WIKIFACTORY IS MOVING ITS GLOBAL HEADQUARTERS FROM HONG KONG TO DENMARK

Copenhagen, 27 January, 2021 – Today, Wikifactory – the world’s first social platform for collaborative product development, is excited to announce Copenhagen as the new home of its headquarters. A high-growth tech start-up, Wikifactory is active in over 190 countries with more than 80,000 subscribers using its all-in-one workspace to develop and prototype real products collaboratively, all in one online process. A global innovation hub for the products of tomorrow, and a bold, online alternative to the world’s fragile supply chain model, Wikifactory will be building the Internet of Production from the heart of Denmark.

Denmark’s relative neutrality toward the US-China trade war and its history of incubating some of the world’s most admired design and technology enterprises gives the country a unique, competitive edge in the current climate. Hosting advanced and highly specialised manufacturing, and diverse networks including MADE, AM Hub, the robotics cluster in Odense, SoundHub in Struer, and knowledge centres such as Teknologisk Institut and several of the world’s top-ranking universities, makes Denmark a natural launchpad for an enterprise of Wikifactory’s scope.

Until recently, Wikifactory was headquartered in Hong Kong, with its team spread across Madrid, London, and Shenzhen. However local and global developments have made Hong Kong sub-optimal for its core business operations. Among the candidates for relocation were Singapore, San Francisco, London, and Amsterdam. But the founders were won over by Denmark’s high global rankings, progressive business landscape and its vast resources for high-performing digital ventures. We also felt welcomed by institutions such as Copenhagen Capacity, who provided information, benchmarks and valuable advice.

Nicolai Peitersen, Wikifactory’s Danish-born co-founder, executive chairman and author of The Ethical Economy (Columbia University Press, NY, 2013), comments: “After more than two decades living and working abroad in China, the UK and France, I’m very excited to be bringing the business back to my home country. Not only as a proud Dane, but because of the country’s pure merit recognised by my international co-founders. Back in 2019 when we were invited to host our Internet of Production event at the annual TechFestival in Copenhagen, we knew already then that Denmark was a strong fit with our business values.”

Torben Wind, serial entrepreneur and investor in Wikifactory, comments: “International innovation is truly at its cutting-edge on Wikifactory. I have not been this excited about the vision and success of a company since I co-founded Navision back in the early 1980s. What Nicolai and the team are developing is going to shift the landscape and make way for a new category of resilient technology. This is an exciting venture for Denmark to nurture and showcase to the world.”

Wikifactory’s global community of skilled engineers, product designers, hardware start-ups and makers is growing at a staggering rate of 15% month on month. Global subscription is set to reach over 300,000 by the end of the year, and already more than 4,000 finished products have been developed virtually from robotics and electric vehicles to drones and agri-tech. From sustainable energy appliances and lab equipment, to 3D printers themselves; and from smart furniture and biotech fashion materials to medical supplies, including vital PPE and ventilators. No industry is left untouched.

Adopted by the global Fablab network of 3,000 makerspaces borne out of MIT, and powering organisations such as Field Ready who are the engineering equivalent of Médecins Sans Frontieres, Wikifactory is innovating Big Industry and  paving the way for a new industrial model.

Niels Christian Nielsen, Board Director of Wikifactory and Silicon Valley based Board Director in multiple companies, including the Endowment Board of  the Wikimedia Foundation, comments: “Not only has Wikifactory had success in terms of growth, but it champions an ambitious business model for sustainable production and a circular economy. If the global product development workforce has an online infrastructure to innovate globally for local production exactly where it’s needed, this will power innovation exponentially; innovate how, how much, and where we produce, revolutionize how and what we consume, thereby helping to equalize the global playing-field.”

About Wikifactory

Inspired by the workflows of agile and open source software development, Wikifactory is the world’s first social platform and online collaboration system to design, prototype and produce real things in virtual teams. Its Collaborative CAD Tool is compatible with over 30 file formats. Its documentation system, version control drive, and feedback system, as well as its sophisticated web publishing tool to post blogs and engage in expert debates in forums, make the platform an all-in-one space for individuals and an open innovation hub for enterprise. Adopted by thousands of hardware start-ups and communities making thousands of meaningful products that solve real-world problems, Wikifactory is building the Internet of Production. A single infrastructure to connect every element of global supply chain in one seamless online system. Wikifactory launched its Beta in May 2019 and was founded by Tom Salfield, Christina Rebel, Maximilian Kampik and Nicolai Pietersen, and international team of entrepreneurs from the UK, the Netherlands, Spain, Germany and Denmark. Wikifactory is where ideas get made.

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