SCIENCE

Acquisition solidly positions Altair as a major player in the CFD market and at the forefront of multi-physics simulation

Altair Engineering has acquired ACUSIM Software, Inc. (ACUSIM). Founded in 1994 and headquartered in Mountain View, Calif., ACUSIM is a leading developer of massively scalable, high-fidelity computational fluid dynamics (CFD) solver solutions. ACUSIM’s CFD technology and staff will be incorporated into Altair’s HyperWorks computer-aided engineering (CAE) software portfolio and operations.

ACUSIM’s AcuSolve, a general purpose CFD solver, is a premier brand with customers worldwide, including many Fortune 500 companies, such as Bechtel, Chevron, John Deere, Procter & Gamble, Toyota, Vestas, Visteon and Whirlpool. Unlike other commercial CFD applications, AcuSolve is finite-element based, allowing it to be tightly integrated with other FEA-based technologies to solve complex fluid-structure interaction and multi-physics problems – both of which are rapidly emerging trends in the global simulation market.

“The acquisition by Altair is a perfect complement to our CFD product offerings and vision,” said Dr. Farzin Shakib, founder and chief executive officer of ACUSIM Software. “Altair’s strength as a leader in pre- and post-processing, CAE solvers and optimization technologies opens new opportunities to apply AcuSolve to a broader class of problems and markets. For our valued customers, this acquisition also significantly deepens our development and support resources globally and allows our esteemed CFD technologists to be focused solely on advancing ACUSIM CFD technology.”

Altair will significantly ramp up technical and customer support for ACUSIM products throughout its global operations. In addition, Altair and ACUSIM have a number of mutual customers who will benefit from a higher level of technology integration and crossover software applications.

ACUSIM technologies will be made available through Altair’s HyperWorks simulation platform and patented units-based licensing system. As a result, customers will be able to immediately access all software titles offered by Altair, further increasing the value of their investment in HyperWorks and ACUSIM.

“With the addition of ACUSIM’s CFD technologies and their integration into the HyperWorks product lineup, Altair has the most complete high-end solution offering in the mechanical CAE market,” said James R. Scapa, chairman and CEO of Altair Engineering. “We extensively benchmarked many CFD technologies and found AcuSolve to be a best-in-class CFD solution, especially for transient flow and fluid-structure interaction. We are very enthusiastic about this acquisition and the CFD expertise and technology it brings to automate the CFD user experience and broaden the solution scope available to our mutual customers.”

Product development roadmaps are already underway to tightly integrate AcuSolve with Altair’s RADIOSS solver and optimization tools, OptiStruct and HyperStudy, to increase Altair’s leadership in CFD and multi-physics optimization.

ACUSIM will continue to operate from its California facility, while working closely with the HyperWorks development organization at Altair’s headquarters in Troy, Mich., on integration roadmaps.

ACUSIM’s technologies will be showcased at Altair’s 2011 Americas HyperWorks Technology Conference taking place at the Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress Resort in Orlando, Fla., on June 22-23. To register to attend this free event, visithttp://www.altairhtc.com.