Behind the technological competition lies a comprehensive battle over talent, innovation boundaries, and business patterns.
“I heard that my former employer recently invested in a3D printing company, and the agreement specifically included clauses related to TuoZhu. Countless former colleagues are concerned whether we are going to be ‘hunted down’.”In mid-November, TuoZhu Technology founder Tao Ye published a lengthy post on social media, targeting his former employer—DJI.
This social media post was like a stone thrown into a calm lake, stirring ripples in the tech circle. The global consumer drone giant DJI unexpectedly encountered its “DJI system” startup companies in the3D printing arena.
Behind this encounter is a consumer-level3D printing market growing nearly30%, a founder of DJI, Wang Tao, who still maintains a technical idealism, and a group of “former DJI employees” challenging DJI using the DJI model.
01
News of DJI’s investment in the 3D printing company Smart派 was confirmed by multiple sources in mid to late November. This marks DJI’s official entry into the consumer-level3D printing field.
Regarding this investment, DJI responded, “This investment is based on the company’s optimism about the development potential of consumer-level3D printing technology and industry growth potential, aligning with DJI’s consistent philosophy of innovative technology and forward-looking layout.”
However, this seemingly routine financial investment appears unusual due to the “special clauses related to TuoZhu” included in the investment agreement.
Tao Ye bluntly stated on social media that this is more like a “firepower strike” from his former employer against TuoZhu, rather than a pure “value investment”. He analyzed that there are two reasons for DJI’s change in attitude:
First, in the past, job seekers only considered TuoZhu as one of the options after leaving DJI, but now many candidates choose TuoZhu without hesitation when given a choice between DJI and TuoZhu, even under the same compensation;
Second, the capital market gives a high premium to “DJI system” projects, leading to a trend of DJI talent starting their own businesses.
02
The fundamental reason DJI chose to enter the3D printing market at this time is the explosive growth of this market.
According to data fromPrecedenceResearch, by 2024, the global3D printing market size will reach246.1 billion USD, with the consumer-level market size around41 billion USD, accounting for16% of the overall market, with a compound annual growth rate of28%, becoming the core engine of industry growth.
CONTEXTReports indicate that in the first quarter of 2025, global shipments of entry-level3D printers will exceed1 million units, a year-on-year increase of15%, with Shenzhen 3D printing[Four Little Dragons]:TuoZhu, Smart派, Chuangxiang Sanwei, and Zongwei Lifan occupying 90% of the global market share.
The rapid growth of this market is driven by both technological maturity and cost reduction.
Currently, the purchase cost of a reliable mid-to-high-end3D printer is roughly equivalent to that of a mid-to-high-end smartphone. With subsidies, users only need about800 yuan to purchase a basic3D printer.
More importantly, the3D printing industry has formed a commercial closed loop of “hardware + software + content ecology”.
TuoZhu Technology’s launchedMakerWorld platform has nearly ten million monthly active users, over a million models, and supports “one-click printing”. Creators can exchange points for prizes, and overseas users can even earn cash income, with popular models generating continuous revenue.
03
TuoZhu Technology is regarded as the most typical “DJI system” enterprise, with its core team almost entirely composed of former DJI employees.
Founder Tao Ye worked at DJI for8 years, serving as the head of DJI’s consumer drone department, leading the development of star products includingMavicPro.
TuoZhu’s CTO Gao Xiufeng, COO Liu Huaiyu, and control algorithm head Chen Zihan, among others, were also key members in critical positions such as system engineering and gimbal algorithms at DJI.
These “DJI system” entrepreneurs have completely replicated DJI’s engineering philosophy and product concept into the3D printing field.
TuoZhu has introduced technologies from drones such as laser radar, multi-camera systems, and resonance control into its products, enhancing printing accuracy and stability.
TuoZhu’s growth rate even surpasses that of DJI. According to Shenzhen Business News, in 2024, TuoZhu Technology achieved revenue of5.5 billion to6 billion yuan, with net profit close to2 billion yuan and a net profit margin exceeding30%.
In the first quarter of this year, the company’s quarterly revenue has approached2 billion yuan.
In the recently concluded “Double 11” shopping festival, TuoZhu has won the first place in sales and sales volume for 3D printers on JD and Tmall platforms for three consecutive years.
04
This3D printing battle is essentially a talent competition.
Tao Ye mentioned on social media, “The competition in technology is a competition for talent.” He quoted Wang Tao’s words from ten years ago: “We cannot let competitors find gaps to make money; once they have money, they will compete for talent with you, which is the biggest trouble.”
Now, this statement is coming true. Tao Ye pointed out that under the same conditions, job seekers are willing to actively choose TuoZhu, which touches on DJI’s real sensitive area.
DJI has become the “Huangpu Military Academy” of hardware entrepreneurship in China. In addition to TuoZhu Technology, several hardware startups such as Xidi Zhijia, Zhenghao Ecoflow, and Species Origin have been founded by former DJI employees.
These company founders carry distinct DJI imprints: extreme technicalism, global market ambition, and absolute confidence in product strength.
By 2025, at least8 important R&D and sales employees will leave DJI. Among them, core veteran Li Haonan from the flight system technology platform joined Miaodong Technology after leaving; core technical backbones such as chip imaging system founder Cao Bo and one of the “three giants” of R&D Qiu Hualiang have also left one after another.
05
DJI’s “move” against TuoZhu is not an isolated case.
In the earlier entered drone and panoramic imaging fields, DJI is also deploying defensive strategies in a similar manner. Investors revealed that after Yingshi launched the world’s first panoramic drone Yingshi Ling, DJI quickly followed up with layouts and organized related research.
DJI’s anxiety is understandable. Although DJI remains the global leader in consumer drones, its founder Wang Tao’s wealth reached110 billion yuan on the “2025 Hurun Rich List”, more than doubling from last year, finding new growth points has become an urgent task for DJI.
At the same time, DJI’s core talent is continuously flowing out, while “DJI system” startups are favored in the capital market.
Tao Ye revealed on social media that the capital market has a bit of FOMO (fear of missing out) towards the “DJI system”, giving projects a high premium, leading to a trend of DJI employees starting their own businesses.
In the face of this situation, Tao Ye suggested to his former boss: clarify the differences between the concepts of “loyalty” and “obedience”. He believes this could reduce at least50% of talent loss.
06
Some analysts believe that DJI’s entry into3D printing is essentially a “coming of age” for this industry.
If a track is bustling internally while external giants remain still, it actually feels colder. The arrival of giants is not a threat but a form of endorsement.
When a tech giant like DJI is willing to pause and invest in the3D printing track, it signifies that this industry has the potential to move beyond the “self-indulgent phase” and towards maturity.
The intensifying competition will also raise the industry threshold. In the early days of smartphones, players like Nica relied on low-cost supply chains and “borrowed ideas” to race ahead, but as smartphones entered systematic competition, this group of players quickly withered away.
Consumer-level3D printing will also undergo a similar reshuffling process.
From a technical perspective, TuoZhu has always stood on the side ofFDM (Fused Deposition Modeling), pushing usability to the extreme; while Smart派, which DJI invested in, leans towards photopolymerization technology.
FDM is more “user-friendly”, quick to get started, and has a high tolerance for errors, making it more appealing to the general public; photopolymerization has a higher entry threshold but offers greater detail precision, thus favored by hardcore users like “figurine enthusiasts”. Smart派 has adapted mobile phone color display technology into monochrome exposure screens, significantly improving printing efficiency and precision. In 2019, Smart派’s first photopolymerization 3D printer Mars was launched, with 2K printing precision and a price of only $299, half that of foreign brands, quickly igniting the market.Since then, it has maintained a rhythm of “one explosive product per year”, expanding from photopolymerization to thermal melting, perfecting its product matrix.
An emerging industry should not have a single solution; it requires parallel, collision, and complementarity of different technical paths, as well as higher levels of competition.
According to the latest data, TuoZhu Technology’s global revenue in 2024 will exceed5.5 billion yuan, with a net profit margin of30%, its profitability even surpassing Apple’s net profit margin, which hovers around25%-27%.
Meanwhile, Smart派, which DJI invested in, will achieve a shipment volume of550,000 units in 2024, with annual sales reaching1.6 billion yuan, making it the leading brand in global consumer-level photopolymerization3D printing. In addition to DJI’s investment in Smart派, Tencent Ventures invested in Chuangxiang Sanwei, Meituan acquired shares in Snapmaker, and ByteDance is also quietly laying out related technologies.
This “master-apprentice” showdown will ultimately, as Tao Ye said, “3D printing is fundamentally an industry that relies on products to speak for themselves.” In the competitive world of business, there are no eternal enemies or friends, only perpetual innovation.
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