Spectris announces CAE ambitions, acquires VI-grade
The news came into my inbox this morning: Spectris has acquired VI-grade. Who? I know, me too. Background: Spectris is a big UK company, listed with over $2 billion in revenue in 2017. It currently does a lot of the physical parts of a test-and-simulate program:...
MSC + Hexagon: “Where Simulation Gets Real”
“This is where simulation gets real.” That’s what Paolo Guglielmini, the CEO of MSC Software, told users in his standing room only keynote at last month’s HxGN LIVE conference in Las Vegas. You might remember that Hexagon acquired MSC in 2017, with the...
Autodesk acquires Assemble as race to digitize construction stays hot
Autodesk just announced that it has acquired Assemble Systems, makers of a SaaS solution that connects BIM (building information models) to construction workflows such as bid management, estimating, scheduling, site management and finance. Autodesk says that it plans...
Quickie: Siemens acquires to build out Mentor’s IC capabilities
Siemens announced today that it is acquiring Austemper Design Systems Inc., a company that makes analysis, auto-correction and simulation technology for integrated circuit (IC) design. This complements Mentor Grpahic’s Questa software, which does functional...
Bentley steps up 4D, acquires Synchro
Bentley just announced that it has acquired Synchro Software to boost its 4D construction offerings. Think of Synchro as software for virtual design and construction, enabling visual planning, scheduling, and project management. This lets asset owners, constructors...
Quick update on PTC + Rockwell
I’m at PTC’s LiveWorx user conference this week. Yesterday, CEO Jim Heppelmann gave a bit more detail on the partnership with Rockwell Automation, announced last week. A quick recap: Rockwell is buying 8.4% of PTC’s shares for around $1 billion. PTC...
Hexagon snaps up SPRING’s NCSIMUL for machining
Hexagon just announced that it is acquiring SPRING Technologies, whose NCSIMUL optimizes the machining workflow from CNC programming to CNC simulation, managing cutting and tool libraries, real time machine monitoring and technical content publication. Hexagon CEO Ola...
Nemetschek NEVARIS addresses SMB construction with acquisition
I am at HxGN Live, the Hexagon user event that addresses the needs of many industries, including construction. From measuring how well a concrete floor has been poured to planning, scheduling and tracking progress, Hexagon’s customers span the gamut in...

