MathWorks
{{short description|Company that produces mathematical computing software}}
{{Use American English|date = February 2020}}
{{Use mdy dates|date = February 2020}}
{{Infobox company
| name = The MathWorks, Inc.
| logo = Matlab Logo.png
| logo_size = 150px
| type = Private
| foundation = {{Start date and age|1984|12|7}} in Portola Valley, California, U.S.
| founders ={{ubl|Jack Little|Cleve Moler|Steve Bangert}}
| location_city = Natick, Massachusetts
| location_country = IN
| area_served = Worldwide
| key_people = {{ubl|class=nowrap|Jack Little (CEO and President)|Cleve Moler (Chief Mathematician)}}
| industry = Mathematical computing software
| revenue = {{Increase}} {{US$|1.25 billion|link=yes}} (2022){{cite web |title=About MathWorks |url=https://www.mathworks.com/company/aboutus/policies_statements/taxid.html |access-date=30 April 2022 |website=mathworks.com}}
| num_employees = 6,000 (2023){{Cite web |url=https://www.mathworks.com/content/dam/mathworks/fact-sheet/2023-company-factsheet-8-5x11-8282v23.pdf |title=2023 Company Fact Sheet |access-date=2 July 2024 |publisher=MathWorks}}
| website = {{URL|https://mathworks.com/}}
}}
The MathWorks, Inc. is an American privately held corporation that specializes in mathematical computing software. Its major products include MATLAB and Simulink, which support data analysis and simulation.
History
MATLAB was created in the 1970s by Cleve Moler, who was chairman of the computer science department at the University of New Mexico at the time. It was a free tool for academics. Jack Little, who would eventually set up the company, came across the tool while he was a graduate student in electrical engineering at Stanford University.{{cite journal |last1=Haigh |first1=Thomas |title=Cleve Moler: Mathematical Software Pioneer and Creator of MATLAB |journal=IEEE Annals of the History of Computing |date=January 2008 |volume=30 |issue=1 |pages=87–91 |doi=10.1109/MAHC.2008.2|s2cid=31651607 }}
Little and Steve Bangert rewrote the code for MATLAB in C while they were colleagues at an engineering firm. They founded MathWorks along with Moler in 1984,{{cite book |last1=Nagar |first1=Sandeep |title=Introduction to MATLAB for Engineers and Scientists: Solutions for Numerical Computation and Modeling |date=2017 |publisher=Apress |location=New York |isbn=978-1484231890 |page=3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GsJADwAAQBAJ&pg=PA3 |access-date=5 December 2018}} with Little running it out of his house in Portola Valley, California.{{cite news |last1=Higham |first1=Nicholas |title=Tracing the Early History of MATLAB Through SIAM News |url=https://sinews.siam.org/Details-Page/tracing-the-early-history-of-matlab-through-siam-news |access-date=5 December 2018 |work=SIAM News |date=16 March 2017}} Little would mail diskettes in baggies (food storage bags) to the first customers.{{cite news| title = At Mathworks, support + fun = success CEO Jack Little believes in power of his workers -- and their ideas| url = https://www.newspapers.com/clip/26952065/the_boston_globe/ | publisher = The Boston Globe| first=Kimberly| last=Blanton| date=20 April 1997 |access-date=10 January 2019 |page=J1}} The company sold its first order, 10 copies of MATLAB, for $100 to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in February 1985.{{cite news |last1=Ogewell |first1=Verdi |title=MathWorks: Product Digitization is a Boost for Smart Algorithms and Simulation |url=https://www.engineering.com/PLMERP/ArticleID/11942/MathWorks-Product-Digitization-is-a-Boost-for-Smart-Algorithms-and-Simulation.aspx |access-date=5 December 2018 |work=Engineering.com |date=25 April 2016}} A few years later, Little and the company moved to Massachusetts.{{cite news |last1=Chesto |first1=Jon |title=MathWorks expansion could bring up to 2,000 new jobs to Natick in the next five years |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2018/06/18/mathworks-expansion-could-bring-new-jobs-natick-next-five-years/kkuDtuCS0ykAJXkNf4tM7N/story.html |access-date=5 December 2018 |work=The Boston Globe |date=18 June 2018}} There, Little hired Jeanne O'Keefe, an experienced computer executive, to help formalize the business. By 1997, MathWorks was profitable, claiming revenue of around $50 million, and had around 380 employees.{{cite news| title = At Mathworks, support + fun = success CEO Jack Little believes in power of his workers -- and their ideas| url = https://www.newspapers.com/clip/26952040/the_boston_globe/ | publisher = The Boston Globe| first=Kimberly| last=Blanton| date=20 April 1997 |access-date=10 January 2019 |page=J5}}
Image:Main campus, MathWorks, Natick MA.jpg}}]]
In 1999, MathWorks relocated to the Apple Hill office complex in Natick, Massachusetts, purchasing additional buildings in the complex in 2008 and 2009,{{cite news|first=Charlie |last=Breitrose| title = MathWorks buys Natick building to create campus| url = http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/news/x1444026990/MathWorks-buys-Natick-building-to-create-campus| publisher = The Metrowest Daily News| date = December 30, 2009}} ultimately occupying the entire campus. MathWorks expanded further in 2013 by buying Boston Scientific's old headquarters campus, which is near to MathWorks' headquarters in Natick.{{cite news| first=Thomas |last=Grillo |title = MathWorks pays $55M for Boston Scientific's Natick HQ| url = http://www.bizjournals.com/boston/real_estate/2013/04/mathworks-pays-55m-for-boston-sci.html| publisher = Boston Business Journal| date = April 5, 2013}}
By 2018, the company had around 3,000 employees in Natick and said it had revenues of around $900 million.{{cite news |last1=Chesto |first1=Jon |title=Natick software firm to add 2,000 local jobs within five years |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/business/talking-points/2018/06/15/natick-software-firm-add-local-jobs-within-five-years/4bOlgyWEXoXcCpFodCwGtM/story.html |work=Boston Globe |date=June 15, 2018}}
Products
The company's two lead products are MATLAB, which provides an environment for scientists, engineers and programmers to analyze and visualize data and develop algorithms, and Simulink, a graphical and simulation environment for model-based design of dynamic systems.{{cite news|title=Matlab edges closer to electronic design automation world|url=http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1151422|access-date=17 July 2017|work=EE Times|date=4 October 2004}}{{cite news|last1=Ogewell|first1=Verdi|title=MathWorks: Product Digitization is a Boost for Smart Algorithms and Simulation|url=http://www.engineering.com/PLMERP/ArticleID/11942/MathWorks-Product-Digitization-is-a-Boost-for-Smart-Algorithms-and-Simulation.aspx|access-date=4 August 2017|work=Engineering.com|date=25 April 2016}} MATLAB and Simulink are used in aerospace, automotive, software and other fields.{{cite news|last1=Welker|first1=Grant|title=MathWorks now in more than 180 countries|url=http://www.wbjournal.com/article/20170529/PRINTEDITION/305269996/mathworks-now-in-more-than-180-countries|work=Worcester Business Journal Online|date=29 May 2017}} The company's other products include Polyspace, SimEvents, Stateflow, and ThingSpeak.
Corporate affairs
=Intellectual property and competition=
In 1999, the U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against MathWorks and Wind River Systems alleging that an agreement between them violated antitrust laws. The agreement in question stipulated that the two companies agreed to stop competing in the field of dynamic control system design software, with MathWorks alone selling Wind River's MATRIXx Software and that Wind River would stop all research and development and sales in that field. Both companies eventually settled with the Department of Justice and agreed to sell the MATRIXx software to a third party. MathWorks had total sales of $200 million in 2001, with dynamic control system design software accounting for half of those sales.{{cite news|title=Press release: Justice Department Reaches Settlement with The MathWorks Inc.|url=https://www.justice.gov/archive/atr/public/press_releases/2002/200164.htm|work=US Department of Justice|date=August 15, 2002}}
MathWorks's Simulink software was found to have infringed 3 patents from National Instruments related to data flow diagrams in 2003, a decision which was confirmed by a court of appeal in 2004.{{cite news|title=Federal Circuit Affirms Decision For National Instruments In Patent Suit Vs. Mathworks|url=https://www.law360.com/articles/2115/federal-circuit-affirms-decision-for-national-instruments-in-patent-suit-vs-mathworks|work=Law360|date=September 7, 2004|language=en}}
In 2011, MathWorks sued AccelerEyes for copyright infringement in one court, and patent and trademark infringement in another. AccelerEyes accepted consent decrees in both cases before the trials began.{{cite news|title=MathWorks wins copyright and patent infringement cases|url=http://www.jonesday.com/experiencepractices/ExperienceDetail.aspx?experienceid=29028|access-date=16 September 2017|work=Jones Day}}
In 2012, the European Commission opened an antitrust investigation into MathWorks after competitors alleged that MathWorks refused to grant licenses to its intellectual property that would allow people to create software with interoperability with its products.{{cite news|title=Commission opens interoperability proceedings against MathWorks|url=http://kwm.com/en/uk/knowledge/insights/commission-opens-interoperability-proceedings-against-mathworks-20120302|work=King & Wood Mallesons|date=2012|language=en}}{{cite web|title=Opening of Proceedings|url=http://ec.europa.eu/competition/antitrust/cases/dec_docs/39840/39840_1005_4.pdf|publisher=European Commission|date=29 February 2012}} The case was closed in 2014 without filing any charge.{{cite web|title=Closing of Proceedings |url=http://ec.europa.eu/competition/antitrust/cases/dec_docs/39840/39840_1248_3.pdf|publisher=European Commission|quote=The Commission decided, as a result of the formal investigation, to close the antitrust proceedings initiated on 29 February 2012 against MathWorks in case AT.39840.|date=2 September 2014}}
=Logo=
The logo represents the first vibrational mode of a thin L-shaped membrane, clamped at the edges, and governed by the wave equation, which was the subject of Moler's thesis.
=Community=
The company annually sponsors a number of student engineering competitions, including EcoCAR, an advanced vehicle technology competition created by the United States Department of Energy (DOE) and General Motors (GM).{{cite news|last1=Lulka|first1=Jess|title=EcoCAR3 and MathWorks Partner for Advanced Vehicle Technology|url=http://www.digitaleng.news/de/ecocar-3-and-mathworks-partner-for-advanced-vehicle-technology/|access-date=17 July 2017|work=Digital Engineering|date=14 October 2015}} MathWorks sponsored the mathematics exhibit at London's Science Museum.{{cite news|last1=Booth|first1=Nick|title=MathWorks - the proof is in the Science Museum|url=http://www.computerweekly.com/microscope/news/450409914/MathWorks-the-proof-is-in-the-Science-Museum|access-date=17 July 2017|work=Computer Weekly|issue=22 December 2016}}
In the coding community, MathWorks hosts MATLAB Central, an online exchange where users ask and answer questions and share code. MATLAB Central currently houses around than 145,000 questions in its MATLAB Answers database.{{cite news|last1=Waterman|first1=Pamela J.|title=Mainstreaming Math Tools for Engineers|url=http://www.digitaleng.news/de/mainstreaming-math-tools/|access-date=17 July 2017|work=Digital Engineering|date=1 June 2015}} The company actively supports numerous academic institutions to advance STEM education (primarily through the use of MathWorks products), including giving funding to MIT Open Courseware and MITx.{{cite news|title=MathWorks supports MIT with $2M funding|url=http://www.wbjournal.com/article/20140321/METROWEST01/140329985/mathworks-supports-mit-with-2m-funding|access-date=17 July 2017|work=Worcester Business Journal Online|date=21 March 2014}}{{cite news|title=MathWorks Sponsors Boston STEM Week|url=http://www.digitaleng.news/de/mathworks-sponsors-boston-stem-week/|access-date=17 July 2017|work=Digital Engineering|date=10 October 2016}}
References
{{Reflist|30em}}
Further reading
- {{cite news |last1=Higham |first1=Nicholas |title=Tracing the Early History of MATLAB Through SIAM News |url=https://sinews.siam.org/Details-Page/tracing-the-early-history-of-matlab-through-siam-news |work=SIAM News |date=March 16, 2017}}
External links
{{commons category}}
- {{official website|https://www.mathworks.com/}}
{{coord|42.30025|N|71.35039|W|region:US_type:landmark|display=title}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:MathWorks}}
Category:Companies based in Natick, Massachusetts
Category:Software companies established in 1984
Category:Software companies based in Massachusetts
Category:1984 establishments in Massachusetts
Category:Software companies of the United States