GrabCAD
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2009
- HeadquartersCambridge, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What GrabCAD does
GrabCAD is an online community network serving mechanical engineers, founded in 2009 and headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The platform enables users to share mechanical engineering talent, expand professional knowledge, and collaborate with peers; its stated mission centers on networking and content exchange among mechanical engineers rather than on direct consumer software sales. The company is privately held, structured as a for-profit entity, and operates with a small team of 11–50 employees.
The firm's core product surface is a community and content platform on which mechanical engineers publish, discover, and consume CAD models and related engineering work. The site's domain — grabcad.com — is the primary access point, and the company name and product positioning are tightly bound to the mechanical engineering and CAD workflows that sit adjacent to the 3D printing and digital manufacturing ecosystems. Over its operating history, GrabCAD has completed nine recorded funding events (the most recent a $14M round in March 2019), supported by investors including Atlas Venture, Matrix, CRV, NextView Ventures, Techstars, Tera Ventures, Astrec Baltic/Astrec Invest, and Seedcamp. On October 25, 2022, the company acquired Riven for an undisclosed amount, extending its product surface beyond the original community model.
The revenue model is not directly disclosed in the available inputs; the underlying data source for the firm's website returned a 403 error, and no pricing, monetized tier, advertising rate card, or ARR disclosure is present. Indirect signals — including the freemium/community framing, the platform's role as a B2B-ish hub for a professional engineer audience, and headcount of 11–50 employees — imply a small-scale, niche-monetized platform rather than a mass-market consumer product. Detailed go-to-market mechanics, named customer logos, segment mix, and contract structures are not recoverable from the input material and remain unverified data gaps for a PE/VC diligence workstream.
GrabCAD firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- GrabCAD
- Website
- https://grabcad.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2009
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
GrabCAD industry classification
Industry- Product category
- CAD Collaboration Platform
- NAICS
- Engineering Services (541330)
- SIC
- Services-Computer Integrated Systems Design (7373)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Makerspaces & Fab Labs (Open Build Studios) (EDAMADAC)
Keywords
Where GrabCAD is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Cambridge
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Markets served
GrabCAD business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Infrastructure, Operations, Marketing or Sales
GrabCAD product offering
Product offeringCore offering
GrabCAD operates an online community network where mechanical engineers upload, share, discover, and collaborate on CAD models and engineering designs. The platform functions as a large public library and social hub for CAD/3D model content used by professional designers, engineers, and students.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- GrabCAD Community Platform
Companies that use GrabCAD
Customer profileIdeal customer profiles2 records
GrabCAD technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
GrabCAD partnerships and signals
Strategic signalRecent moves5 records
Expansion highlights3 records
GrabCAD competitors and assessment
Company assessmentEmerging players
- TurboSquid: TurboSquid operates a marketplace for 3D models spanning entertainment, gaming, and engineering, with partial overlap on the mechanical engineering side. While broader in scope than GrabCAD, the marketplace model and creator community are structurally similar.
- Sketchfab: Sketchfab is a platform for publishing, finding, and embedding 3D models online, with creator tools and a community marketplace. It overlaps with GrabCAD in the model-sharing community space but skews toward visualization and AR/VR rather than engineering CAD.
- Tinkercad: Tinkercad is an Autodesk-owned free 3D design and modeling platform for makers, educators, and beginners. It targets the same grassroots/engineer-of-tomorrow segment that built GrabCAD's audience, though as an entry-level design tool rather than a community library.
Direct peers
- TraceParts: TraceParts operates one of the largest free CAD model libraries and component communities for engineers, directly competing with GrabCAD's core downloadable content and part-sharing proposition. Both serve mechanical designers seeking ready-to-use 3D models and CAD files.
- Thingiverse: Thingiverse is a 3D printing community where users upload and download printable models, functionally similar to GrabCAD's file-sharing model but focused on consumer/maker 3D printing rather than mechanical engineering. Both monetize community-driven content libraries for designers.
- 3DContentCentral: 3DContentCentral is a SolidWorks-native community for sharing CAD models, parts, and assemblies among mechanical engineers. It is functionally equivalent to GrabCAD's community model but is anchored to the SolidWorks ecosystem rather than being vendor-neutral.
- CADENAS PARTsolutions: CADENAS provides enterprise CAD product data management and downloadable 3D part libraries for manufacturers, directly overlapping with GrabCAD's enterprise pivot via Workbench. Both target the same engineering procurement workflow with crowdsourced component data.
Broad incumbents
- Dassault Systèmes 3DEXPERIENCE: Dassault Systèmes offers the 3DEXPERIENCE platform, a broad enterprise collaboration suite spanning CAD (SOLIDWORKS), manufacturing, and simulation. It competes with GrabCAD's Workbench enterprise vision at the high end while offering community/learning resources that overlap with GrabCAD's audience.
- Onshape (PTC): Onshape is a cloud-native CAD platform acquired by PTC that competes in the same design collaboration niche GrabCAD targets with its Workbench product. Both pursue modern browser-based CAD workflows with built-in collaboration, positioning against legacy desktop tools.
- Autodesk Fusion 360: Autodesk Fusion 360 is a cloud CAD/CAM/CAE platform with free educational tiers and built-in community features, directly competing with GrabCAD in the maker and engineering student segments. Autodesk's broader portfolio represents the dominant incumbent in CAD collaboration.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights5 records
Customer concentration
GrabCAD social profiles
Digital presenceGrabCAD financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
GrabCAD leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
GrabCAD funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds9 records
Investors9 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
GrabCAD M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A1 record
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about GrabCAD
What does GrabCAD do?
GrabCAD operates an online community network where mechanical engineers upload, share, discover, and collaborate on CAD models and engineering designs. The platform functions as a large public library and social hub for CAD/3D model content used by professional designers, engineers, and students.
When was GrabCAD founded?
GrabCAD was founded in 2009. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is GrabCAD based?
GrabCAD is headquartered in Cambridge, United States, in the North America region.
Who are GrabCAD's main competitors?
Emerging players on record are TurboSquid, Sketchfab and Tinkercad. Direct peers are TraceParts, Thingiverse, 3DContentCentral and CADENAS PARTsolutions. Broad incumbents are Dassault Systèmes 3DEXPERIENCE, Onshape (PTC) and Autodesk Fusion 360.
Does GrabCAD have an API?
No public API is recorded for GrabCAD.
What industry is GrabCAD in?
GrabCAD's product category is CAD Collaboration Platform. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDAMADAC, Makerspaces & Fab Labs (Open Build Studios). Its NAICS code is 541330 and its SIC code is 7373.