AutoCAD is a 2D and 3D computer-aided design (CAD) software application developed by Autodesk. It was first released in December 1982 for the CP/M and IBM PC platforms as a desktop app running on microcomputers with internal graphics controllers. Initially a DOS application, subsequent versions were later released for other platforms including Classic Mac OS (1989), Microsoft Windows (1993) and macOS (2010), along with companion web and mobile applications.
Autodesk, Inc. is an American multinational software corporation that provides software products and services for the architecture, engineering, construction, manufacturing, media, education, and entertainment industries. Autodesk is headquartered in San Francisco, California, and has offices worldwide. Its U.S. offices are located in the states of California, Oregon, Colorado, Texas, Michigan, New Hampshire and Massachusetts. Its Canada offices are located in the provinces of Ontario, Quebec, and Alberta.
Nemetschek Group is a vendor of software for architects, engineers and the construction industry. The company develops and distributes software for planning, designing, building and managing buildings and real estate, as well as for media and entertainment.
Apax Partners LLP is a British private equity firm, headquartered in London, England. The company also operates out of six other offices in New York, Hong Kong, Mumbai, Tel Aviv, Munich and Shanghai. As of December 2023, the firm had raised and advised funds of approximately $65 billion (USD). Apax Partners is one of the oldest and largest private equity firms operating on an international basis.
Building information modeling (BIM) is a process involving the generation and management of digital representations of the physical and functional characteristics of buildings and other physical assets. BIM is supported by various tools, technologies and contracts. Building information models (BIMs) are computer files which can be extracted, exchanged or networked to support decision-making regarding a built asset. BIM software is used by individuals, businesses and government agencies who plan, design, construct, operate and maintain buildings and diverse physical infrastructures, such as water, refuse, electricity, gas, communication utilities, roads, railways, bridges, ports and tunnels.
ArchiCAD is an architectural BIM CAD software for Mac and Windows developed by the Hungarian company Graphisoft. ArchiCAD offers computer aided solutions for common aspects of aesthetics and engineering during the design process of the built environment—buildings, interiors, urban areas, etc.
Autodesk Revit is a building information modelling software for architects, structural engineers, mechanical, electrical, and plumbing (MEP) engineers, design for contractors. The original software was developed by Charles River Software, founded in 1997, renamed Revit Technology Corporation in 2000, and acquired by Autodesk in 2002. The software allows users to design a building and structure and its components in 3D, annotate the model with 2D drafting elements, and access building information from the building model's database. Revit is 4D building information modeling application capable with tools to plan and track various stages in the building's lifecycle, from concept to construction and later maintenance and/or demolition.
Open Design Alliance is a nonprofit organization creating software development kits (SDKs) for engineering applications. ODA offers interoperability tools for CAD, BIM, and Mechanical industries including .dwg, .dxf, .dgn, Autodesk Revit, Autodesk Navisworks, and .ifc files and additional tools for visualization, web development, 3D PDF publishing and modeling.
RUCAPS was a computer aided design (CAD) system for architects, first developed during the 1970s and 1980s, and today credited as a forerunner of Building Information Modelling (BIM). It ran on minicomputers from Prime Computer and Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC).
Tekla is a software product family that consists of programs for analysis and design, detailing and project communication. Tekla software is produced by Trimble, the publicly listed US-based technology company.
Tekla Structures is a building information modeling software able to model structures that incorporate different kinds of building materials, including steel, concrete, timber and glass. Tekla allows structural drafters and engineers to design a building structure and its components using 3D modeling, generate 2D drawings and access building information. Tekla Structures was formerly known as Xsteel.
IntelliCAD is a CAD editor and development platform with an Application Programming Interface API published by the IntelliCAD Technology Consortium ("ITC") through shared development. IntelliCAD emulates the basic interface and functions of AutoCAD, however, it is particularly able to incorporate and interchange freely between a wide variety of file types.
BricsCAD® is a software application for computer-aided design (CAD), developed by Bricsys nv. The company was founded in 2002 by Erik de Keyser, a longtime CAD entrepreneur. In 2011 Bricsys acquired the intellectual property rights from Ledas for constraints-based parametric design tools, permitting the development of applications in the areas of direct modeling and assembly design. Bricsys is headquartered in Ghent, Belgium, and has additional development centers in Nizhny Novgorod and Novosibirsk, Russia; Bucharest, Romania and Singapore. Bricsys is a founding member of the Open Design Alliance, and joined the BuildingSMART International consortium in December 2016.
Carl Bass is a former president and chief executive officer of Autodesk, Inc., a maker of professional 3D design software and consumer applications, and was a co-founder of Ithaca Software, which commercialized HOOPS, a 3D graphics system. Bass has been credited with expanding Autodesk beyond its core AutoCAD software through acquisitions and new product developments and transitioning from 2D to 3D model-based design.
RIB Software SE is a Germany-based multinational company providing construction and building information modeling (BIM) software to customers in the architecture, engineering, and real estate industries. In 2020, it became a subsidiary of French multinational Schneider Electric.
RFEM is a 3D finite element analysis software working under Microsoft Windows computer operating systems. RFEM can be used for structural analysis and design of steel, concrete, timber, glass, membrane and tensile structures as well as for plant and mechanical engineering or dynamic analysis and analysis of steel joints.
PROKON Structural Analysis and Design is a suite of commercial software for structural analysis and design. PROKON software is produced by Irish company Prokon Software Limited.
cadwork informatik CI AG is a multinational software company headquartered in Basel, Switzerland. It develops and markets software products primarily for the construction industry. These products include timber industry products in computer-aided design (CAD) and computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) as well as products in building information model (BIM) and virtual design and construction (VDC). These products are suitable for designers, structural engineers, construction engineers, civil engineering draftspeople, building contractors, and in the case of BIMTeam VDC, the construction crews.
Vectorworks, Inc. is a U.S.-based software development company that focuses on CAD and BIM software for the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC), landscape, and entertainment industries. Vectorworks is owned by the Nemetschek Group, a multinational company. It operates as an independent subsidiary of Nemetschek Group.
