Altair Engineering

Altair Engineering was founded in 1985 by James R. Scapa, George Christ, and Mark Kistner in Troy, Michigan. Since the company's outset,{{cite web|last=Bennett|first=Jeff|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/361617049/?terms=%22altair%20engineering%22&match=1|date=3 April 2002|title=CEO has low-key style|publisher=|work=Detroit Free Press|access-date=1 May 2021}} Scapa has served as its CEO (and now chairman).{{cite web|last=Ray|first=Tiernan|url=https://www.zdnet.com/article/computer-simulation-enters-the-ai-age-the-altair-story/|date=21 December 2019|title=Computer simulation enters the AI age: the Altair story|publisher=|work=ZDNet|access-date=1 May 2021}} Initially, Altair started as an engineering consulting firm,{{cite web|last=Snavely| first=Brent|url=http://www.ericajhobbs.com/uploads/8/1/0/5/8105092/james_scapa_altairs_quiet_risk_taker_%7C_detroit_free_press_%7C_freep.com.pdf|date=10 February 2014|title=James Scapa, Altair's quiet risk taker|publisher=|work=Detroit Free Press|access-date=1 May 2021}} but branched out into product development and computer-aided engineering (CAE) software.{{cite web|last=Bennett|first=Jeff|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/361617049/?terms=%22altair%20engineering%22&match=1|date=3 April 2002|title=Computer-aided prototyping is a growing field|publisher=|work=Detroit Free Press|access-date=1 May 2021}} In the 1990s, it became known for its software products like HyperWorks, OptiStruct,{{cite web|last=Konrad|first=Alex|url=https://www.forbesindia.com/article/cross-border/altair-engineering-and-the-evolution-of-everyday-things/34997/1|date=9 April 2013|title=Altair Engineering and the Evolution of Everyday Things|publisher=|work=Forbes India|access-date=1 May 2021}} and HyperMesh,{{cite web|last=Talgeri|first=Kunal|url=https://www.forbesindia.com/article/work-in-progress/how-altair-engineering-has-evolved-from-software-to-sparks/55027/1|date=29 August 2019|title=How Altair engineering has evolved, from software to sparks|publisher=|work=Forbes India|access-date=1 May 2021}} which were often used for product development by the automotive industry.{{cite web|last=|first=|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/417511230/?terms=%22altair%20engineering%22&match=1|date=30 July 1991|title=Firms order entry level Cray systems for 1st time|publisher=|work=Chippewa Herald-Telegram|access-date=1 May 2021}}{{cite web|last=|first=|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/99654701/?terms=%22altair%20engineering%22&match=1|date=10 November 1997|title=The High-Tech Supplier Invasion|publisher=|work=Detroit Free Press|access-date=1 May 2021}} Some of Altair's early clients included the Ford Motor Company, General Motors, and Chrysler.{{cite web|last=Menn|first=Joseph|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/159284996/?terms=%22altair%20engineering%22&match=1|date=21 August 2000|title=The Man With the Money|publisher=|work=Los Angeles Times|access-date=1 May 2021}} Its software also aided in the development of the Young America{{cite web|last=McKesson|first=Mike|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/204222201/?terms=%22altair%20engineering%22&match=1|date=6 April 1995|title=Ford finds a place in the water|publisher=|work=Lansing State Journal|access-date=1 May 2021}} and AmericaOne racing yachts, the former of which was used to compete in the 1995 America's Cup.

Its software also found uses in other sectors, including aerospace (NASA),{{cite web|last=Tippoo|first=Sofia|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bengaluru/altair-ing-the-world-of-product-design/articleshow/27897836.cms|date=10 November 2002|title=Altair-ing the world of product design|publisher=|work=Times of India|access-date=2 May 2021}} aviation (Airbus), consumer electronics (Nokia), and toy manufacturing (Mattel), among others. In 2002, Altair software aided in the design of the Airbus A380 by weight optimizing the aircraft wing ribs. Also in 2002, Altair opened offices in Seongnam, South Korea and Shanghai, China,{{cite web|last=Moore|first=Roberta|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/361626129/?terms=%22altair%20engineering%22&match=1|date=24 June 2002|title=Altair expands to Korea, China|publisher=|work=Detroit Free Press|access-date=2 May 2021}} adding those locales to its international footprint alongside India where it had begun investment in 1992.

In addition to its software production, Altair hires out engineering consultants to its corporate clientele. Its consultancy services accounted for the majority of the company's revenue until 2004, when the sale and licensing of software overtook that.{{cite web|last=|first=|url=https://www.theoaklandpress.com/news/from-humble-beginnings-come-big-things/article_385209e3-4926-564c-a985-1920dab4cc18.html|date=6 August 2006|title=From humble beginnings come Big things|publisher=|work=The Oakland Press|access-date=2 May 2021}} In October of that year, General Atlantic invested $30 million in Altair.{{cite web|last=Dietderich|first=Andrew|url=https://www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20060627/SUB/306270003/altair-engineering-to-acquire-french-company|date=27 June 2006|title=Altair Engineering to acquire French company|publisher=|work=Crain's Detroit Business|access-date=2 May 2021}} Also in 2004, Altair partnered with General Motors and the United States Department of Defense on the design and construction of a new military vehicle.{{cite web|last= |first= |url=https://www.theautochannel.com/news/2004/11/09/275681.html |date=9 November 2004|title=Altair Engineering To Present Military Vehicle to Media|publisher=|work=The Auto Channel|access-date=2 May 2021}}

Altair also branched out into the life sciences, finance, and pharmaceutical industries with its high performance computing software, PBS Professional, which it had acquired the rights to in 2003.{{Cite web |date=2021-11-10 |title=On the Eve of Exascale, Argonne Lab Turns to Altair PBS Pro After 20+Years of Rolling Their Own Workload Manager |url=https://www.hpcwire.com/2021/11/10/on-the-eve-of-exascale-argonne-lab-turns-to-altair-pbs-pro/ |access-date=2022-04-11 |website=HPCwire |language=en-US}} In June 2006, Altair acquired the French CAE software company, Mecalog, and its Radioss technology suite. In 2007, it spun off a new wholly-owned subsidiary called ilumisys, which would focus on light-emitting diode (LED) lamps{{cite web|last=Szczesny|first=Joseph|url=https://www.theoaklandpress.com/news/altair-spins-off-subsidiary/article_f1bafa92-449c-5c9c-a7da-eb43aae0c15a.html|date=1 May 2007|title=Altair spins off subsidiary|publisher=|work=The Oakland Press|access-date=2 May 2021}} designed to be used as direct replacements for fluorescent light tubes. Ilumisys' operations were moved to Michigan in 2011,{{cite web|last=Yung|first=Katherine|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/363809305/?terms=%22altair%20engineering%22&match=1|date=29 August 2010|title=Emerging light market a good fit for state|publisher=|work=Detroit Free Press|access-date=2 May 2021}} and it was rebranded as Toggled in 2012.{{cite web|last=|first=|url=https://detroit.cbslocal.com/2012/12/11/altair-led-lighting-subsidiary-ilumisys-rebrands-as-toggled/|date=December 11, 2012|title=Altair LED Lighting Subsidiary Ilumisys Rebrands as TOGGLED|publisher=WWJ-TV|access-date=2 May 2021}}

In the early 2010s, Altair's product design division (Altair ProductDesign) began creating prototypes of various vehicles including a hydraulic hybrid transit bus known as BUSolution{{cite magazine|last=Barry|first=Keith |url=https://www.wired.com/2011/11/hydraulic-hybrids/|date=9 November 2011|title=New Hybrids Will Pump it Up|publisher=|magazine=Wired|access-date=2 May 2021}} and an electric concept car called the Avant GT.{{cite web|last=Ashe|first=Suzanne |url=https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/news/altair-productdesign-joins-studio-x-gene-on-avant-gt-concept/|date=16 September 2011|title=Altair ProductDesign joins Studio X-Gene on Avant GT concept|publisher=|work=CNET|access-date=2 May 2021}} By 2013, the company had offices in 19 countries worldwide and 1,800 employees.{{cite web|last=|first=|url=http://www.sbnonline.com/article/james-r-scapa-reorganizes-altair-engineering-inc-on-a-yearly-basis-to-keep-it-moving-forward/|date=30 October 2013|title=James R. Scapa reorganizes Altair Engineering Inc. on a yearly basis to keep it moving forward|publisher=|work=Smart Business Online|access-date=2 May 2021}} That year, it also bought out General Atlantic's equity stake in the company.{{cite web|last=Roof |first=Katie |url=https://techcrunch.com/2017/11/01/altair-engineering-soars-41-in-public-debut/|date=1 November 2017|title=Altair Engineering soars 41% in public debut|publisher=|work=TechCrunch|access-date=2 May 2021}}

In 2016, Altair acquired Solid Iris Technologies. The company developed a photorealistic rendering and visualization tool named Thea Render. By bringing this technology in-house, additional Solid Iris rendering capabilities were added to Altairs technologies.{{Cite web |title=Altair Acquires Rendering Company Solid Iris Technologies |url=https://www.engineering.com/story/altair-acquires-rendering-company-solid-iris-technologies |access-date=2024-05-22 |website=Engineering.com|date=15 September 2016 }}{{Cite web |date=2016-09-14 |title=Altair acquires Greek visualisation tech startup Solid Iris Technologies |url=https://tech.eu/2016/09/14/altair-acquires-greek-visualisation-tech-startup-solid-iris-technologies/ |access-date=2024-05-22 |website=Tech.eu |language=en-GB}}

On November 1, 2017, Altair went public with an IPO on the Nasdaq stock exchange and began trading under the stock ticker symbol ALTR. The company raised $156 million with share prices starting at $13. In the years leading up to the IPO, Altair acquired 11 different companies with strategic assets and expertise in fields like material science, electronics, industrial design, rendering, and others. The company then made its products available to qualified startup companies through its Startup Program, formed in 2018 and relaunched in 2021.{{Cite web |date=2018-08-08 |title=Altair launches simulation startup scheme for startups |url=https://www.vehicledynamicsinternational.com/news/simulation/altair-launches-simulation-startup-scheme-for-startups.html |access-date=2022-04-11 |website=Vehicle Dynamics International |language=en-GB}}{{Cite web |date=2018-07-31 |title=Altair's Global Startup Program to support new technology and emerging markets |url=https://www.metal-am.com/altairs-global-startup-program-to-support-new-technology-and-emerging-markets/ |access-date=2022-04-11 |website=Metal Additive Manufacturing |language=en-GB}}

By 2019, the company had acquired a total of 30 businesses. It also began making efforts to incorporate artificial intelligence technology into its new software packages. That year, it opened a new office in Greensboro, North Carolina after acquiring the data analytics company, Datawatch, which had offices in the area.{{cite web|last=Warfield|first=Andy|url=https://www.bizjournals.com/triad/news/2019/10/14/tech-company-taking-more-space-in-triad-downtown.html|date=14 October 2019|title=Tech company taking more space in Triad downtown building|publisher=|work=Triad Business Journal|access-date=2 May 2021}}

In June 2020, the company announced that it would be providing software updates for all of its products. The updates were implemented to improve workflows and provide access to a broader set of tools for data analytics, machine learning, and physics.{{cite web|last=Saini|first=Ruchika|url=https://gfxspeak.com/2020/06/08/announces-software-products/|date=8 June 2020|title=Altair announces software updates for its entire line of products|publisher=|work=Graphic Speak|access-date=2 May 2021}} In January 2021, Altair announced that it would collaborate with Rolls-Royce Holdings on a project using AI and machine learning to improve the aero jet engine design process.{{cite web|last=Fretty|first=Peter|url=https://www.industryweek.com/technology-and-iiot/article/21157235/rollsroyce-and-altair-collaboration-leverages-ai|date=9 March 2021|title=Rolls-Royce and Altair Collaboration Leverages AI|publisher=|work=IndustryWeek|access-date=2 May 2021}} In November 2021, Altair's PBS Professional workload manager was selected by the Argonne National Laboratory to be used across the organization's high performance computing (HPC) systems, including the Polaris and Aurora supercomputers.{{Cite web |last=staff |date=2021-11-10 |title=Argonne Selects Altair Workload Manager for Polaris, Aurora |url=https://insidehpc.com/2021/11/argonne-selects-altair-workload-manager-for-polaris-aurora/ |access-date=2022-04-21 |website=insideHPC |language=en-US}} That same month, Altair was also included on Inc. Magazine's 2021 Best-Led Companies list.{{Cite web |title=Meet the Top 250 Best-Led Companies in America |url=https://www.inc.com/best-led-companies/2021 |access-date=2022-04-21 |website=Inc.com |language=en}} In December, Altair was named as one of Investor's Business Daily's Best 100 ESG Companies.{{Cite web |date=2021-12-17 |title=Altair expands data analytics abilities with World Programming buy |url=https://www.weirdware.com/2021/12/17/altair-expands-data-analytics-abilities-with-world-programming-buy/ |access-date=2022-04-21 |website=Weirdware |language=en-GB}}

In March 2023, Altair rebranded its AI and data analytics product now known as Altair RapidMiner.{{cite web |title=Altair Releases Altair RapidMiner |url=https://www.digitalengineering247.com/article/altair-releases-altair-rapidminer/altair |website=Digital Engineering|date=17 March 2023 }} In May 2023, the US Court of Appeals issued a favorable ruling in a copyright infringement case pertaining to SAS software.{{cn|date=May 2025}} In October 2023, Altair acquired OmniQuest, a software company out of Novi, Michigan, to further its optimization technology.{{Cite web |date=4 October 2023 |title=Altair furthers optimisation technology with acquisition of OmniQuest |url=https://www.metal-am.com/altair-furthers-optimisation-technology-with-acquisition-of-omniquest/#:~:text=Altair%2C%20located%20in%20Troy%2C%20Michigan,with%20multiple%20variables%20and%20constraints |website=Metal AM}}

In 2024, Gartner named Altair a Leader in the Magic Quadrant for Data Science and Machine Learning Platforms.{{Cite web |date=2024-07-03 |title=Altair Named a Leader in the June 2024 Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Data Science and Machine Learning Platforms IT Voice {{!}} IT in Depth |url=https://www.itvoice.in/altair-named-a-leader-in-the-june-2024-gartner-magic-quadrant-for-data-science-and-machine-learning-platforms |access-date=2024-08-22 |website=IT Voice {{!}} IT in Depth |language=en-US}}

On October 30, 2024, Altair announced that it has agreed to be acquired by Siemens.{{Cite web |date=2024-10-30 |title=Altair Signs Definitive Agreement with Siemens to be Acquired for $10.6 Billion {{!}} Altair Website |url=https://investor.altair.com/news-releases/news-release-details/altair-signs-definitive-agreement-siemens-be-acquired-106 |access-date=2024-11-06 |website=Investor Relations News Releases {{!}} |language=en-US}}

Since 1985, Altair has acquired over 30 businesses, business units, and software packages. The following is a list of selected corporate acquisitions:

• Finite Element Software
• FEKO
• Monarch
• Portable Batch System
• Computational Grid
• Big Data
• Distributed Computing
• Cloud Computing
• Data Analytics
• Optimization

{{Reflist|30em}}{{Cite web |title=Siemens acquires Altair to create most complete AI-powered portfol ... |url=https://press.siemens.com/global/en/pressrelease/siemens-acquires-altair-create-most-complete-ai-powered-portfolio-industrial-software |access-date=2025-03-27 |website=press.siemens.com |language=en}}

• {{Official website|https://www.altair.com}}

{{Finance links historical

| name = Altair Engineering Inc.

| symbol = ALTR

| reuters = ALTR.O

| sec_cik = 1701732

| yahoo = ALTR

| google = ALTR:NASDAQ

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Category:Software companies based in Michigan

Category:Engineering companies of the United States

Category:Computer-aided engineering software

Category:Companies based in Troy, Michigan

Category:Companies established in 1985

Category:Companies formerly listed on the Nasdaq

Category:2017 initial public offerings

Category:Software companies of the United States

Category:Business software companies

Category:Business intelligence companies

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Category:Finite element software