AM I Navigator and Leading Minds Launch New Alliance to Accelerate Industrial 3D Printing Adoption

Bridging the Gap Between Awareness and Execution

At the Additive Manufacturing Strategies (AMS) 2026 conference in New York City, a significant announcement emerged that could reshape how companies approach industrial 3D printing adoption. AM I Navigator and the Leading Minds consortium announced they are joining forces under a newly formed Additive Manufacturing Alliance.

The announcement was made by Materialise CEO Brigitte de Vet-Veithen, who was joined onstage by Karsten Heuser, VP Additive Manufacturing for Siemens. The two companies are partners in both initiatives.

Two Initiatives, One Goal

The new Alliance brings together two established efforts that have been working toward similar goals from different angles:

AM I Navigator: A structured tool that helps companies assess and improve their additive manufacturing maturity. Originally launched at Formnext 2023 by Siemens, DyeMansion, HP, BASF Forward AM, and EOS, it has grown to include partners like Materialise, AMTPro, AZO, and knowledge partners Capgemini and BCG.

Leading Minds: A consortium launched at Formnext 2024 by eight founding companies including Ansys, EOS, HP, Materialise, Nikon SLM Solutions, Renishaw, Stratasys, and ATLIX (formerly Trumpf Additive Manufacturing). Their focus is on increasing awareness and reducing barriers to AM adoption.

What the Alliance Will Do

Rather than merging into one entity, the two initiatives will continue operating independently where appropriate while collaborating on selected activities. The focus areas include:

• Knowledge sharing: Combining expertise from both initiatives
• Communication: Creating clearer messaging around AM capabilities
• Industrial scaling: Helping manufacturers move from experimentation to scaled production

Our shared goal is to make additive manufacturing more accessible, less complex, and more integrated into everyday industrial production, said de Vet-Veithen. Together, we can help more companies across a wider variety of industries benefit from the flexibility, efficiency, and innovation that AM enables.

New Knowledge Partner

Also announced was the addition of Wohlers Associates, powered by ASTM International, as a Knowledge Partner within the AM I Navigator network. This brings standards, certification, and aerospace/defense/medical expertise to the alliance.

The AM I Navigator platform offers free self-assessment tools for companies worldwide to evaluate their additive manufacturing maturity. Companies can benchmark their capabilities and identify improvement opportunities through the framework.

Why This Matters

This alliance represents a significant consolidation of resources aimed at accelerating industrial AM adoption. By combining awareness-building efforts with structured assessment tools, the Alliance addresses both the motivation and the methodology companies need to move from pilot projects to repeatable, scalable production.

For companies considering 3D printing adoption, this alliance provides clearer pathways and more comprehensive support than ever before.