FlowCAD
FlowCAD is a Cadence-owned value-added reseller and solution provider distributing OrCAD X, Allegro X, PSpice, and complementary EDA tools to electronics developers and PCB designers across Central Europe, augmented by training and design services.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2003
- HeadquartersFeldkirchen, Germany
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What FlowCAD does
FlowCAD EDA-Software Vertriebs GmbH is a Cadence Channel Partner and value-added reseller founded in 2003, headquartered in Feldkirchen bei München, Germany, with direct offices in Switzerland and Poland and a partner-mediated footprint across the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania, Hungary, South Africa, and the United States. The company distributes Cadence's mainstream electronic design automation (EDA) portfolio — OrCAD X, Allegro X, and PSpice — augmented by complementary tools for boundary scan testing (XJTAG), CAM data preparation (WISE), component libraries (Ultra Librarian), RF design (AWR), thermal and electromagnetic simulation (Celsius, Clarity 3D Solver), signal and power integrity analysis (Sigrity), creepage/clearance analysis (Mecadtron), and electronic data management with PLM/ERP integration (OMNYA). In 2024 FlowCAD became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Cadence Design Systems following Cadence's acquisition of EMA Design Automation, Inc.
The business model is multi-stream and predominantly subscription/recurring: software license resale and maintenance contracts (the largest stream), supplemented by professional services including public and on-site training (minimum five-person teams), custom PCB layout services, library creation, and simulation order services. Go-to-market is sales-led, combining direct enterprise field sales in Germany, Switzerland, and Poland, regional partner channels in other markets, and a product-led growth layer of free hands-on workshops, freemium trials (OrCAD X 30-day, XJTAG DFT Assistant, Ultra Librarian), and content marketing (newsletter six times per year, YouTube tutorials, whitepapers, success stories). Pricing is custom-quoted; no public price list exists. Primary customers are electronics developers and PCB designers across Central Europe, with secondary verticals in military/aerospace (MIL/AS9100/ITAR) and high-speed/RF design.
In 2025 FlowCAD launched Allegro X AI — an AI-driven PCB design automation capability providing Placement AI, Copper AI, and Route AI, built on Cadence's proprietary model and 30+ years of PCB design data, deployed on AWS, and reporting 50-70% design cycle time reductions on designs up to 5,000 components. The company is led by Managing Directors Manny Marcano and Tomasz Górecki.
FlowCAD firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- FlowCAD
- Legal name
- FlowCAD EDA-Software Vertriebs GmbH
- Website
- https://flowcad.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2003
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- FlowCAD is a Cadence-owned value-added reseller and solution provider distributing OrCAD X, Allegro X, PSpice, and complementary EDA tools to electronics developers and PCB designers across Central Europe, augmented by training and design services.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Where FlowCAD is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Feldkirchen
- HQ country
- Germany
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices8 records
Markets served
FlowCAD business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Software Resale and Licensing: FlowCAD resells Cadence EDA software products (OrCAD X, Allegro X, PSpice, Sigrity, etc.) and related third-party tools. Revenue is generated through software licenses, subscriptions, and maintenance contracts.
- Training Services: FlowCAD offers professional training classes including public sessions and on-site/custom training for teams. Training covers PSpice, OrCAD, Allegro, and other EDA tools.
- Technical Support: The company provides technical support services as part of its EDA tool resale and distribution business.
- PCB Layout Services: FlowCAD offers PCB layout services using OrCAD X, Allegro X, and Altium for customers needing design outsourcing.
- Library Creation Services: Creation of symbols, footprints, and models for customers requiring custom component library development.
- Simulation Services: Order simulations using Sigrity, PSpice, and NEXTRA for air and creepage distance analysis.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Pay-as-you-go | Free Hands-On Workshops |
| Freemium | Pay-as-you-go | Allegro X AI Trial |
| Freemium | Pay-as-you-go | Ultra Librarian |
| Freemium | Pay-as-you-go | XJTAG DFT Assistant for OrCAD Capture |
| Freemium | Pay-as-you-go | OrCAD X Free Trial |
| Subscription | Multi-year contract | Professional Training |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels6 records
Marketing channels7 records
FlowCAD product offering
Product offeringCore offering
FlowCAD is a Cadence Channel Partner and value-added reseller distributing Electronic Design Automation (EDA) software for PCB design, circuit simulation, and signal/power integrity analysis across Central Europe. The portfolio centers on Cadence's OrCAD X and Allegro X layout platforms, PSpice analog/mixed-signal simulation, and complementary tools (XJTAG boundary scan, WISE CAM, Ultra Librarian, EMA timing and library tools, AWR RF, Mecadtron NEXTRA). Beyond software resale, FlowCAD delivers training, technical support, custom PCB layout services, library creation, and simulation services.
Product overview
FlowCAD is a value-added reseller and solution provider for Cadence PCB design and analysis software in Central Europe, offering a comprehensive CAD flow for electronic design automation. The portfolio centers on Cadence's flagship OrCAD X and Allegro X PCB design platforms, augmented with PSpice circuit simulation, Sigrity signal/power integrity analysis, and thermal simulation tools. Supporting products include OMNYA for electronic data management and PLM integration, XJTAG for boundary scan testing, WISE tools for CAM data preparation, and Ultra Librarian for CAD library access. The offering architecture follows a platform-plus-modules model where OrCAD X and Allegro X serve as core layout engines, with specialized add-on modules for specific workflows (timing analysis, thermal simulation, RF design, reliability analysis). Most products are Cadence tools resold through FlowCAD with local sales, support, and training.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Allegro X
- OrCAD X
- PSpice
- Allegro X AI
- OMNYA Integration Platform
- XJTAG Boundary Scan
- WISE GerbTool
- WISE VisualCAM
- Ultra Librarian
- EMA TimingDesigner
- EMA Library Builder
- Sigrity
- Celsius Thermal Solver
- Clarity 3D Solver
- AWR RF Design
- Mecadtron NEXTRA
- inspectAR
- XJTAG DFT Assistant for OrCAD Capture
- Professional EDA Training Services
- PCB Layout Services
- Library Creation Services
- Simulation Services
Quantifiable outcome
- 10X productivity increase with AI-driven PCB design (Allegro X AI)
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use FlowCAD
Customer profileSegments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
FlowCAD technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration6 records
AI capability4 records
Feature7 records
FlowCAD partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core, secondary and minor.
- Cadence Design SystemscoreFlowCAD is a Cadence Channel Partner and authorized reseller for Cadence EDA products including OrCAD X, Allegro X, PSpice, Sigrity, Celsius, and AWR. FlowCAD offers sales, support, training, and customer-specific solutions for Cadence tools in Central Europe.
- EMA Design AutomationcoreEMA Design Automation is the Cadence Channel Partner for all of North America. EMA offers electrical CAD tools, data management and PLM systems, services, training, and technical support. EMA is an authorized training center offering in-house, on-site, and remote options. EMA also develops its own products (TimingDesigner, Library Builder) that FlowCAD distributes.
- XJTAGcoreXJTAG provides boundary scan test, debug, and programming tools for electronic circuits. FlowCAD distributes XJTAG products including DFT Assistant for OrCAD Capture, XJDeveloper, XJInvestigator, XJRunner, XJFlash, and XJAnalyser. Hardware includes XJLink2, XJLink, XJQuad, and XJIO boards.
- WISE SoftwaresecondaryWISE specializes in preparing, displaying, and validating CAM data. FlowCAD distributes WISE GerbTool and VisualCAM products for PCB CAM tooling and analysis, manufacturing verification, and stencil creation. WISE is also committed to the IPC consortium supporting the IPC-2581 standard.
- Ultra LibrariancoreUltra Librarian provides symbols, footprints, and 3D models for nearly all CAD tools. FlowCAD integrates Ultra Librarian with OMNYA platform, providing access to over 16 million parts from more than 950 manufacturers.
- SiliconExpertsecondarySiliconExpert integration with OMNYA provides users access to over 1 billion component data including lifecycle information, multiple sourcing options, component risk assessment, and regulatory compliance data.
- AWR (Cadence)secondaryAWR design environment provides layout-based design methodology for complex RF PCBs with circuit/system and electromagnetic co-simulation capabilities.
- MecadtronsecondaryMecadtron NEXTRA provides air gap and creepage distance analysis for 3D PCB designs, based on IEC 60664 standards.
- Cadshop (South Africa)minorLocal partner Cadshop (Pty)(LTD) in South Africa representing FlowCAD for sales and support.
- CADIN s.r.o. (Czech Republic, Slovakia)minorLocal partner CADIN s.r.o. covering Czech Republic and Slovakia for sales and support in local language. PCB design services also offered from office in Bratislava.
- Andak Consulting SRL (Romania)minorLocal partner Andak Consulting SRL representing FlowCAD in Romania at Serg. Gheorghe Latea 13 street, 6th District, Bucharest.
- PannonCad (Hungary)minorLocal partner PannonCad representing FlowCAD in Hungary at Gidófalvy u. 33, 1134 Budapest.
Scale indicators2 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
FlowCAD competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- EMA Design Automation: EMA Design Automation is FlowCAD's sister company under Cadence following the 2024 acquisition, and historically served as Cadence's North American channel partner with a near-identical business model: resale of OrCAD/Allegro/PSpice, TimingDesigner/Library Builder, training, and PCB layout services.
Broad incumbents
- Cadence Design Systems: Cadence is FlowCAD's parent company and the developer of the EDA tools (OrCAD X, Allegro X, PSpice, Sigrity, Celsius, Clarity, Allegro X AI) that FlowCAD resells. Cadence operates globally with direct enterprise sales that can overlap or substitute for FlowCAD's channel role.
- Altium (Renesas Electronics): Altium is a leading direct competitor in the PCB design EDA space, now owned by Renesas. Altium Designer and Altium 365 compete head-to-head with OrCAD X/Allegro X, and Altium maintains its own European channel and direct sales force that competes with FlowCAD for European accounts.
- Zuken: Zuken is a Japan-headquartered EDA vendor offering CR-8000, CADSTAR, and other PCB/system design platforms that compete directly with Cadence's Allegro and OrCAD product lines for European automotive, aerospace, and industrial customers.
- Siemens EDA: Siemens EDA (formerly Mentor Graphics) provides Xpedition, PADS, HyperLynx, and other PCB and electronic systems design tools that compete with Cadence's portfolio. Siemens EDA sells direct in Europe and frequently displaces Cadence/OrCAD/Allegro incumbencies.
- Synopsys: Synopsys is a top-three global EDA vendor with a portfolio spanning IC design, verification, and increasingly system-level/PCB-adjacent solutions. Synopsys competes with Cadence (and by extension FlowCAD) for large European accounts needing broad electronic design platforms.
- Ansys: Ansys (now part of Synopsys) provides multiphysics simulation tools (thermal, SI/PI, electromagnetic) that overlap with Cadence's Sigrity, Celsius, and Clarity products FlowCAD resells. Ansys competes for the simulation budget on European PCB and electronic systems projects.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
FlowCAD social profiles
Digital presenceFlowCAD financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
FlowCAD leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
FlowCAD funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
FlowCAD 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 FlowCAD
What does FlowCAD do?
FlowCAD is a Cadence Channel Partner and value-added reseller distributing Electronic Design Automation (EDA) software for PCB design, circuit simulation, and signal/power integrity analysis across Central Europe. The portfolio centers on Cadence's OrCAD X and Allegro X layout platforms, PSpice analog/mixed-signal simulation, and complementary tools (XJTAG boundary scan, WISE CAM, Ultra Librarian, EMA timing and library tools, AWR RF, Mecadtron NEXTRA). Beyond software resale, FlowCAD delivers training, technical support, custom PCB layout services, library creation, and simulation services.
Is FlowCAD a public or private company?
FlowCAD is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was FlowCAD founded?
FlowCAD was founded in 2003. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is FlowCAD based?
FlowCAD is headquartered in Feldkirchen, Germany, in the Europe region.
How does FlowCAD make money?
Six revenue lines are on record. Software Resale and Licensing is the primary driver. The others are training Services, technical Support, PCB Layout Services, library Creation Services and simulation Services.
Who are FlowCAD's main competitors?
EMA Design Automation is listed as a direct peer. Broad incumbents are Cadence Design Systems, Altium (Renesas Electronics), Zuken, Siemens EDA, Synopsys and Ansys.
Does FlowCAD have an API?
No public API is recorded for FlowCAD.