Earlier this mornng, Stratasys issued a press release stating that it has “entered into a definitive agreement to acquire privately-held GrabCAD, Inc.”. The sale is expected to be completed by the end of September, 2014.
We’ve kept a close eye on GrabCAD since its public launch in 2010, watching it grow with impressive direction and capabilities. Hardi Meybaum, the company CEO may not know exactly which initiative (or combination thereof) sparked the recent surge in interest from the design and engineering industries, but he has demonstrated vision and a consistent winning strategy. Their most recent achievement, the cloud-based Workbench Product Data Management (PDM) software is maturing nicely and has great potential to streamline (and possibly redefine) the needs of small-medium sized (SMB) design/engineering data sharing and collaboration. Its 3D-CAD model viewing (Parasolid) and unbelievably easy to use and secure client space features are some of the factors that increase the company’s value.
Stratasys is one of the premier innovators in the 3D Printing industry, with nearly $2.8 Billion USD in total assets. David Reis, Stratasys Chief Executive Officer was quoted stating that,
“By increasing the collaboration and accessibility of 3D CAD files, we believe we can further accelerate the adoption of 3D printing solutions and Stratasys’ product offerings.”
The company stated that GrabCAD would continue to operate from within the Stratasys Global Products and Technology Group, with Hardi continuing as the company leader. What we don’t know yet: The terms of the sale, how this will change Hardi Meybaun’s strategies, and what direction GrabCAD and its Workbench software will take under Stratasys leadership.
Will GrabCAD Workbench prove to be as effective a platform as Stratasys is betting? It could, but that brings numerous concerns into focus. The biggest one in my mind is, “Exactly how much PDM/PLM does Stratasys need for its own sharing platform vision?” Probably not nearly as much as we need in the general design and engineering industry, and perhaps not even as much as the initiatives we were waiting for in FY15 (These initiatives were under strict non-disclosure agreements between GrabCAD and Design & Motion, but did represent good direction for more down-to-earth needs of designers and engineers in cloud storage, PDM, and Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) functionality.)
It would be a great loss for many if Workbench development was halted, however there is some positive potential now that they have a parent company with cash. Stratasys spent about $50 Million USD in R&D last year, and a good boost from Stratasys could really allow GrabCAD to finish the job it started.
I still have hope in the overall mission of GrabCAD. If that mission still exists, remains to be seen.
