Bambu Lab Europe’s CEO Cedric Mallet Talks the Hyper-growth of Desktop 3D Printing – 3DPrint.com

Bambu Lab is fundamentally transforming the 3D printing industry in ways we can scarcely comprehend today. As we’ve previously discussed, Bambu has ignited a new arms race in desktop material extrusion. Previously, companies were content to produce slightly cheaper Prusa clones, but now they are investing in sensors, software, advanced hardware, and new architectures in a bold push for greater capabilities. Despite their significance, we know surprisingly little about Bambu. What kind of company is it, and what does Bambu aim to achieve? To learn more, we interviewed Bambu Lab’s European CEO, Cedric Mallet. Mallet is an experienced executive who has worked with internet companies, publishers, advertising agencies, and startup accelerators before joining Bambu two and a half years ago.

The congenial French executive has certainly had a varied journey at this hypergrowth firm. Reflecting on Bambu Lab’s early vision, he shared how the company’s goals and philosophy emerged from a simple but powerful aim:

“The initial goal of Bambu Lab was the four cofounders sharing a vision to empower makers. Many promises had been made by 3D printing companies, so many promises made to today’s world. The four had enough technology know-how that they could develop a printer to bring major improvements and deliver on those promises, making them a reality. The target audience was the home market, to provide users with the tool they need to create useful things. They wanted to make the 3D printing market more like an appliance market—more like a microwave. When we started doing business, we didn’t know businesses and professionals would buy the printer. This was a surprise for us. We were not aware of the potential market size for printers like that. So, in the early months, we had to reorganize to serve this market. Now we have a second focus, catering to professionals and companies. But our focus is, first and foremost, on the consumer and then on the professional. We are focusing on one field: desktop material extrusion. We have no intention of building an industrial, big, 100k machine. We want something that people can use at home, and if professionals can also use it, then good. We want to make something that is reliable in the long run and works well.”

Much speculation has centered on the secret to Bambu’s success. Mallet believes it all comes down to the company’s emphasis on software—a vision that shaped Bambu’s direction from the outset. He elaborates:

“The secret is in the software. The main focus of our company is on customer experience, and software is a crucial part of it. We are an experience company and have more software engineers than hardware engineers. We want to make the product and customer experience great. We don’t only want amazing hardware, but amazing software, amazing service, amazing materials—amazing everything. From the very early days of the company, the decision was made to build a full ecosystem—a closed ecosystem where we could control what would happen and prevent anything that could ruin the experience. We want to build an outstanding company, so we have to build an ecosystem. Now of course we are growing and we want to open this ecosystem to third party vendors to create additional value for our customers while maintaining service quality. This was a difficult decision to make; many people wanted to keep everything in-house. But there are many niches in the market. We needed resellers to provide local support. Building to a global scale is difficult. Resellers, partners, people we can trust help us improve the customer experience. The way we measure our success is: do we answer customer needs?”

As Mallet explains, Bambu’s CEO, Dr. Ye Tao, brings a hands-on approach to technology and product quality that has shaped the company’s culture and its ambitious goals in the desktop material extrusion market. Bambu aims to offer a printer range that meets various consumer needs: the A1 model for basic requirements, the P1S for ABS or ASA materials, the X1 for abrasive materials  you would want the hardened steel nozzle of the X1 Carbon, and the X1E for users who want integration without cloud reliance. Print farm operators, who are typically more price-sensitive, favor the P1 Series.

The company’s decision to release the X1E was, in part, a response to user concerns about cloud dependency. Mallet notes that this move underscores Bambu’s commitment to user choice and flexibility: “That was not a difficult decision to make.” While many companies might struggle to engineer a system independent of their existing software ecosystem, Bambu’s decision highlights its pragmatic approach. This kind of flexibility, more than anything, convinces me that Bambu is a force to be reckoned with.

Cedric also emphasizes the importance of Dr. Tao’s leadership in establishing Bambu’s values and customer-centric focus. Reflecting on his experience working with Dr. Tao, he shares:

“He’s also a very respectful guy to all the people he works with. He takes great care of people. Last time I was in China, there was a long queue in front of his office—job applicants waiting to spend an hour with the CEO for their onboarding. I tried to convince him that the CEO should not be interviewing every customer support engineer. But it’s people that make everything possible. The combination of people and customer experience can enable a company to achieve great things. Dr. Tao is part of a new generation of Chinese entrepreneurs showing this to the world.”

Bambu is a transformative force in our market. The firm is an existential threat to every maker of material extrusion systems. It’s also an enabler, providing 3D printing users with well-engineered systems that offer substantial value for their investment. Ignoring Bambu would be a mistake.