with hundreds of parts across multiple technologies.
What’s Next for MakerVerse?
The vision is clear: become the go-to partner for on-demand manufacturing.
That means:
- Continuously expanding the technology offering.
- The geographic footprint will be expanded, starting with Europe and moving into North America.
- Investing in AI-powered automation and predictive supply chain management.
As Markus puts it:
No customer will ever say: ‘Take longer and charge me more.’ Reliability, speed, and competitive cost will always be the core of manufacturing.”
