If I were Josef Průša, I’d probably gloat and be insufferable.Honestly, though, it’s a question that has vexed me.Josef asked on LinkedIn whether people would like to see more tools for the Prusa XL toolhead, and this got me thinking about the future of Prusa.
Prusa has been absolutely instrumental in building and growing the open-source desktop 3D printing ecosystem.The firm has sold tens of thousands of printers, and millions more have been based on its designs.Prusa is true to open source and makes excellent 3D printers at reasonable prices.
Alas, with the Bambu Lab onslaught, this may not be enough.So what would my advice be to Prusa—what would I do if I were in his shoes? Let’s look at Prusa as a company and come up with some ideas.What is Prusa Research? Prusa Research is a very vertically integrated 3D printing firm that develops much of its own software, materials, and machines.
The company employs around 900 staff, primarily concentrated at its Prague locations.The Prague-based firm boasts an excellent Printables file-sharing platform, a strong PrusaSlicer, a Connect application to monitor printers, and a mobile app that offers some of this functionality on phones.The Printables platform is especially valuable, offering a considerable moat.
If the firm can continue encouraging uploads, it will drive engagement with free files that solve users’ needs or problems.This will increase general 3D printer utilization and, more specifically, enhance the value of Prusa machines while expanding 3D printing into new areas.That, in turn, drives printer and filament sales.
Prusa’s Prusament is a notable success: a high-performance yet affordable filament that the company manufactures in-house.It is both distinctive and highly profitable.If we were to construct a “flywheel” for Prusa, it would look something like this: profits from filament sales fund additional R&D, enabling the development of more parts that can be made faster and more cheaply.
This drives software improvements, which in turn support new 3D printer development.That leads to better ease of use, ultimately boosting printer sales.Prusa offers an SLA system—the SL1S—and a professional SLA system that is soon to be released, though the main focus remains on material extrusion.
There is also a higher-temperature delta material extrusion system, which remains niche.Most of the company’s sales are derived from variations of the mega-successful MK3 and MK4 printers, which feature a gantry-style setup where both the nozzle and build plate move.The Prusa XL, a CoreXY-style printer with up to five toolheads and a large build volume, has also been introduced.
Additionally, the Core One printer, another CoreXY model, has been released.What Does Prusa Do Especially Well? Prusa is exceptional at making filament.It outperforms any other 3D printing firm in QA and overall quality.
Nearly all manufacturing and assembly is done in-house, providing greater flexibility and enabling superior quality control.Prusa’s components are generally better than the competition’s.While sometimes finicky and time-consuming to dial in, Prusa systems are highly reliable and demonstrate excellent repeatability.
The company is genuinely loved by its customers and has cultivated a vibrant community of engaged, helpful, and inventive users.It remains one of the few truly open-source companies in the industry.Prusa’s machine designs have been consistently good for a very long time.
Owned by four original investors and without reported debt or outside investment, Prusa enjoys full control over its future—free from the influence of venture capital or other external stakeholders.The company ships around 100,000 systems annually and generates approximately $100 million in revenue, which is estimated to be around $20 million lower than its peak last year.Strategically astute and financially conservative, Prusa has built a large, centralized, and remarkably efficient organization in Prague.
It remains somewhat inscrutable in terms of business development, marketing, and partnerships.While it maintains some distributors, the company primarily sells online or directly through its international branches.A key advantage Prusa holds is its long-standing internal print farm, used to produce parts for its own machines.
What is Prusa Not so Good At? Prusa’s roadmap and future intentions are less clear.The company does not appear to operate with a clearly articulated mission beyond sustaining itself.Its marketing has traditionally lacked memorability, and the current product lineup is somewhat confusing, with multiple printers and no clear guidance on when to choose which model.
Prusa is being outpaced in the market by Bambu, which offers systems that are easier to set up, generally faster, and more aggressive in market positioning.While software is a strength for Prusa, it has not yet matched Bambu’s advanced sensor integration and build optimization techniques.Though strong in engineering, Prusa lacks the consumer electronics know-how required to create a truly user-friendly consumer-level device.
Instead of designing a 3D printer from the ground up for effortless use, Prusa has continued to refine systems geared toward committed hobbyists.Within that paradigm, its machines perform excellently, but it has not aimed to create a “toaster-like” experience.Prusa is effectively making a high-performance tractor—powerful and reliable with proper care—while Bambu has delivered a Model T Ford: simple, accessible, and usable by the masses with minimal effort.
More critically, Prusa serves a smaller but more technically adept group of makers and designers, whereas Bambu appeals to “downloaders”—users who do little in CAD but print frequently.As a result, Prusa generates more unique content and original designs, but likely sees lower print volume, filament consumption, and system usage compared to Bambu.The proliferation of parametric (and/or AI generated) models could diminish Prusa’s originator advantage and further strengthen Bambu’s appeal to mass-market consumers.
Prusa risks being completely displaced by the Bambu Mini while lacking a clear offering that can outperform Bambu’s higher-end systems.While Prusa has the capacity to innovate—unlike many companies in the 3D printing space—Bambu’s faster pace and greater capital resources are setting a much more aggressive trajectory.The Road Not Taken The only way I see the firm continuing to thrive is by pursuing several initiatives simultaneously.
While dividing focus across multiple large projects is often a recipe for disaster, in this case, it appears to be the only viable path forward.Given Prusa’s culture and organizational structure, it may be uniquely capable of managing such parallel efforts.A head-on confrontation with Bambu through a single matching printer now seems nearly impossible.
The Mini offers an incredibly compelling value proposition, while the H2D appears poised to leapfrog much of the industry.Even if such a move were to displace the Mini, margins would be razor-thin—at that point, it might be more profitable to sell sand.If the company focuses too heavily on defending itself and its current business, it risks failure.
Its vertically integrated model results in a massive cost structure, which may lead it to prioritize protecting employees—but that protective instinct could endanger the entire firm in the long term.Instead, the company must continue to innovate forward.Crocodiles Swimming as Sharks Too often, businesses are prompted to behave like and adopt the strategies of their threats.
This is foolish—akin to a sprinter passing a marathon runner, prompting the marathoner to panic, bulk up, grow her legs, and attempt to match the sprinter’s speed while still running her race.It’s obviously a disaster in the making.A strategy should not be reactive mimicry.
It should motivate people toward specific behaviors, foster knowledge and skills, and provide a clear path to a defined victory tailored to the player.If you run their race, you guarantee your own loss—because you’re executing a plan built for someone else.A seasoned marathoner knows this.
Even when passed, she doesn’t abandon her pacing or training plan when confronted by sprinters; she runs her own race.However, some strategies are so compelling that they create their own gravitational pull—inevitable realities that stun competitors into acquiescence: Uber, Airbnb, Amazon, Apple.A fixation on “the other” only helps bring their vision into being.
Improvised imitation doesn’t compete—it reinforces the opponent’s role as originator and leader, as with Microsoft’s fumbling responses to Google in search initially.This hands the opponent control of the theater of conflict and lets them dictate the rules—just as Google has now done by adopting AI for search shoddily.To put it another way: if the crocodile becomes too obsessed with the shark, it will try to sleekly swim in deep water.
But deep water is not the crocodile’s domain.Even if it has a plan, it lacks a real strategy.Worse still, it mistakes its costume for transformation.
A crocodile cosplaying as a shark—far from its natural environment and hampered by its disguise—clumsily swims to its doom.Subscribe to Our Email Newsletter Stay up-to-date on all the latest news from the 3D printing industry and receive information and offers from third party vendors.Print Services Upload your 3D Models and get them printed quickly and efficiently.
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