4 on a Wednesday: AspenTech mulls partial sale; Siemens, 3D Systems, and Procore acquire (not each other)

There’s so much going on that it’s time for a mid-week news roundup:

You saw that Autodesk completed its Upchain acquisition, so we won’t cover that again. But there’s much more to go over:

Earlier today, Bloomberg reported that Aspen Tech is exploring its strategic options, which might include selling a minority stake. Options could include an industrial partner, like PTC and Rockwell, or Siemens Digital Industries Software (fka UGS) and Siemens. Or it could include partnering with another software company that lacks (and could benefit from) its asset performance management and/or process simulation and/or oil and gas supply chain offerings. Of course, there’s also the financial buyer option. Yahoo News, which is where I saw the story and which is linked above, says that “deliberations are ongoing and may not lead to a transaction … A representative for Bedford, Massachusetts-based Aspen Tech declined to comment.”

Also today. Siemens Digital Industries Software announced that it has acquired Fractal Technologies, which makes production signoff-quality IP validation solutions. Siemens says this will enable its electronic design automation (EDA) customers to “more quickly and easily validate internal and external IP and libraries used in their integrated circuit (IC) designs to improve overall quality and speed time-to-market”. The acquisition closed earlier this month, and terms were not disclosed.

Last week, 3D Systems announced that it made two acquisitions to further its strategic redirection. First, for bioprinting applications, it acquired Allevi, a developer of 3D bioprinters, biomaterials (aka bioinks), and specialized laboratory software. Allevi today is used in 380 medical and pharmaceutical laboratories in over 40 countries. 3D Systems says, “Allevi’s business model aligns well with 3D Systems, and they are well-positioned to leverage the technology that the company has developed for in vivo applications to meet laboratory needs on an expanded scale”. Second, to broaden the adoption of additive manufacturing (AM) in industrial settings, 3D Systems announced that it will acquire Additive Works. Additive Works makes solutions for simulation-based optimization and automation of the AM print preparation and workflow. 3D Systems says, “This highly automated simulation software, which interfaces seamlessly with leading CAD systems as well as 3DXpert and other print platforms, increases productivity by reducing set-up time while improving product yield, throughput, and component performance. The result is a faster, more reliable manufacturing process, reduced part cost, and improved component performance.” I believe terms were not disclosed for either deal but will update if I find otherwise.

Also last week. Procore announced that it acquired INDUS.AI, maker of an artificial intelligence-powered analytics platform for the construction industry. Procore says that INDUS.AI routinely monitors over 100 million square feet of construction sites; its AI engine has been trained on millions of images and videos to track and review construction progress, ensure safety and compliance, view labor deployment, minimize equipment idle time, and resolve claim disputes. Procore plans to integrate INDUS.AI’s capabilities into the Procore platform. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.