A Chinese tech company that specializes in tools for the makerspace community recently held its grand opening in Mountain View as part of an expansion effort to make its technology more accessible to businesses, hobbyists and other creative professionals.
Desktop manufacturing company xTool launched five years ago with the goal of helping people turn ideas into reality through the use of laser-cutting and engraving tools. Since then, its customer base has grown to about 800,000 users worldwide with a majority located in the U.S., according to Jasen Wang, xTool founder and CEO.
The company has not had an office presence in the U.S. however, until recently. On July 31, xTool officially opened its doors to the public at 2019 Leghorn St. after years of interacting with the makerspace community online.
“We’re ready to provide local support to our customers,” Wang said.
At 12,000 square feet, the two-story commercial building is “just the right size” for a company that is looking to grow over the next five years, said Stein Shi, xTool’s U.S. head manager. Currently, xTool has about 14 employees with plans to hire more people by the end of the year, ideally doubling in size, Shi said.
A big attraction for picking Mountain View as its headquarters is the city’s proximity to major tech companies like Google and Microsoft. These are companies that encourage people to make things, Wang said.
But small businesses and entrepreneurs are a big part of the company’s customer base too.
“It’s kind of the American Dream. People find their own way to support themselves,” Wang said, noting the U.S. has a strong DIY culture. “And some dreams need some kind of tool support.”
For the grand opening, xTool set up the first floor of the building into distinct exhibition zones featuring the company’s latest technologies. Portable desktop machines churned out customized engraving on handheld trinkets, a reportedly popular tool among entrepreneurs and hobbyists.
“It’s possible to go a lot bigger too,” Alan Zenreich, a demo room host and longtime xTool user, said. “I’ve even engraved a canoe.”
Printers with touch screens displayed options for retail branding on objects like sports equipment, cosmetics and leisurewear. Outside the showroom, sparks flew from a welding station, displaying metal laser-cutting capabilities.
The idea is for the showroom to be a space where people can play with the machines and learn about their capabilities, said Montana Gehring, xTool brand manager. The company also plans to hold workshops and events for the makerspace community, she said.
xTool is owned by Makerblock, a Chinese company that produces robotic kits for STEM education. Wang founded Makerblock about 12 years ago. There have been some changes in the makerspace community since then, he said. Printers have become more affordable and the hardware has gotten a lot better.
But there also have been some contravening trends.
“Nowadays, it’s very easy to create in the digital world especially with the help of AI,” Wang said. “But we live in a physical world and we think that creating in the physical world, solving problems in the physical world, is so important.”
For these reasons, Wang says the company is invested in contributing to the makerspace community, not just selling products but also giving back by donating tools and creating networking and educational opportunities.
This year, xTool is planning to donate 50 laser machines, valued at $200,000 in total, to schools, educational organizations and makerspace communities, according to a recent press release.
It also is offering hands-on direct assistance to customers through an expanded network of service providers, known as the “xTool squad.”
The vision is to encourage and to help more people create in the physical world, Wang said.
“It’s a new era of the maker movement,” he said.
This story originally appeared in the Mountain View Voice. Emily Margaretten joined the Mountain View Voice in 2023 as a reporter covering City Hall.
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