2 days, 2 deals: Siemens to acquire Defacto Technologies
Siemens just announced that it will acquire Defacto Technologies for its "register-transfer level (RTL) design field focused on automated SoC design creation and integration." Siemens says the acquisition "further expands Siemens’ EDA portfolio with capabilities that...
Siemens to acquire Precision Innovations for AI-powered chip planning
Just into the Inbox: Siemens will acquire Precision Innovations to add AI-powered chip planning capabilities to its EDA portfolio. As far as I can tell (not an EDA person), Precision Innovations' offering is the open-source OpenROAD framework, which "help[s]...
FT: Dassault Systèmes might be adding to its life sciences offering
The Financial Times reported yesterday (and I haven't been able to verify) that Dassault Systèmes is in talks to buy drug trial software maker ArisGlobal from Nordic Capital for about $2 billion. The FT article mostly discusses what Nordic Capital would get from the...
Super quick: Maya HTT acquires Friendship Systems
This email just landed in my inbox -- I am late for a meeting but it matters so you need to know about it: Maya HTT is pleased to welcome Friendship Systems and CAESES to the Maya HTT family. As part of this acquisition, Maya HTT is expanding its engineering software...
Clues ahead of PLMish earnings season? Or not?
PLMish earnings start tomorrow, when Sandvik reports its second-quarter results. I don’t know what they'll say, but I'm getting questions about PLMish earnings since IBM pre-announced results on Tuesday morning, so let's explore. [Quick refresher: US companies release...
Schneider Electric to acquire Cognite for $3.1billion
Well, well, well. Schneider Electric just announced that it will acquire Cognite Holding in an all-cash transaction valued at $3.1 billion, and will "integrate the industrial artificial intelligence software company's data foundation" into AVEVA. I first came across...
Autodesk’s $3.6B bet on MaintainX for asset operations
Autodesk just announced the largest acquisition in the company’s history: it will acquire MaintainX for $3.6 billion as the starting point for a new Autodesk Operations Solutions division. So many questions: Who? Why? Why now? And, of course, what’s with that huge...
The additive saga continues: Stratasys buys MarkForged
I've written plenty about how technology needs to be timed just right: too early to market and a company expends all its energy and capital on educating that market on why the tech matters; too late, and a company loses the advantage of being seen as cutting edge....
Nemetschek expands Build with HCSS acquisition
Nemetschek just announced that it will acquire Heavy Construction Systems Specialists (HCSS) from private equity firm Thoma Bravo. I know you're all asking, who?? HCSS makes specialized software for civil, infrastructure, and utility contractors. They offer solutions...
Evolution continues: Hexagon buys Waygate
Hexagon continues its reinvention — the PPM spin-off, Octave, won't be complete until May, in all likelihood — today announcing the acquisition of Waygate Technologies for $1.45 billion in cash (about €1.24 billion), in a carve-out from Baker Hughes. Waygate had...
PTC’s Strategic Pivot: Back to the Future – and welcome, Velotic
You might recall PTC’s announcement last year regarding the sale of its ThingWorx and Kepware businesses to TPG for $725 million. Last week, the deal officially closed. While the headline figure is large, it’s not all “cash in hand.” After accounting for a potential...
Hexagon and Cadence complete transfer of design & engineering business
Superquick. Blizzard bearing down, may lose power (but warm and cozy so far). Hexagon and Cadence just announced that completion of the sale of Hexagon's Design & Engineering business (D&E) to Cadence, for a total of around €2.7 billion: something like €1.9...
SaaS isn’t going away—even in the age of AI
I get asked this a lot: "Is SaaS dead?" — and, given that all of the PLMish companies in our space sell their software that way, it's a good question. The whole "SaaS is dead" thing apparently started when Microsoft's CEO, Satya Nadella, said something like this:...
“Flow” wars: Autodesk sues Google over product name
Reuters reported yesterday that Autodesk is suing Google for infringing on its "Flow" trademark and marketing competing AI-enabled tools that, like Autodesk's Flow, are used to make movies, TV shows, and video games. In the complaint, Autodesk says it began using the...
Super quick: Siemens adds to EDA portfolio
Siemens just announced that it has acquired Canopus AI, makers of a computational metrology platform for semiconductor manufacturers. [If you Google, note that there are two companies called Canopus AI; Siemens acquired this one: https://www.canopus-ai.com/] Siemens...
PLM earnings check: AI, tariffs, and longer sales cycles
Earnings season kicked off last week. No true PLM heavyweights yet, but enough software and industrial results to start looking at sales and demand trends. And some interesting bits and pieces. Fasten your seatbelts. SAP reported Q4 revenue of €9.68 billion, up 3%...
Autodesk to RIF 7% of staff – most in sales/marketing
In a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission today, Autodesk announced that it was restructuring its sales and marketing organization (again, still), which the company expects will “result in the termination of approximately 7% of its workforce, or...
So much news: Synopsys, Bentley, Hexagon & more deals
Hello 2026! Is it too late to wish you a happy, productive new year? I hope not — because I do! Of course, the news continued to flow as December wore on and January began, so let's do a quick catch-up. Just today, Synopsys announced that it had sold its Processor IP...
Happy Holidays!
What a year: we've had terrible news and remarkable breakthroughs, wonderful friendships, and new insights. I'm grateful to you for reading, commenting, chatting, and meeting up, but now it's time to unplug, hope for just the right amount of snow, and eat all the...
NVIDIA invests in Synopsys to expand reach of GPU-enabled simulation
Yesterday, Synopsys and NVIDIA announced that NVIDIA is taking a $2 billion equity stake in Synopsys as part of a broader partnership centered on AI, chip design, and market expansion. This deal isn’t just marketing fluff — it has real money behind it. NVIDIA bought...
