Top of the bubble!
I'm old enough to recall the 1999 - 2001 announcements from various Web 1.0 startups that sounded a lot like this. This sounds a whole lot like the founders preparing the company for an acquisition, shortly followed by their personal paydays.
It's the classic hype cycle - a couple rounds of VC funding, excessive marketing (giving away 3D printers to schools), convincing the pundits to write that this will change the nature of manufacturing, more VC funding, and a slow decline as the bubble deflates. I think 3D printing is cool, and it's a good way to get kids interested in CAD and manufacturing, but startup hubris is legendary, especially when everyone around you is saying "This time it's different!"