Alibre

What Alibre does

Alibre is a privately-held, for-profit engineering software company founded in 1997 and headquartered in Richardson, Texas. The company specializes in providing affordable complete engineering solutions, a positioning that implies a price-competitive offering in the computer-aided design and engineering software market, targeting cost-sensitive buyers underserved by premium incumbents. The firm maintains a workforce of 501 to 1,000 employees and operates from a single identified U.S. location.

The company's only documented capital event is a $16 million Series 2 funding round completed on May 16, 2000, led by Bain Capital Public Equity and Rho Management, with participation from August Capital and CenterPoint Venture Partners. No subsequent funding rounds, acquisitions, product launches, or partnerships are recorded in the available data. The company is led by CEO Max Freeman. The firmographic record indicates Alibre is a stable, mature operating entity, though detailed information on its product portfolio, technology stack, pricing, customer base, and revenue is not available in the input material — much of the source content is a placeholder or loading page rather than substantive company disclosures.

Given the 25-year operating history, mid-market headcount, and absence of recent strategic activity in the data, Alibre appears to be a privately-held, self-sustaining engineering software vendor with a value-tier go-to-market motion. The lack of disclosed product details, integration capabilities, AI/ML features, or recent strategic moves limits deeper technical and commercial characterization.

Name

Alibre

Website

https://alibre.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1997

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

Alibre is a privately-held engineering software company founded in 1997 and based in Richardson, Texas, that provides affordable complete engineering solutions to cost-sensitive buyers in the CAD/engineering market, employing 501 to 1,000 people.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

3D CAD / Engineering Design Software

NAICS

Software Publishers (5132)

SIC

Services-Computer Programming Services (7371)

akta.pro primary industry

3D Design & CAD for Additive Manufacturing (IMAAACAA)

Keywords

• 3D CAD software
• Mechanical design tools
• Engineering design software
• Parametric 3D modeling
• Affordable CAD platform

Headquarters

HQ city

Richardson

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Core offering

Alibre provides affordable complete engineering solutions, centered on computer-aided design (CAD) and 3D modeling software used by engineers and product development teams. The company develops and licenses its own engineering design platform rather than reselling third-party CAD tools, targeting customers that need professional-grade 3D CAD capabilities at a lower price point than enterprise incumbents.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Alibre engineering design software (affordable 3D CAD) Affordable complete engineering / 3D CAD software used by engineers and small product design firms to create parametric 3D models, assemblies, and engineering documentation at a lower cost than enterprise CAD incumbents.

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Recent moves3 records

Expansion highlights2 records

Emerging players

• FreeCAD: FreeCAD is an open-source parametric 3D CAD modeler competing at the low end of the same market Alibre targets with its 'affordable' positioning, posing a structural threat to Alibre's price-driven value proposition.
• Mastercam (CNC Software): Mastercam is a leading CAM platform often paired with third-party CAD inputs; it shares Alibre's small-machine-shop customer base and is a complementary/competing tool in CAM-driven design-to-manufacturing workflows.

Direct peers

• Dassault Systèmes (SolidWorks): SolidWorks is the market-leading parametric 3D mechanical CAD product, directly competing with Alibre Design for the same engineering customer base. Dassault Systèmes is the parent and provides the broader 3DEXPERIENCE platform.
• Bricsys (BricsCAD): Bricsys markets BricsCAD as a cost-effective DWG-compatible CAD platform with mechanical extensions, competing with Alibre on affordability and serving similar small-to-mid engineering customers.
• IronCAD: IronCAD offers 3D direct modeling and parametric hybrid CAD aimed at design engineers and manufacturers, overlapping with Alibre Design's core mechanical CAD use cases.
• Kubotek Kosmos (KeyCreator): KeyCreator by Kubotek is a direct-modeling 3D CAD system positioned for engineers transitioning from 2D drafting, putting it in the same alternative-CAD tier as Alibre.
• PTC (Creo & Onshape): PTC's Creo is a direct desktop 3D CAD competitor, and Onshape is a cloud-native CAD platform acquired by PTC — both targeting the same mechanical engineering buyers Alibre serves.

Regional players

• ZWSOFT: ZWSOFT offers ZWCAD andZW3D (mechanical CAD/CAM), primarily strong in Asia and competing with Alibre in cost-sensitive emerging markets on similar 2D/3D CAD use cases.

Broad incumbents

• Autodesk (Inventor & Fusion 360): Autodesk offers Inventor (desktop mechanical CAD) and Fusion 360 (cloud-native CAD/CAM/CAE), both overlapping Alibre's core market. As a broad incumbent with a far larger product portfolio, Autodesk competes head-on with Alibre at multiple price points.
• Siemens Digital Industries (Solid Edge & NX): Siemens offers Solid Edge (mid-market mechanical CAD) and NX (high-end CAD/CAM/CAE), overlapping Alibre in part modeling, assembly, and sheet metal workflows for manufacturers.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/Alibre
• Facebookfacebook.com/alibredesign

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors4 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 Alibre