What Autodesk Foundation does

Autodesk Foundation is the philanthropic arm of Autodesk Inc. (NASDAQ: ADSK), established in 2014 and headquartered in San Francisco, California. The foundation deploys catalytic capital, Autodesk software, and employee expertise to early-stage nonprofit organizations and startups using design and engineering to address climate change and inequality. It operates across three thesis-driven impact areas — Energy & Materials (decarbonization technologies), Health & Resilience (climate adaptation in low-resource communities), and Work & Prosperity (workforce development for the automation era) — with a portfolio of more than fifty organizations across five continents.

The foundation's core "products" are four integrated offerings: (1) Grants and impact investments of $100,000–$1,000,000, with most commitments between $250,000 and $500,000, deployed to nonprofits as unrestricted grants and to startups at seed or Series A stage; (2) the Autodesk Technology Impact Program, which donates access to Autodesk's design and make software suite (AutoCAD, Revit, Fusion 360, BIM 360, Construction Cloud, CFD); (3) Pro Bono Consulting delivered through skills-based volunteering by Autodesk employees; and (4) a Research Residency Program providing access to Autodesk innovation facilities. An Impact Measurement & Management practice, supported by third-party experts CEA Consulting and Rho Impact, provides portfolio-wide accountability and assessment infrastructure.

The foundation is governed by a board chaired by Autodesk's COO and comprising senior Autodesk executives (CFO, CMO, CPO, CEO), and is funded by Autodesk Inc. In FY26 it deployed approximately $16.1 million in financial capital and reported 2025 portfolio impact of 29.9 million individuals reached with resilient solutions, 2.8 million metric tons CO2e emissions reduced, and 438,000 individuals obtaining quality jobs. Notable portfolio names include Ebb Carbon, Heirloom, Prometheus Materials, Splash, Build Health International, and Generation. Distribution is direct: organizations apply via a Discovery Form, proceed through screening and due diligence, and receive multi-year support with renewal evaluation.

Name

Autodesk Foundation

Legal name

Autodesk Foundation

Website

https://autodesk.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Autodesk Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Autodesk Inc., deploys grants, impact investments, software donations, and pro bono consulting to early-stage nonprofits and startups using design and engineering for climate and social impact across Energy & Materials, Health & Resilience, and Work & Prosperity theses.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Philanthropic Foundation / Impact Investing

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Grantmaking and Giving Services (8132), Other Grantmaking and Giving Services (813219)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Private Foundations (BPAGAKAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Environmental & Climate Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAM), Climate / Clean Tech & Decarbonization Funds (FSANAJAA), International Grantmaking & Development Foundations (BPAGAKAH)

Keywords

• Philanthropic grant making
• Impact investing
• Nonprofit funding
• Climate technology investment
• Workforce development grants

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Philanthropic Grant Making: As a corporate foundation, Autodesk Foundation does not generate revenue but deploys philanthropic capital in the form of grants and impact investments to nonprofit organizations and startups addressing climate change and inequality. The foundation invested approximately $16.1 million in financial capital in FY26.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Autodesk Foundation deploys catalytic philanthropic capital in the form of grants and impact investments ranging from $100,000 to $1,000,000 (most commitments between $250,000 and $500,000) to early-stage nonprofits and startups using design and engineering for climate and social impact. Recipients also receive donated Autodesk software, technical training, and pro bono consulting from Autodesk employees across three impact areas: Energy & Materials, Health & Resilience, and Work & Prosperity.

Product overview

Autodesk Foundation is a philanthropic organization that provides catalytic funding and support services, not a unified software product. The foundation's offerings consist of four core components: (1) Grants and Impact Investments providing $100,000 to $1,000,000 in funding to nonprofits and startups; (2) Autodesk Technology Impact Program donating Autodesk software to qualifying organizations; (3) Pro Bono Consulting connecting Autodesk employee volunteers with portfolio organizations for skills-based support; and (4) Research Residency Program offering access to Autodesk's innovation community and fabrication facilities. The foundation organizes its investment portfolio across three impact areas: Energy & Materials (decarbonization technologies), Health & Resilience (climate adaptation in low-resource communities), and Work & Prosperity (workforce development for automation). Additionally, Impact Measurement & Management services help portfolio organizations measure and optimize their social and environmental outcomes.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Grants and Impact Investments Catalytic funding provided to nonprofits and startups ranging from $100,000 to $1,000,000, with most commitments between $250,000 and $500,000. For nonprofits, the foundation provides unrestricted grants; for startups, it invests at seed or Series A stage with follow-on support tied to company progress.
• Autodesk Technology Impact Program Autodesk donates software to nonprofits and startups using design for environmental and social good, providing access to AutoCAD, Revit, Fusion 360, BIM 360, Construction Cloud, and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulation tools.
• Pro Bono Consulting Autodesk employees apply their expertise through skills-based volunteering to support nonprofits and startups addressing pressing social and environmental challenges with design and engineering support.
• Research Residency Program Offers residents complimentary access to a global innovation community, subject matter expertise, and data-enabled fabrication workshops and studios.
• Impact Measurement & Management (IMM) A rigorous practice that establishes accountability, informs decision-making, and generates evidence of success for portfolio organizations, supporting data collection and analysis and integration of IMM best practices.

Quantifiable outcome

• 29.9 million individuals reached with resilient solutions
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• SymetricoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerSymetri serves as an Autodesk training partner, providing technical training and consulting services to Autodesk Foundation portfolio organizations including Build Health International, Nth Cycle, and others to help them effectively use Autodesk software.
• CEA ConsultingminorOthersThird-party expert engaged to improve Autodesk Foundation's impact measurement and management methodology.
• Rho ImpactminorOthersThird-party expert engaged to accurately assess the Autodesk Foundation portfolio's actual and potential impact.
• Project FrameminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAutodesk Foundation participates in Project Frame initiative for field-building efforts in impact assessment.
• Prime CoalitioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAutodesk Foundation supports Prime Coalition's CRANE tool, an innovative impact assessment technology for climate solutions. Prime Coalition empowers philanthropists to invest charitable capital into market-based solutions to climate change.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Google.org: The philanthropic arm of Google/Alphabet, Google.org provides grants, impact investments, and Google product/engineering support to nonprofits and social enterprises — directly analogous to Autodesk Foundation's capital-plus-technology-plus-talent model for design-and-engineering-aligned impact orgs.
• Microsoft Philanthropies: Microsoft's corporate philanthropy vehicle combines cash grants, software donations (similar to Autodesk's Technology Impact Program), and employee volunteer engagement for nonprofits and social enterprises — a direct comparable in structure and corporate-foundation DNA.
• Schmidt Futures: Eric and Wendy Schmidt's philanthropic vehicle funds early-stage talent and technology ventures tackling hard problems (climate, AI, science) with patient capital — comparable in thesis-driven, multi-year grantmaking to early-stage organizations with technology leverage.
• Omidyar Network: Pierre Omidyar's impact investment firm makes grants and impact investments in for-profits and nonprofits addressing social and environmental issues globally — a close peer in combining philanthropic capital with venture-style impact investing.
• Emerson Collective: Laurene Powell Jobs' philanthropic and impact-investing organization funds climate, education, and immigration initiatives with a mix of grants and equity investments — comparable in scale, theme breadth, and willingness to back early-stage climate ventures.
• Skoll Foundation: Jeff Skoll's foundation funds social entrepreneurs driving large-scale change on climate, health, and economic opportunity via multi-year grants and impact investments — directly comparable mission and instrument mix.

Peers

• Salesforce Foundation (Salesforce.org): The philanthropic arm of Salesforce (NYSE: CRM) provides grants and product donations (free Salesforce software) plus employee volunteer hours to nonprofits — functionally identical to Autodesk Foundation's bundled model but for the CRM/enterprise software ecosystem.

Broad incumbents

• Bloomberg Philanthropies: Mike Bloomberg's philanthropy deploys >$1B annually across climate, public health, education, and economic inclusion — a much larger incumbent funder in overlapping themes, particularly climate and workforce, useful as a scale benchmark.

Emerging players

• Patagonia (environmental grantmaking): Patagonia allocates 1% of sales (~$100M+ annually) to grassroots environmental organizations. While smaller per-check and more environmental-only, it is a peer in the 'purpose-driven corporate' philanthropic model.
• Prime Coalition: A nonprofit impact-investment intermediary that structures catalytic philanthropic capital into market-based climate solutions, with whom Autodesk Foundation actively partners. Comparable in mission and instrument design even if not a direct funder competitor.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/autodeskfdn
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/undefined

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles27 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments19 records

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

Frequently asked questions about Autodesk Foundation