Giving You the Power to Make Anything: Autodesk, Inc.

“Autodesk is a global company and its products are available in 17 languages. The company has 9500+ employees around the world and more than half of its revenues come from geographies outside North America.”

In 1982, the computer was named as Time Magazine’s “Man of the Year”. Autodesk and its 16 employees used the technology of the day to change the world of design with the introduction of the AutoCAD software. Autodesk linked technology innovation to that idea that design can dramatically change our world and the ways in which we live. Today, what began as an important 2D innovation has become so much more. Autodesk’s first notable first notable product was AutoCAD 1.0; termed as CAD/ (Computer Aided Design). The software was considered the first program of its own type and had unique features. This form of design which people work with uses computers to create ideas, models and prototypes. This tool allowed users to create detailed technical drawings, and was affordable to many smaller design, engineering, and architecture companies. Autodesk software has been used in many fields, from the New York Freedom Tower to Tesla electric cars.

Autodesk, Inc. is a leader in 3D design, engineering and entertainment software. Millions of people imagine, design, and create the things around us with Autodesk software – whether those things are places, physical products or media and entertainment. As the connected future takes shape, Autodesk will ensure its customers have the best solutions and information to understand and tackle the challenges of this dynamic environment. No other company helps people imagine, design, and create across this broad range of industries.

Making Software for People Who Make Things
Autodesk makes software for people who make things. If you’ve ever driven a high-performance car, admired a towering skyscraper, used a smartphone, or watched a great film, chances are you’ve experienced what millions of Autodesk customers are doing with our software. Autodesk gives you the power to make anything.

Across the manufacturing, architecture, building, construction, and media and entertainment industries—including the last 21 Academy Award winners for Best Visual Effects, customers use Autodesk software to design, visualize, and simulate their ideas before they’re ever built or created. From blockbuster visual effects and buildings that create their own energy, to electric cars and the batteries that power them, the work of our 3D software customers is everywhere you look. Through its apps for iPhone, iPad, iPod, and Android, the Autodesk team is also making design technology accessible to professional designers and amateur designers, homeowners, students, and casual creators — anyone who wants to create and share their ideas with the world.

Clientele
Over 170 million people use Autodesk software like AutoCAD, Inventor, Revit, Maya, 3ds Max, Fusion 360, SketchBook, Pixlr and more to unlock their creativity and solve important design, business, environmental and societal challenges. The top industries that the company serves include manufacturing, architecture, engineering and construction, media and entertainment. Its customers range from designers and engineers of all kinds, construction and factory project managers and workers, visual artists to students and educators.

“Through our apps for iPhone, iPad, iPod, and Android, we are making design technology accessible to professional designers and amateur designers, homeowners, students, and casual creators — anyone who wants to create and share their ideas with the world.”

Success Stories

Under Armour: Athletic apparel-maker Under Armour collaborated with Autodesk to generatively design and 3D print a new performance training shoe called the UA Architech. Autodesk software was critical to the team at Under Armour achieving some of the key goals for the shoe. Notably, Autodesk Within was used to generatively design the lattice midsole for a stable heel structure with the appropriate elements of cushioning for strength training. Generative design is a pioneering technology where a computer algorithm creates structures based on desired criteria like durability, flexibility and weight. It results in complex, high-performing structures that human designers would never conceive of otherwise, and — as is the case with the UA Architech — requires 3D printing to fabricate. Autodesk’s cloud-based Fusion 360 software was also integral to the shoe’s concept development and refinement.

Industrial Light & Magic: Academy Award-winning visual effects house uses Autodesk digital entertainment software to create visual effects shots for the hottest blockbuster movies, including Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Terminator Salvation, and Star Trek. ILM created stunning visual effects using Autodesk visual effects software, including Autodesk Maya and the Autodesk Inferno software that is part of ILM’s proprietary SABRE high-speed compositing system.

Knowing the Mastermind

Carl Bass, President & CEO – Carl is a leader in 3D design, engineering, and entertainment software. Bass co-founded Ithaca Software, which was acquired by Autodesk in 1993. Since joining the company, he has held several executive positions including chief technology officer and chief operations officer. Bass serves on the boards of directors of Autodesk and HP Inc.; on the board of trustees of the Smithsonian’s Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum, Art Center College of Design, and California College of the Arts; and on the advisory boards of Cornell Computing and Information Science, UC Berkeley School of Information, and UC Berkeley College of Engineering.

“Our software runs on both personal computers and mobile devices and taps the infinite computing power of the cloud to help teams around the world collaborate, design, simulate and fabricate their ideas in 3D.”