Autodesk, Inc. is an American multinational software
corporation that makes software for the architecture, engineering,
construction, manufacturing, media, and entertainment industries. Autodesk is
headquartered in San Rafael, California, and features a gallery of its
customers' work in its San Francisco building. The company has offices
worldwide, with U.S. locations in Northern California, Oregon, Colorado, Texas
and in New England in New Hampshire and Massachusetts, and Canada locations in
Ontario, Quebec, and Alberta.
The company was founded in 1982 by John Walker, a coauthor
of the first versions of AutoCAD, the company's flagship computer-aided design
(CAD) software .Its AutoCAD and Revit software is primarily used
by architects, engineers, and structural designers to design, draft, and model
buildings and other structures. Autodesk software has been used in many fields,
from the New York Freedom Tower to Tesla electric cars.
Autodesk became best known for AutoCAD but now develops a
broad range of software for design, engineering, and entertainment as well as a
line of software for consumers, including Sketchbook, Home-style, and Pixlr.
The company makes educational versions of its software available at no cost to
qualified students and faculty through the Autodesk Education Community, and
also as a donation to eligible non-profits through TechSoup Global. Autodesk's
digital prototyping software, including Autodesk Inventor, Fusion 360, and the
Autodesk Product Design Suite, are used in the manufacturing industry to
visualize, simulate, and analyze real-world performance using a digital model
during the design process. The company's Revit line of software for Building
Information Modeling is designed to let users explore the planning,
construction, and management of a building virtually before it is built.
Autodesk's Media and Entertainment division creates software
for visual effects, color grading, and editing as well as animation, game
development, and design visualization. 3ds Max and Maya are both 3D animation
software used in film visual effects and game development.
