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...
Time for a pause …
It’s been a very busy Fall —let's face it, it's been a tough year— so it’s lovely to feel things slowing down this week. In the US, Thanksgiving Thursday is about food, family, friends, and being grateful for the bounty in our lives. And if you don't celebrate this...
PTC sells ThingWorx+Kepware to TPG
PTC and TPG announced last night that PTC is selling Kepware and ThingWorx to TPG to "provide the businesses with additional capital and expertise to accelerate growth and further their leadership to meet the evolving connectivity and data needs of manufacturing...
When AI isn’t just a tool, it’s a partner: Pricing the value
A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about Autodesk introducing outcome-based pricing for (some, all?) of its AI offerings. I wrote, This makes sense when we consider the AI products Autodesk is planning to bring to market; for example, describing a building and having a...
Bluebeam Unbound 2025: AI, MagicWand, and why user conferences rock
Have I mentioned how much I love user conferences? They’re hands-down my favorite type of event. Investor and analyst gatherings may be more focused, but they can’t match the energy of users charging into an event space with flags waving, cheers erupting, and...
Polymer printing, virtual factories, and a $5 billion bet on physical AI
I haven’t had time for a full news roundup lately, but here are a few items that caught my eye—presented in no particular order: 3D Systems is reshaping its software portfolio, announcing plans to divest the Oqton Manufacturing Operating System (MOS) and 3DXpert, its...
Autodesk wants you to pay for outcomes, not just access
Autodesk held its bi-annual investor event yesterday, and much of it was product-related, a repeat of what we heard at Autodesk University. One thing that became clearer yesterday, though, was how Autodesk will shift its licensing model yet again to include more...
Quick catchup: Ajai Gopal to join Procore, Desktop Metal finds a home, CAE partners merge, more AI
A lot is going on (is there ever not?), so here are a few bits and pieces you might find interesting: I don't usually write about executive transitions, but this one is noteworthy: Former Ansys CEO Ajai Gopal has been appointed CEO Designate of Procore, the...
Are CAD Tools Really That Cheap?
During Bentley Systems’ recent earnings call, former CEO and current Chairman Greg Bentley told investors that his company could expand its total addressable market by enhancing its products and charging more for them. To make the case, he referenced this 2019 data:...
