SnapEDA
SnapMagic Search (formerly SnapEDA) operates a free online CAD library of 10M+ electronic component symbols, footprints, and 3D models serving 2M+ engineers. It monetizes via paid custom part creation, vendor publishing tools, and sponsored listings.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2013
- HeadquartersSan Francisco, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What SnapEDA does
SnapMagic Search (formerly SnapEDA), founded in 2013 and headquartered in San Francisco, operates the Internet's largest free library of electronic component CAD models — schematic symbols, PCB footprints, and 3D models — serving over 2 million professional engineers at companies ranging from hardware startups (teaBOT, Pluot Communications) to enterprise research (Samsung Research America) and academia (Georgia Tech). The platform indexes more than 10 million parts from over 2,500 manufacturers including Texas Instruments, Analog Devices, Vishay, STMicroelectronics, and TE Connectivity. The company is backed by Y Combinator with co-investors including 79 Studios, Cognitive Ventures, DMZ, Mastercard, and Ontario Centres of Excellence, and operates as a private, founder-led business under the legal entity SnapMagic Search, Inc.
The technology stack centers on a web-based CAD library with multi-format export to 20+ PCB design tools (Altium, Eagle, KiCad, Cadence Allegro/OrCAD, PADS, DipTrace, PCB123, ExpressPCB Plus, Proteus, Target 3001!, Autodesk Fusion, and others). Proprietary components include a computer vision pipeline (InstaBuild) that uses OCR to extract pin definitions from datasheet images and automatically generate schematic symbols linked to IPC-7351B-compliant footprints, and a patented three-step verification engine that flags manufacturability issues against industry standards. Native plugins for major EDA tools plus a Chrome extension for distributor websites embed the library directly into engineer workflows.
The business model is product-led and freemium on the demand side. The core library is free, driving top-of-funnel reach across 2M+ engineers; monetization is concentrated in three streams: (1) InstaPart, a $29-per-part custom creation service delivered within one business day, sold individually or in 5/10/20-credit bundles; (2) InstaPublish, a self-service vendor portal where component manufacturers publish CAD models and access the SnapInsights analytics dashboard with a GDPR-compliant Attribution App; and (3) InstaConvert, a sponsored-listing and demand-generation advertising suite for vendors. Distribution relies on organic SEO, community Q&A forums, EDA-tool plugin partnerships, an API, and a Syndication Program that distributes vendor CAD models into third-party PCB tools and distributor websites.
SnapEDA firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- SnapEDA
- Legal name
- SnapMagic Search, Inc.
- Website
- https://snapeda.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2013
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- SnapMagic Search (formerly SnapEDA) operates a free online CAD library of 10M+ electronic component symbols, footprints, and 3D models serving 2M+ engineers. It monetizes via paid custom part creation, vendor publishing tools, and sponsored listings.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
SnapEDA industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Electronic Design Automation (EDA) Software
- NAICS
- Software Publishers (513210)
- akta.pro primary industry
- System-Level, Multi-Physics & Package/PCB Co-Design (EDA) (HDAHAFAD)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- AI Application Enablement Platforms (Copilot/Agent Frameworks, SDKs) (HDAEANAJ)
Keywords
Where SnapEDA is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- San Francisco
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
SnapEDA business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- InstaPart (Custom Part Creation): On-demand symbol and footprint creation service where engineers request custom parts for $29 per part (up to 100 pins). In-house engineers create, verify, and deliver within 1 business day. Credits never expire. Parts become freely available to the community after creation.
- InstaPart Credits Bundle: Bulk credit purchases offering volume discounts: 5 credits for $135, 10 credits for $250, 20 credits for $400. Credits can be used for any InstaPart requests and never expire.
- Vendor/Manufacturer Listing: Component manufacturers can publish CAD models on the platform via InstaPublish, reaching over 2 million engineers. Vendors gain analytics dashboard access and GDPR-compliant attribution tracking showing purchase correlation with CAD downloads.
- InstaConvert (Sponsored Listings): Demand generation advertising suite allowing vendors to appear above competitors in search results or run sample campaigns to engage engineers earlier in the design flow.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | InstaPart Single Request (up to 100 pins) |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | InstaPart Credit Bundle - 5 Credits |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | InstaPart Credit Bundle - 10 Credits |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | InstaPart Credit Bundle - 20 Credits |
| Freemium | Pay-as-you-go | Library Access (Free Tier) |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels7 records
SnapEDA product offering
Product offeringCore offering
SnapEDA operates a free online CAD library and design platform that provides schematic symbols, PCB footprints, and 3D models for millions of electronic components from over 2,500 manufacturers, supporting 20+ PCB design tool formats. The company monetizes through paid on-demand custom part creation (InstaPart at $29 per part), computer-vision-powered automated symbol generation (InstaBuild), and a vendor publishing and advertising platform (InstaPublish) that lets component manufacturers distribute CAD models to over 2 million engineers worldwide.
Product overview
SnapMagic Search (formerly SnapEDA) is a free CAD library and electronics design platform providing symbols, footprints, and 3D models for millions of electronic components. The platform offers a portfolio of integrated products: the core SnapMagic Search platform as the main library and search interface; InstaBuild (AI-powered computer vision beta) for automatic symbol creation from datasheets; InstaPart for professional custom symbol and footprint creation within 1 business day; InstaPublish for vendor publishing and analytics; PCB Design Tool Plugins for native integration with 21 EDA tools including Eagle, KiCad, and Altium; SnapPricing for distributor price comparison; and SnapInsights for vendor analytics. The platform is built around supporting engineers at over 2 million downloads with 10 million parts in the library.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- InstaPart: Service for requesting custom symbol and footprint creation delivered in 1 business day for $29.
- InstaBuild
- InstaPublish
- SnapPricing
Products and services
- SnapMagic Search (formerly SnapEDA) Free online CAD library and search platform providing schematic symbols, PCB footprints, and 3D models for millions of electronic components from 2,500+ manufacturers, supporting 20+ PCB design tool formats.
- InstaPart On-demand custom schematic symbol and PCB footprint creation service. In-house engineers create, verify, and deliver IPC-7351B compliant parts within 1 business day for $29 per part, with credits that never expire.
- InstaBuild AI-powered computer vision tool that uses OCR to recognize pin numbers and names from datasheet images and automatically generates schematic symbols and IPC-compliant PCB footprints in minutes, free for engineers.
- InstaPublish Self-service publishing platform for component vendors to instantly publish CAD models (symbols, footprints, 3D models) to SnapMagic Search in all major PCB formats, with analytics dashboard and proprietary GDPR-compliant Attribution App for measuring design wins and purchase generation.
- SnapInsights Analytics platform for component vendors providing insights into part performance, design wins, and ROI measurement, including a proprietary GDPR-compliant Attribution App for tracking purchase correlation.
- PCB Design Tool Plugins Native plugins for Altium Designer, Eagle, KiCad, Autodesk Fusion, DipTrace, ExpressPCB Plus, Target 3001!, Proteus, and PCB123, enabling engineers to search and download symbols, footprints, and 3D models without leaving their design environment.
- SnapMagic Search Desktop App Downloadable desktop application providing offline access to the SnapMagic Search CAD model library and integrated design workflow.
- InstaConvert (Sponsored Listings) Vendor demand-generation advertising program providing sponsored placement above competitors in component search results and sample-request campaigns to engage engineers earlier in the design flow.
- SnapPricing Pricing and availability search tool allowing engineers to compare prices for millions of electronic components across distributors.
Quantifiable outcome
- Over 2 million professional engineers rely on SnapMagic Search annually
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use SnapEDA
Customer profileNamed customers6 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
SnapEDA technology and API
TechnologyAPI detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration21 records
AI capability2 records
Feature4 records
SnapEDA partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- Sunstone PCB123coreSnapMagic Search is natively built into Sunstone's PCB123 design tool. Partnership provides integrated CAD model access within the PCB123 workflow.
- DiptracecoreSnapMagic Search plugin available for download through Diptrace's download page. Integration enables direct access to SnapMagic CAD library from within Diptrace.
- ExpressPCB PluscoreSnapMagic Search is integrated within ExpressPCB Plus design software. Users can access CAD models directly from the tool.
Scale indicators9 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
SnapEDA competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- SamacSys (now part of Altium): SamacSys provides schematic symbols, PCB footprints, and 3D models for electronic components and was acquired by Altium. It is SnapMagic's closest direct competitor in the component-CAD-library market, with similar manufacturer syndication and EDA tool integration.
- Ultra Librarian: Ultra Librarian offers a free electronic component CAD library with symbols, footprints, and 3D models across multiple EDA formats. It directly competes with SnapMagic in serving engineers and component manufacturers seeking broad, multi-format CAD coverage.
- ComponentSearchEngine.com: ComponentSearchEngine is an electronic component search portal with CAD model downloads and distributor pricing comparison. It overlaps SnapMagic's discover-and-download workflow for engineers and competes for vendor mind-share on design-in influence.
- Octopart: Octopart is an electronic component search engine providing specs, pricing, and CAD/EDA data from distributors and manufacturers. It competes with SnapMagic's SnapPricing/Parts Library on component discovery and overlaps with SnapMagic's vendor-attribution analytics use case.
- EasyEDA (JLCPCB): EasyEDA is a free, web-based EDA tool from JLCPCB with an integrated component library and one-click PCB ordering. It overlaps SnapMagic on free, browser-based CAD access for PCB designers and increasingly bundles library content directly into the design flow.
Broad incumbents
- Altium Designer: Altium is the leading professional PCB design tool and acquired SamacSys to deepen its in-tool library. As a broad incumbent, it competes with SnapMagic by integrating CAD-library delivery directly inside its EDA environment rather than as a neutral third-party platform.
- Autodesk Fusion Electronics: Autodesk Fusion includes PCB design capabilities and supports a SnapMagic plugin, but also maintains its own component library ecosystem. It is a broad incumbent that could expand native library coverage, reducing reliance on third-party libraries like SnapMagic.
- KiCad: KiCad is the leading open-source EDA suite and ships with official component libraries maintained by the community. As a broad incumbent, it competes with SnapMagic for engineering mind-share, particularly among hobbyists, educators, and cost-sensitive startups.
- Digi-Key Electronics: Digi-Key is a major electronic component distributor that publishes CAD models, symbols, and footprints alongside its part listings. It is a broad incumbent that already provides free, distributor-side CAD data, partially overlapping SnapMagic's library and SnapPricing use cases.
- Mouser Electronics: Mouser is a global electronic component distributor offering CAD models, symbols, and footprints on its product pages. It is a broad incumbent competing with SnapMagic on free component CAD availability while also serving as a potential distribution and data partner.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
SnapEDA social profiles
Digital presenceSnapEDA financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
SnapEDA leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
SnapEDA funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds5 records
Investors6 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
SnapEDA M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about SnapEDA
What does SnapEDA do?
SnapEDA operates a free online CAD library and design platform that provides schematic symbols, PCB footprints, and 3D models for millions of electronic components from over 2,500 manufacturers, supporting 20+ PCB design tool formats. The company monetizes through paid on-demand custom part creation (InstaPart at $29 per part), computer-vision-powered automated symbol generation (InstaBuild), and a vendor publishing and advertising platform (InstaPublish) that lets component manufacturers distribute CAD models to over 2 million engineers worldwide.
Is SnapEDA a public or private company?
SnapEDA is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was SnapEDA founded?
SnapEDA was founded in 2013. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is SnapEDA based?
SnapEDA is headquartered in San Francisco, United States, in the North America region.
How does SnapEDA make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. InstaPart (Custom Part Creation) is the primary driver. The others are instaPart Credits Bundle, vendor/Manufacturer Listing and instaConvert (Sponsored Listings).
Who are SnapEDA's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are SamacSys (now part of Altium), Ultra Librarian, ComponentSearchEngine.com, Octopart and EasyEDA (JLCPCB). Broad incumbents are Altium Designer, Autodesk Fusion Electronics, KiCad, Digi-Key Electronics and Mouser Electronics.
Does SnapEDA have an API?
Yes. SnapMagic Search offers an API for accessing parts library data. Developers can use the API to search and download symbols, footprints, and 3D models for electronic components. Available via the Get API page at /get-api/. Developer documentation is at snapeda.com/get-api.
What industry is SnapEDA in?
SnapEDA's product category is Electronic Design Automation (EDA) Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HDAHAFAD, System-Level, Multi-Physics & Package/PCB Co-Design (EDA), with a secondary code of HDAEANAJ, AI Application Enablement Platforms (Copilot/Agent Frameworks, SDKs). Its NAICS code is 513210.