We are Nanoscribe
With over 100 highly qualified employees, we develop products and services on the basis of Nanoscribe’s Two-Photon Polymerization technology. Providing hardware, software, materials and processes as a complete solution is the key to our customers’ success today. More than 5,500 active operators of our systems located in over 30 countries benefit from the continuous advancement of our technology. With our market leadership we remain profitable, so we constantly invest more than 25% of our annual sales in the future of microfabrication. Thus we deliver smart solutions that inspire our customers and enable them to materialize ground-breaking ideas.
Dynamics and innovation
As the pioneer and market leader in high-precision additive manufacturing, we push the limits of 3D printing and challenge the state-of-the-art in microfabrication. Our technology empowers cutting edge science and drive industrial innovations in a wide variety of sectors such as microoptics, micromechanics, biomedical engineering, and photonics technologies. Breakthrough research is highlighted in more than 1,800 peer-reviewed journal publications. We are actively involved in promising research and development projects with partners from science, research, industry and we also cooperate with our customers in many projects.
Locations worldwide
We are a vibrant, award-winning, and ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 certified company headquartered in Karlsruhe, as a spin-off of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT). Research and technology ecosystem of the KIT has strengthened us as a pioneer and innovator of 3D microfabrication, becoming a global player in an international network. Today, we provide sales and support from locations in Germany, China and the USA, as well as by a worldwide network of certified distributors. Trust and customer satisfaction are particularly important to us.
Part of Lab14 Group
Nanoscribe is part of the Lab14 Group, a group of successful high-tech companies providing advanced manufacturing solutions with complementary products and services for a wide range of applications that require demanding solutions for nano- and microfabrication and surface analysis.
Read more at lab14.group.
Management Board
Martin Hermatschweiler is co-founder and managing partner of Nanoscribe GmbH & Co. KG, ever since the company was founded in 2007. His main task as CEO is the company's positive development, particularly through the development of new markets. The scientific expertise of the graduate physicist lies in laser patterning of polymers as well as in their casting into high refractive index optical materials. In 2015, he has been listed among the TOP 40 entrepreneurs within Germany younger than 40 years by the journal "Capital", the so-called "young elite".
Dr. Michael Thiel is co-founder, authorized officer and Chief Science Officer (CSO) of the company. His focus lies on driving technical innovations in research and development. As a graduate physicist he earned his PhD at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) in 3D laser lithography and received the KIT PhD Award in 2011 for his work.
Michael Thiel is INSEAD alumnus since 2015. In 2016, he was chosen to be one of Germany's best innovators under 35. The same year he received the European CTO of the year 2016 award. In 2023 he was awarded as one of the Photonics 100 of 2024 for driving innovations in photonic integration and photonics packaging.
Lars Tritschler is Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Nanoscribe. After completing his studies in economics at the University of Hohenheim, Lars Tritschler started his professional career at Robert Bosch GmbH. He then moved to Polytec Group AG, where his last position was Director Finance for the Business Unit Composites. His international assignments took him to France, Mexico and the USA. He joined Nanoscribe in 2018.
Awards & Nominations
ECOC Industry Award 2024
Nanoscribe received the ECOC Industry Award for its Quantum X align high-resolution 3D printer as the most innovative product in the "Chip-Scale Packaging / Optical Sub-Assembly" category. The Quantum X align enables the printing of low-loss optical couplers that are automatically aligned to fiducials on various types of photonic chips or optical fibers. This award is a testament to Nanoscribe's commitment to developing a product that truly addresses the key challenges of today’s photonic integration landscape: low-loss, high-reliability optical coupling between different optical components.
Photonics100 award for 2024
Our co-founder and Chief Science Officer (CSO), Dr. Michael Thiel, was awarded as one of the Photonics100 for 2024. The Photonics100 presented by Electro Optics celebrates the people who are pushing the photonics industry forward, whether as the inventors, manufacturers, or end users of technology. Dr. Thiel is significantly responsible for the development of Aligned 2-Photon Lithography (A2PL®), which enhances Nanoscribe’s 3D microfabrication technology based on Two-Photon Polymerization (2PP) and is available in Nanoscribe's Quantum X align system.
R&D 100 Award 2022
Since 1963, the R&D 100 Awards honor the most recent and greatest innovations around the globe and help identify emerging key technologies from the R&D community. Nanoscribe is honored to be part of the winners in the 2022 R&D 100 Awards. With this award, the innovative Quantum X bio 3D bioprinter is recognized in the process/prototyping category. The award jury consists of a renowned panel of industry and academia experts.
Forschungssiegel 2022
Nanoscribe has been awarded the research label "Innovative through Research" by the Stifterverband, one of Germany's largest private science sponsors. The seal is awarded to research-based companies that root their business model in innovation and research efforts. Year after year, Nanoscribe invests more than 25% of its annual revenue in the future of 3D microfabrication. Thus, Nanoscribe focuses on the development of smart and innovative solutions in order to turn ground-breaking ideas into reality on the customers’ side. With its technology expertise in 3D microfabrication, Nanoscribe encourages scientific progress and promotes industrial innovation in a wide range of fields including microoptics, micromechanics, biomedical engineering and photonics.
Prism Awards 2022
The Prism Award honors the most innovative products in the optics and photonics markets and is considered the most important international competition in this field. Nanoscribe was a finalist for the Prism Award 2022 in the “Manufacturing & Test” category with its Quantum X align. The high-performance printer with automatic alignment functions was presented for the first time only shortly before at the Photonics West Conference and Exhibition in San Francisco (USA).
LASER World of PHOTONICS Award 2019
At the LASER World of Photonics in Munich, the brand-new maskless lithography system Quantum X was awarded with the Innovation Award for the most innovative product. The trade fair and the British specialist publisher “Europa Science” award this prize and thereby recognize the outstanding performance of the device designed for the industrial fabrication of refractive and diffractive micro-optics. The jurors are convinced that with this innovation Nanoscribe can open a new chapter in microfabrication.
Landespreis für junge Unternehmen 2018
The Minister-President of Baden-Württemberg, Winfried Kretschmann, awarded Nanoscribe the first place prize at the “State Prize for Young Companies“ (“Landespreis für junge Unternehmen”) at a ceremony held in Stuttgart. The jury bestowed the 40,000 euros prize to Nanoscribe for its extraordinary innovations in the field of 3D printing on the microscale as well as the entrepreneurial successes that have been proven for years.
DPG-Technologietransferpreis 2017
Nanoscribe GmbH & Co. KG, the Institute of Nanotechnology and the Innovation- and Relations-Management of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) were jointly honored with the DPG Technology Transfer Award 2017/2018 for the successful transfer of scientific research into commercial products. The 3D printers of Nanoscribe set benchmarks in 3D microfabrication and are used in diverse scientific and industrial applications in more than 30 countries.
CTO of the Year Europe 2016
Dr. Michael Thiel, Nanoscribe’s co-founder has been awarded with the title European CTO of the Year 2016. The jury emphasized especially his passion for innovation and entrepreneurship. The European CTO of the Year is awarded by EIRMA, European Industrial Research Management Association, and Spinverse, a Nordic leader in innovation consulting.
Innovators Under 35 of the year 2016
In the German MIT Technology Review competition, the Nanoscribe Co-Founder and Chief Science Officer (CSO) Dr. Michael Thiel was chosen one of the top 10 “Innovators under 35”. This honors pioneers for years now, each of them developing solutions for major global challenges using a wide variety of approaches. Thanks to the Photonic Professional GT’s outstanding performance features, precision, and application versatility, Nanoscribe has established itself as the global market leader in the field of 3D printing for the microscale within just a few years.
Deutscher Gründerpreis 2015
Nanoscribe achieved a great success by reaching the finals of the German Founders’ Award in the “rising star” category (“Aufsteiger”) with its prize-winning 3D printer for the micrometer scale. Hence in the view of the Founders’ Award experts the company represents one of the most successful start-ups in Germany in recent years. The selecting jury, who voted on behalf of the Founders’ Award partners, Stern magazine, association of Sparkasse saving banks, ZDF television channel and Porsche, were equally impressed by the ground-breaking performance of the Photonic Professional GT 3D printer and the entrepreneurial expertise of the founders. Nanoscribe is “a picture book high tech start-up”, according to one of the jurors. For all three finalists, the award includes a comprehensive package of consulting services and national media support.
Capital Top 40 Under 40 of the year 2015
Within the “Young Elite” series, the business magazine “Capital” selected Martin Hermatschweiler (37) as one of Germany’s 40 most talented entrepreneurs under the age of 40. All nominees caught attention with their ground-breaking business ideas, outstanding achievements, considerable success, and promising potential under the aspect of “Disruption and Innovation”. Hermatschweiler, physicist and co-founder of Nanoscribe, has managed the high-tech company since its founding.
World Technology Award 2015
This first place prize in the category “Materials” has been announced at 14th Annual World Technology Summit & Awards Gathering in New York City (US) in 2015. Each year, the WTN recognizes the best and brightest in their fields and the organizations on the cutting edge of technological innovation. The topnotch international community of WTN brings together many of the world’s leading technologists, scientists, futurists, policymakers, and entrepreneurs.
Prism Award 2014
The winners of the 2014 Prism Awards were announced in San Francisco (USA) during the SPIE Photonics West exhibition. The Nanoscribe 3D printer Photonic Professional GT was awarded for the most innovative product in the ”Advanced Manufacturing” category. The unrivaled 3D laser lithography system, which was launched in spring 2013, convinced the jury of its outstanding performance, accuracy and enormous acceleration in the production of nano- and microstructures.
CyberChampion 2011
Nanoscribe was awarded with a special prize in the category "Spin-off companies from universities / research centers" at the CyberChampions Awards 2011/12 in Karlsruhe (Germany). The price, donated by tech-solute GmbH, was awarded by CyberForum.
Otto-Haxel-Preis 2008
In 2008, Nanoscribe received the Otto-Haxel-Preis for its high-performance laser lithography system. This award, endowed with a financial reward, honors KIT scientists who actively strive for the industrial implementation of their research.
