Engineering Growth and Change

Last year saw the emergence of more artificial intelligence (AI) in engineering applications. In 2024, that expanded exponentially as more CAD and simulation vendors offered up AI and machine learning (ML) solutions, and a number of brand new companies emerged with built-from-the-ground-up AI offerings.

But that wasn’t the only big shift we saw in 2024. There was a tremendous amount of merger and acquisition activity, too: Keysight bought the optical part of Synopsys, while Synopsys bought Ansys; 3D printer company Nano Dimension bought Markforged and Desktop Metal; Nexa3D bought Essentium; ModuleWorks bought Celeritive; Renesas purchased Altium; Cadence bought BETA CAE; and as we were putting this issue together, Siemens bought Altair in a whopping $10.6 billion deal.

In the 3D printer space, the M&A activity was a matter of survival for too many companies chasing too few customers. In the simulation space, however, these mergers reflected the strong growth and need for more comprehensive solution suites in the market.

Technavio released a report in November indicating the global computational fluid dynamics market will grow by $1.23 billion through 2028, at a rate of 9.45%. This is being driven by demand for digitization, reduced time for physical testing, and availability of cloud-based options.

Economic indicators have been good for the past several quarters in the United States, with low unemployment, lower inflation, more demand and slightly lower interest rates.

Will that continue now that there is a pending change in administrations and congressional control in Washington D.C.? That will depend a lot on whatever combination of tax cuts and tariffs are ultimately put in place. A previous round of tariffs on steel, aluminum and other goods implemented in 2018 caused price hikes and manufacturing job losses, and were blamed for automotive plant closures. It will be months before we know if more tariffs are on the way, and what industries will be affected, but manufacturers across all sectors (and their engineering teams and supply chain staff) should be watching those developments closely.

In October we held our fourth Design & Simulation Summit. Thanks to all of you who attended. If you weren’t able to attend, you can still view the sessions on-demand here.

This issue also includes our annual Technology Outlook readership survey, which shows that the DE community continues to expand its use of cutting-edge simulation, manufacturing and design technologies.

As we close the books on 2024, we here at DE wish you a safe and profitable 2025.