Thrive
Disney Accelerator accepts St. Pete 3D printing company
St. Petersburg-based Haddy, an innovative 3D printing manufacturing company, has been selected to be a member of the Disney Accelerator 2025 class.
The accelerator program supports “cutting edge” businesses nationwide that “advance” the arts, technology and immersive experiences. These selected organizations have already worked with the Walt Disney Company.
The companies will get the opportunity to build relationships and collaborate with the entertainment conglomerate’s leaders, as well as secure investment capital. Haddy and three other businesses were chosen out of thousands of applicants.
Being selected by Disney was “a huge honor,” John “Jay” Rogers, Haddy founder and CEO, told the Catalyst.
Haddy, which opened a 32,000 sq. ft. microfactory in St. Pete last April, at 251 10th Street N., utilizes robotics, artificial intelligence and 3D printing to create recyclable, large-scale objects such as furniture, industrial concrete forms, dog homes and boats.
Rogers and his team built research and development (R&D) products for Disney prior to joining the accelerator program.
“We are going to work to help Disney identify new technologies that will help in our area of expertise, and our area of expertise is around theme parks, set design, retail, hospitality, home and more,” he explained. “We will work on products and specifically the technology around those products.”
Haddy will begin to create items beyond R&D for the entertainment company. “We’re going to be making a lot of things,” Rogers said.
The company’s emphasis on robotics and 3D printing is a way to disrupt how products are manufactured, he explained. “It’s the complexity of the number of parts that come together to make something that really makes it hard.”
Rogers and the Haddy team started with furniture to experiment with manufacturing technology. Their goal was to make the experience easier and more efficient.
Founded in 2022, the company previously had a starter factory in the Warehouse Arts District before opening its new facility.
“To make the hardest stuff in the world, you have to start by making some of the simplest stuff in the world,” he added.
Since launching, Haddy has been able to increase the variation of products it makes, Rogers said.
Launched in 2014, the Disney Accelerator program has previously supported companies such as Kahoot!, Epic Games and AudioShake.
“The emergence of new technologies is having more impact on the entertainment industry than ever before,” said David Min, VP of Innovation, the Walt Disney Company in a prepared statement.
With the Disney Accelerator program, we have a dedicated structure for Disney to embrace these technologies and create new storytelling experiences at the pace that our audiences expect.”
Haddy will participate in a demo day at the Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, California in November. Other 2025 cohort members include Animaj, DramaBox and LIMINAL Space, Inc.
