What Mindesk does

Mindesk is a real-time CAD-to-VR platform founded in February 2015 by Gabriele Sorrento in Bari, Italy and headquartered in San Francisco. The product, branded Mindesk Suite, is a unified installer bundling native plugin modules — Rhino Link, Grasshopper Link, SolidWorks Link, Revit Link, Navisworks Link, and Unreal Link — plus a Mindesk Studio VR runtime. Its core technical proposition is a one-click, bi-directional Live Link that eliminates model export/import between professional CAD environments (Rhinoceros, SolidWorks, Revit, Navisworks, Grasshopper) and immersive VR, with real-time rendering through Epic's Unreal Engine 4.24–5.4. The proprietary engine is built on Microsoft DirectX 12, NVidia Quadro graphics, and NVidia VRWorks, with multi-threaded optimizations specifically tuned for large assemblies common in naval, automotive, and AEC workflows.

The company operates a SaaS subscription model across three tiers — Freelancer at $499/year, Professional at $1,999/year, and Enterprise at $4,000/year — supplemented by an educational program offering free student licenses and discounted lab packages, a 15-day self-serve trial, and enterprise direct sales. Distribution is hybrid: product-led growth for individual CAD professionals, a global reseller network spanning 30+ countries, direct enterprise sales for tier-1 customers, and an event-driven presence at industry conferences such as Epic Games' Build: London and Volkswagen's Future Technology for Car Design. Reference customers include Zaha Hadid Architects (ZH VR Group, Project Loop), Volkswagen Group (IRIS concept car), Perkins+Will, Sera Architects, Cornell University, and the University of Texas Austin. Since March 2020, Mindesk operates as a business unit of Vection Technologies Ltd (ASX:VR1), an Australian-listed enterprise AR/VR software company, with continued active development evidenced by Suite 2024 releases through November 2024.

Name

Mindesk

Legal name

Mindesk Inc.

Website

https://mindeskvr.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Mindesk is a real-time CAD-to-VR platform offering native, bi-directional Live Link plugins for Rhinoceros, SolidWorks, Revit, Navisworks, Grasshopper, and Unreal Engine, serving AEC, automotive, industrial design, and education customers via a SaaS subscription model.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

CAD/VR Design Software

NAICS

Computer Systems Design and Related Services (54151), Computer Systems Design Services (541512)

SIC

Services-Prepackaged Software (7372), Services-Computer Integrated Systems Design (7373)

akta.pro primary industry

Real-Time Rendering & Game Engine Tooling (MPAHADAB)

Keywords

• CAD VR software
• 3D design platform
• Real-time rendering
• BIM visualization
• Immersive collaboration

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. SaaS Subscription Licenses: Mindesk operates primarily on a subscription model, offering tiered plans (Freelancer, Professional, Enterprise) with annual and monthly billing options. The software is delivered as a service (SaaS) with cloud license management.
2. Custom Projects and Consulting: Beyond standard SaaS subscriptions, Mindesk offers custom projects and consulting services for enterprise clients with specialized needs, including bespoke implementations.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion4 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Mindesk is a real-time CAD-to-VR platform delivered through the Mindesk Suite, providing native plugins for Rhinoceros, Grasshopper, SolidWorks, Revit, Navisworks, and Unreal Engine. It enables one-click immersion into virtual reality for 3D modeling, bi-directional Live Link synchronization, photorealistic rendering, multiuser collaboration, and immersive design review without model export or conversion.

Product overview

Mindesk is a real-time BIM and CAD VR platform delivered as the Mindesk Suite, a unified software package containing multiple CAD plugin modules (Rhino Link, SolidWorks Link, Unreal Link, Grasshopper Link, Navisworks Link, Revit Link) and the Mindesk Studio VR environment. The Rhino and SolidWorks Links provide native one-click VR immersion and bi-directional Live Link to Epic Unreal Engine for photorealistic rendering. Grasshopper Link enables parametric design editing directly in VR. The platform targets AEC, naval, automotive, aerospace, and industrial design sectors, offering three subscription tiers (Freelancer at $499/year, Professional at $1,999/year, Enterprise at $4,000/year) plus an Educational Program with free student licenses and discounted Lab Packages.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Mindesk Suite Unified real-time CAD-to-VR platform and installer that connects Rhinoceros, Grasshopper, SolidWorks, Revit, Navisworks, and Unreal Engine to immersive VR environments for AEC, mechanical, automotive, and industrial design professionals.
• Rhino Link Native plugin for McNeel Rhinoceros providing one-click VR immersion, real-time Live Link, NURBS and spline editing in VR, Grasshopper canvas access, point cloud support, and bi-directional sync with Unreal Engine for architects and industrial designers.
• SolidWorks Link Certified SolidWorks Desktop Solution Partner plugin enabling VR visualization, 6-DOF part manipulation, collision detection, explosion views, geometric mates interaction, and assembly animation for mechanical engineers.
• Unreal Link Real-time Live Link between CAD (Rhino, SolidWorks) and Epic Unreal Engine providing viewport synchronization, persistent materials, lighting simulation, and one-click CAD-to-Unreal baking with Blueprint component generation for photorealistic rendering.
• Navisworks Link Integration with Autodesk Navisworks providing Clash Detection and Timeliner tools for construction sequencing and coordination review in VR, supporting Navisworks Simulate 2022 through 2025.
• Revit Link Integration with Autodesk Revit enabling live geometry synchronization, improved material texture support with automatic path resolution for BIM workflows.
• Mindesk Studio VR environment component featuring hand tracking, hand mesh visualization, global mesh occlusion, brush and curve drawing tools, gallery of sample projects, and plug-and-play VR mode.
• Educational Program Free one-year subscription for students with full Mindesk features for Rhino or SolidWorks on personal hardware, plus a Lab Package offering 5 seats at 70% discount for educational institutions operating VR labs.
• Mindesk-ready Hardware Curated, tested, and recommended computer systems with specifications optimized for Mindesk VR workflows, from minimum specs for modeling to enhanced specs for Unreal Editor-based presentation and review.
• Custom Projects and Consulting Custom implementation, consulting, and features co-development services for enterprise clients with specialized CAD-VR integration needs beyond standard SaaS subscriptions.

Quantifiable outcome

• Be up to 100% faster at prototyping
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration18 records

Feature10 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core, strategic and flagship.

• Vection Technologies Ltd (ASX:VR1)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 March 2020Mindesk joined Vection Technologies in March 2020, combining Mindesk's real-time CAD-VR technology with Vection's enterprise AR/VR product suite including FrameS. This acquisition created a comprehensive one-stop shop for enterprise VR/AR solutions covering product configuration, design review, sales tools, training, and real-time rendering. Mindesk operates as a business unit of the listed Australian company.
• Epic GamescoreTechnology or IntegrationDeep integration between Mindesk and Unreal Engine for real-time rendering. Mindesk provides Live Link functionality allowing Rhino/SolidWorks models to be rendered photorealistically in Unreal in real-time without export. Epic Games sponsors events like Build: London where Mindesk presents. Mindesk supports Unreal Engine 4.24 through 5.4.
• McNeel (Rhinoceros, Grasshopper)coreTechnology or IntegrationMindesk provides native plugins for Rhinoceros and Grasshopper, enabling one-click VR access and real-time sync. Supports Rhino 6, 7, and 8. Grasshopper canvas accessible directly in VR for parametric design. Point cloud support from Rhino.
• Dassault Systèmes (SolidWorks)coreTechnology or IntegrationMindesk is a certified SolidWorks Desktop Solution Partner providing VR visualization and collaboration for SolidWorks 2019, 2020, and newer. Features include collision detection, geometric mates interaction, assembly animation, and 6DOF part manipulation.
• VarjostrategicTechnology or IntegrationVarjo XR/VR headsets supported for enterprise use, including Varjo XR1 (beta) and VR-3/XR-3. Partnership enables professional-grade VR experiences for automotive and industrial design review.
• Volkswagen GroupflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerFeatured at Volkswagen's 'Future Technology for Car Design' event as a tier-1 partner. Mindesk was used to design the IRIS concept electric car in just 5 working days, demonstrating rapid parametric design in VR combined with real-time rendering.
• Zaha Hadid Virtual Reality GroupflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerZH VR Group collaborated with Mindesk on Project Loop - designing an immersive Hi-Fi sound system with 23 channels. Helmut Kinzler, Head of ZH VR, presented jointly with Mindesk CEO at Build: London. Deep co-development relationship for immersive design workflows.
• Meta (Facebook)strategicTechnology or IntegrationSupport for Meta Quest 2, 3, and Pro headsets. Mindesk Studio includes hand tracking support, hand mesh visualization, and global mesh occlusion for Quest 3 devices.
• Autodesk (Revit, Navisworks)coreTechnology or IntegrationMindesk supports Revit (2021-2025) and Navisworks (2022-2025) with Live Link functionality. Added Clash Detection and Timeliner tools for Navisworks integration.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Resolve (formerly IrisVR): Direct competitor offering VR design review and collaboration for AEC. Resolve (formerly IrisVR) provides similar immersive review workflows for architects and engineers using Revit, Rhino, and SketchUp — overlapping directly with Mindesk's AEC value proposition.
• The Wild: Direct peer in AEC-focused VR collaboration. The Wild enables distributed architecture and design teams to review 3D models together in shared immersive spaces, competing with Mindesk's Multiuser VR capability for AEC projects.
• Unity Reflect: Unity's real-time 3D platform for AEC and industrial design, enabling BIM/Revit data to flow into Unity-powered VR/AR experiences. Unity Reflect is a direct competitor to Mindesk for AEC real-time visualization, leveraging Unity's broader game engine ecosystem.
• IC.IDO (ESI Group): Industrial-grade VR design review and human factors simulation platform used by Airbus, Renault, and other automotive/aer OEMs. IC.IDO is a direct competitor in the immersive industrial design review and assembly simulation space Mindesk addresses with SolidWorks Link.
• Enscape (Chaos): Real-time rendering and VR visualization plugin for Revit, Rhino, SketchUp, and Vectorworks. Enscape overlaps with Mindesk's photorealistic rendering and VR walkthrough use case, though it lacks Mindesk's VR-native modeling and CAD bi-directional sync.

Emerging players

• Arkio: VR/AR design tool for architects, interior designers, and urban planners. Arkio enables quick massing and layout studies in immersive environments and overlaps with Mindesk's AEC design-review and client-presentation use cases at the early-design stage.
• Gravity Sketch: VR-native 3D sketching and concept design tool used in automotive, footwear, and industrial design. Gravity Sketch overlaps with Mindesk's immersive 3D modeling value prop but focuses on conceptual sketching rather than CAD-integrated production workflows.

Broad incumbents

• Autodesk VRED: Autodesk's professional VR/real-time visualization solution for automotive and industrial design. VRED is bundled into the Autodesk ecosystem and directly competes with Mindesk for the automotive (including Volkswagen Group) and product visualization workloads Mindesk targets.
• Twinmotion (Epic Games): Epic Games subsidiary offering real-time architectural visualization with VR support. Now free for Archicad users, Twinmotion competes on the rendering side of Mindesk's Unreal Link value proposition and benefits from Epic's distribution and Unreal Engine synergies.
• NVIDIA Omniverse: NVIDIA's real-time collaboration and simulation platform built on Universal Scene Description (USD), with CAD importers for Rhino, SolidWorks, and Revit. Omniverse is a strategic threat and potential ecosystem complement to Mindesk's CAD-to-real-time pipeline value proposition.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses3 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/mindeskvr
• YouTubeyoutube.com/c/mindesk
• Facebookfacebook.com/mindesk
• Instagraminstagram.com/mindeskvr
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/mindesk

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds3 records

Investors5 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Mindesk