Layer By Layer

aid: layer-by-layer
deliveryModel:
  model: unknown
  open_source: false
  commercial: false
  callable_host: false
  label: Delivery model not determined — needs a product licence on record
  confidence: low
  source:
  - none
  generated: '2026-08-28'
  method: derived
accessModel:
  pricing: unknown
  onboarding: unknown
  trial: false
  try_now: false
  public: false
  label: Unknown
  confidence: low
  source: []
  generated: '2026-07-22'
  method: derived
image: https://kinlane-images.s3.amazonaws.com/shared/apis-json/icons/layer-by-layer.png
name: Layer By Layer
description: 'Layer By Layer was a San Francisco 3D-printing software startup founded in 2012 and part of Y Combinator''s
  Summer 2013 batch. It operated a marketplace for buying, selling, and sharing printable 3D designs, and built streaming
  and digital rights management technology that let licensed content partners distribute 3D-printable intellectual property
  without handing over raw model files. MakerBot (Stratasys) announced its acquisition of the company in November 2014 and
  folded the streaming and DRM technology into the MakerBot Digital Store. The company no longer operates independently: layerbylayer.com
  is a parked domain, and there is no developer portal, documentation, public API, or GitHub organization to enrich.'
url: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/layer-by-layer/refs/heads/main/apis.yml
x-type: company
x-source: vc-portfolio
x-backed-by:
- a16z
x-backed-by-source: https://a16z.com/investment-list/
x-tier: stub
x-tier-reason: acquired-no-api-surface
x-status: acquired
x-acquired-by: MakerBot (Stratasys)
x-acquired-announced: '2014-11-13'
x-acquisition-source: https://3dprintingindustry.com/news/makerbot-acquisition-layer-36425
x-accelerator: Y Combinator (S13)
x-founded: '2012'
x-headquarters: San Francisco, California, United States
x-founders:
- Jonathan Schwartz
- Max Friefeld
- Graham Tremper
- Dustin Kane
- Becca Schwartz
- Oliver Ortlieb
x-former-website: http://layerbylayer.com
x-website-status: parked
x-api-surface: none
x-enrichment-note: Enrichment pass 2026-07-19 found no live provider surface. The former domain layerbylayer.com is parked
  and soft-404s every path (including /.well-known/* and /llms.txt) with a lander redirect, so no well-known, llms.txt, or
  security.txt artifacts exist. No GitHub organization, package-registry presence, OpenAPI, docs, or status page were found.
  No artifacts were generated, because there is nothing real to ground them in.
specificationVersion: '0.23'
created: '2026-07-17'
modified: '2026-07-19'
tags:
- Company
- 3D Printing
- Additive Manufacturing
- Marketplace
- Digital Rights Management
- Acquired
- Y Combinator
apis: []
common:
- type: CompanyProfile
  url: https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/layer-by-layer
- type: Acquisition
  url: https://3dprintingindustry.com/news/makerbot-acquisition-layer-36425
- type: Crunchbase
  url: https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/layer-by-layer
maintainers:
- FN: Kin Lane
  email: kin@apievangelist.com
- FN: APIs.json
  email: info@apis.io
x-enrichment:
  date: '2026-07-19'
  status: backfilled
  pass: local-v1
  note: backfilled from .gitignore signal + verified work evidence