About Kupros

Building the Future of 3D Printed Electronics

Kupros, Inc. is a service-disabled veteran-owned deep-tech company developing materials and manufacturing processes for Additive Manufactured Electronics.

Our flagship technology, Cu29, is an all-metal, conductive filament engineered for standard FDM/FFF 3D printers. Cu29 enables engineers to develop circuits, conductive pathways, sensors, antennas, RF structures, coils, shielding, interconnects, and other electronic functionality using printer infrastructure ranging from <$400 desktop systems to $250k+ industrial platforms, with no required post-processing.

Our objective is bigger than creating a better conductive filament.

Kupros is building the materials and manufacturing processes needed to make electronics part of the additive manufacturing workflow itself.

From U.S. Navy Research to Kupros

Kupros began in 2021 through the National Security Innovation Network Foundry Startup Studio, a U.S. defense technology-transfer program that connects entrepreneurs with technologies developed inside federal laboratories.

Founder and CEO Ian Ramsdell, a U.S. Navy veteran, was introduced to a conductive filament technology developed at Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane Division.

The underlying research had already demonstrated something many experts believed could not be done: process a highly conductive metallic material through an FDM/FFF-style manufacturing platform.

Kupros was formed to take that laboratory breakthrough and turn it into a commercially manufacturable material and, ultimately, a new platform for Additive Manufactured Electronics.

Why the Name Kupros?

The name Kupros comes from the Greek term associated with copper, connecting the company to one of civilization's oldest and most important conductive metals.

Our flagship material follows the same logic.

Cu is the chemical symbol for copper.

29 is copper's atomic number.

Cu29 represents the intersection of thousands of years of metallurgy with a fundamentally new way to manufacture electronics.

From “Impossible” to Cu29

Early in the company's development, Ian repeatedly heard that a material like Cu29 could not be manufactured or 3D printed.

Kupros kept building.

The company spent its early years developing the formulation, manufacturing process, printer parameters, and technical knowledge required to turn the original laboratory concept into a repeatable filament.

Before the material was even ready for broad commercial release, organizations including NASA, Boeing, Northrop Grumman, KBR, and U.S. Army DEVCOM prepaid for early access to Cu29.

Those early adopters helped validate a simple idea:

There was demand for Additive Manufactured Electronics that did not require proprietary million-dollar machines, silver inks, or conductivity-enabling post-processing.

The Kupros Journey

2021 | The Beginning

Kupros launched through the NSIN Foundry Startup Studio, beginning the transition of U.S. Navy-developed conductive filament technology from the laboratory toward commercialization.

2022 | Building the Company

Kupros accelerated technical and commercial development through programs including:

*NSIN Vector Dual-Use Technology Program**

*NSIN Maker**

*gener8tor gBETA**

*Bunker Labs Veterans in Residence**

*PenFed Foundation Veteran Entrepreneur Investment Program Master's Program**

Kupros also won first place in the Radius Indiana Crane IP Defense Innovation Pitch Competition and became a finalist in the U.S. Army xTech competition.

During this period, some of the company's first major aerospace and defense organizations committed to prepaid access to Cu29.

2023 | Expanding the Mission

Kupros participated in the 2Gether-International Accelerator for founders with disabilities, powered by Comcast NBCUniversal, while continuing development of Cu29 and expanding the company's customer-discovery, manufacturing, and commercialization strategy.

2024 | From Material Development to Printer Validation

Kupros expanded testing across commercial off-the-shelf FDM/FFF platforms and began building the printer profiles, manufacturing knowledge, and application-development processes required to move Cu29 beyond laboratory proof of concept.

2025 | Cu29 Reaches the Market

Kupros began delivering pilot material to early adopters across aerospace, defense, national laboratories, universities, and advanced manufacturing.

At RAPID + TCT 2025, Kupros was named Runner-Up in SME's AM Pitchfest for its presentation, 3D Printable Conductive Solder for FDM Printers.

Kupros was also selected for the Spark Cleantech Accelerator at the University of Tennessee Research Park, where the company expanded customer discovery and commercialization work through the accelerator and I-Corps process.

2026 | Industry Recognition and Scale

2026 has marked another major step forward for Kupros.

The company was selected as a finalist in the Rice University Veterans Business Battle, joined the AMUG Start-Up Launchpad, and was selected as a featured startup in the eMerge Americas Global Startup Accelerator + Showcase.

At RAPID + TCT 2026, Kupros participated in the StartUp Showcase, delivered technical presentations on Cu29 and Additive Manufactured Electronics, and achieved one of its largest milestones to date:

Cu29 won the 2026 TCT Materials Award.

Kupros also joined America Makes as a Silver Member, expanding its role within the U.S. additive manufacturing and advanced manufacturing ecosystem.

Technical development continues alongside that commercial growth. Kupros has expanded R&D into high-current and high-voltage conductors, antenna and RF test structures, embedded and surface-integrated sensors, strain gauges, coils, solderable interfaces, shielding, grounding, and new embedded-electronics manufacturing workflows.

Cu29-enabled sensor test articles have also been shipped to Oak Ridge National Laboratory for additional evaluation.

Built With Early Adopters

Cu29 has been purchased or evaluated by organizations across aerospace, defense, national laboratories, academia, research, and advanced manufacturing.

Early customers and adopters include:

NASA • Boeing • Northrop Grumman • KBR • U.S. Army DEVCOM • U.S. Army Research Laboratory • Los Alamos National Laboratory • Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory • Youngstown State University • Purdue University Center for In-Space Manufacturing • nScrypt • Sciperio • Sonera • and others

Their feedback has helped shape the evolution of Cu29 from an experimental material into a broader manufacturing platform.

Cu29 V2

Everything Kupros learned from the first-generation pilot material has been fed back into Cu29 V2.

The second-generation formulation is focused on improved printability, extrusion behavior, process consistency, manufacturing repeatability, and production scalability while retaining the fundamental advantage that made Cu29 different from the beginning:

all-metal, power-capable conductivity on accessible FDM/FFF printer infrastructure.

Cu29 V2 represents the next phase of Kupros' transition from deep-tech development to commercial deployment.

More Than a Filament Company

Kupros is not building another conductive filament company.

We are developing a new electronics manufacturing stack.

One where conductive pathways, sensors, antennas, circuits, and electronic functionality can increasingly become part of the structure being manufactured rather than separate systems installed afterward.

One where a desktop FDM/FFF printer can become a development platform for functional electronics.

One where advanced manufacturing capabilities can move closer to the engineer, laboratory, factory floor, depot, or point of need.