Global supply chain disruptions (like the U.S. import tariffs, material shortages, and geopolitical instability) have put intense pressure on medtech companies. But what if the biggest risk to your medtech supply chain isn’t the next tariff or material shortage, but your assumptions about how medical devices should be made?

For decades, medtech manufacturing has followed a familiar playbook: partner with a large-scale contract manufacturer, produce high volumes of standardized devices using traditional CNC machining, and rely on global logistics to get them to market. This approach worked—until it didn’t.

From geopolitical shocks and pandemic-induced bottlenecks to rising costs and shifting regulatory landscapes, cracks in the traditional model are now impossible to ignore. What’s more, we’re seeing a generational shift in technology that threatens to make the old ways of manufacturing obsolete.

Welcome to the age of intelligent, localized, AI-driven 3D printing. And no, this isn’t another hype cycle. This time, the change is real, and it’s already reshaping the medtech manufacturing map.

The End of CNC?

Let’s be clear: CNC machining isn’t going anywhere. It’s an engineering marvel that still outperforms additive methods for certain applications, especially when you need high precision and consistent results at scale. We use it. We respect it.

But CNC alone can’t meet the demands of personalized care, especially as we move toward patient-specific solutions in applications like orthopedics and dental implants. No matter how finely you calibrate your CNC setup, it’s still built for sameness, not for the anatomical uniqueness of every human body.

3D printing offers an exciting solution to this. When powered by AI, additive manufacturing is a powerful production-ready tool that enables the creation of truly custom devices, often within days, and often right where they’re needed.

Small Players, Big Impact

Traditionally, only large medtech companies had the resources to bring products to market. Manufacturing infrastructure was expensive, and economies of scale mattered above all else. But AI-driven 3D printing is changing this paradigm. Suddenly, smaller medtech firms are no longer boxed out by a lack of scale. They can move faster, build smarter, and manufacture closer to the point of care. Further, without legacy systems to unlearn or millions sunk into outdated infrastructure, they’re free to innovate with speed and precision.

In this way, you could say they’re the Teslas of medtech. Just as Tesla leapfrogged internal combustion engine industry leaders like Toyota by starting fresh with EVs, small medtechs are using AI and 3D printing to bypass expensive legacy processes and costs. Meanwhile, many of the traditional giants are stuck trying to retrofit a decades-old playbook to a game that’s already changed.

This isn’t to say large players are doomed—far from it. They have scale, reach, and regulatory muscle. But to stay relevant, they’ll need to rethink how and where they collaborate. Because in the hybrid future, agility will matter just as much as scale.

The Future Is Hybrid, Not Binary

Let’s retire the idea that the future of manufacturing is either traditional or additive. It’s both. The smartest strategies will leverage the best of both worlds, and smart companies will know when to use each. Need ultra-high precision metal components in massive volumes? CNC still wins. Need a custom-fit hip implant for a specific patient. That’s 3D printing’s sweet spot. Need that implant delivered in just 72 hours? That’s where AI-powered 3D printing is changing the game.

We’ve entered a new manufacturing paradigm where flexibility, speed, and localization are becoming as critical as accuracy and scale. And that opens the door for more decentralized models of production, some of which we’re already seeing emerge (just not where you think).

Look at the Mayo Clinic for an example. They’ve invested in their own in-house 3D printing facility to create patient-specific implants and anatomical models. What once took weeks via global supply chains now happens in a few days, without leaving the building.

Or look at Thailand’s sandbox facilities, where new devices are tested in real clinical settings prior to FDA approval. This approach (which, on a side note, is far slower under current U.S. regulations) is drastically shortening the path from prototype to patient.

Imagine a future where every major hospital is also a micro-manufacturer that prints patient-matched devices on-site, massively reducing lead times and improving outcomes. That future is closer than you think. But scaling this model isn’t without its challenges. The biggest challenges right now are supply chain and talent.

Supply Chain Rules Are Being Rewritten

Traditionally, the production of surgical implants and tools meant long, centralized manufacturing cycles and rigid supply logistics. But that’s changing fast. The convergence of additive manufacturing, AI-driven design, and digital twin technology is set to radically reinvent the way medical devices are made and moved.

In this new model, the patient is the blueprint. AI tools can convert patient data into bespoke devices that fit each individual’s unique anatomy. These digital twins can then be sent to any connected 3D printer anywhere in the world. That means that the devices can be produced locally in a matter of days, and without having to depend on long-haul shipping or geopolitics.

This transformation could reshape the entire surgical landscape by allowing faster, smarter, and more patient-centric surgical care.

The AI Talent Crunch Is Real—And Holding Us Back

AI is the engine behind next-generation 3D printing, and the one that could even help it compete with CNC in terms of automation and scale. It powers everything from anatomical modeling to print path optimization to quality control. In doing so, it enables real-time planning and rapid iteration. But the pool of people who understand both AI and medtech manufacturing is vanishingly small.

Even in the U.S., where AI talent is relatively abundant compared to the rest of the world, most experts are focused on finance, advertising, or general-purpose models, not on biocompatible lattice structures for orthopedic implants.

In Southeast Asia, we’re seeing a different story. Governments are fostering cross-disciplinary talent pipelines, regulatory bodies are helping (not hindering) startups, and clinicians are coming to us with ideas for new applications.

It wasn’t like this five years ago. Back then, 3D printing was dismissed as “too niche” or “not ready.” Now, surgeons understand the clinical value of patient-specific devices, and they’re demanding tools that deliver.

A New Operating Model for Medtech

Where does this leave us? In our view, the future of medtech manufacturing will be defined by hybrid infrastructure that combines traditional CNC and additive methods based on use case (not dogma), decentralized hubs that bring manufacturing closer to the point of care, and smaller players leading innovation—with all of this supercharged by AI (design, customization, quality control, and more).

In 2025 and beyond, we’ll also see greater global collaboration, with Southeast Asia emerging as a launchpad for agile development and clinical validation.

If you’re still optimizing your supply chain for the world as it was, not as it is becoming, you’re already behind. The choice ahead isn’t between old and new, CNC or 3D, centralized or local. The real question is: Are you building a manufacturing model that’s resilient, adaptive, and ready for what’s next? The next chapter of medtech isn’t about doing one thing better. It’s about doing everything together—smarter.