What OpenCFD does

OpenCFD Ltd is a UK-based software company, founded in 2004 and headquartered in Bracknell, that develops and maintains OpenFOAM, the leading free open-source Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) toolbox. OpenFOAM is a C++-based software suite addressing complex fluid flows, chemical reactions, turbulence, heat transfer, acoustics, solid mechanics, and electromagnetics, distributed under the GPLv3 licence with professionally managed semi-annual releases. The platform is governed through a formal structure established in October 2018, comprising a Steering Committee and Technical Committees with representation from major industrial users (Volkswagen, General Motors, FM Global, AUDI, SEAT, MAN) and leading academic institutions (Politecnico di Milano, TU Darmstadt, Chalmers, University of Michigan, VKI).

OpenFOAM itself is free; OpenCFD monetises around the open-source product through four paid streams: annual commercial software support packages (CFD assistance and code customisation), engineering consulting services (case studies, process integration, application engineering, on-site expert placements delivered from teams in Far East Asia, India, Europe, and North America), training courses (Foundation and Advanced core courses at ~1,400 EUR per person plus application-specific courses in Aeroacoustics, Overset, Fire Modelling, External Aerodynamics), and custom code development (with OpenCFD having written over half a million lines of code for OpenFOAM to date). Customer reach spans automotive and land transportation, ventilation and indoor air quality, energy, chemical processing, marine, turbomachinery, and academic research.

Since May 2025, OpenCFD has operated as a wholly owned subsidiary of Keysight Technologies, following Keysight's acquisition of ESI Group (OpenCFD's parent since 2012, which had earlier acquired it from Silicon Graphics International in 2011). OpenCFD retains ownership of the OpenFOAM trademark (registered 10 January 2007) and continues to serve as the release authority for the software, supported by Keysight's worldwide infrastructure.

Name

OpenCFD

Legal name

OpenCFD Ltd.

Website

https://openfoam.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2004

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

OpenCFD Ltd, a wholly owned Keysight Technologies subsidiary based in the UK, develops and maintains OpenFOAM, the leading free open-source CFD software, monetising through commercial support packages, engineering consulting, training courses, and custom code development for industrial and academic users worldwide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Reading

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Software Support Packages: 1-year package of support, CFD assistance and code customisation for OpenFOAM software, limited to a maximum number of hours per year
2. Engineering Consulting Services: Stand-alone case studies, process integration and automation, application/delivery of best practices, on-site training/hand holding and on-site expert-engineer placements
3. Training Courses: Foundation and Advanced training courses (2 days each), application-specific 1-day virtual courses (Aeroacoustics, Overset, Fire Modelling, External Aerodynamics), on-site training for larger groups
4. Code Development: Custom code development and enhancement services - OpenCFD has written over half a million lines of code for OpenFOAM

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels7 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

OpenCFD develops, releases and supports OpenFOAM, a free, open source C++ Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) toolbox solving complex fluid flows including chemical reactions, turbulence, heat transfer, acoustics, solid mechanics and electromagnetics. The core software is distributed under GPLv3 at no licence cost, while the company generates revenue from annual software support subscriptions, engineering consulting services, training courses (Foundation, Advanced and application-specific), and custom code development.

Product overview

OpenCFD (Keysight OpenCFD) offers a portfolio centered on OpenFOAM, the free open source CFD software developed since 2004. The core product is the OpenFOAM toolbox itself, distributed under GPL v3 license with professional releases every six months (June and December). Around this core, OpenCFD provides supporting services including Software Support packages (CFD assistance and code customization), Engineering Services (worldwide consulting for CAD-to-analysis workflows), and Training Courses (Foundation, Advanced, and application-specific courses). The company also maintains comprehensive documentation, code repositories via GitLab, and governance structures including Technical Committees and Steering Committee with industry partners. All services are delivered globally from teams in Far East Asia, India, Europe, and North America.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• 50%+ reduction in patient wait periods using air-cleaning technologies in hospital settings
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers11 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Feature7 records

Partnerships

21 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• VolkswagencoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 23 October 2018Volkswagen is represented on the OpenFOAM Steering Committee via Dr Marcus Renner. VW is part of the Automotive Applications SIG co-chair representation. VW supports the OpenFOAM Governance structure and contributes to the open-source CFD project's direction.
• General MotorscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 23 October 2018General Motors is represented on the OpenFOAM Steering Committee via Paul Eno, who leads the HPC Application Innovation Team. GM is co-chair of Automotive SIG. Focused on open source solutions to drive performance and innovation while reducing complexity and cost.
• FM GlobalcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 23 October 2018FM Global is represented on the OpenFOAM Steering Committee via Dr Yi Wang, Staff Vice President and manager of the Fire Dynamics group. The team has been developing and using FireFOAM for industrial fire growth and suppression since 2008.
• Politecnico di MilanocoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 23 October 2018Represented by Federico Piscaglia, Associate Professor at Department of Aerospace Science and Technology (DAER). Contributes research expertise in CFD methodologies, transient modelling, turbulence, and multiphase flows.
• Wikki LtdcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 23 October 2018Represented by Prof. Hrvoje Jasak, one of the two principal developers of OpenFOAM. Wikki is involved in OpenFOAM governance as representative of Release Authorities and chairs the Numerics Technical Committee.
• Technische Universität DarmstadtcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRepresented by Dr.-Ing. Holger Marschall. TU Darmstadt participates in Steering Committee representing Research with OpenFOAM and Holger Marschall chairs the Multiphase Technical Committee.
• AUDIcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFabian Roesler from AUDI chairs the Automotive Applications Special Interest Group. AUDI is part of the OpenFOAM partner ecosystem contributing to automotive-focused development.
• UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)minorOthersAwarded UKRI grant (2020-2021) for investigating airborne transmission mitigation in public spaces. Funded by Innovate UK under project ventESI (Project number: 85435).
• UK Government Departments (DHSC, NHS)minorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerDepartment of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and NHS collaborated on mobile processing laboratory design and ventilation studies. Engineering teams supported COVID-19 response through CFD analysis.
• Chalmers University of TechnologycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRepresented by Håkan Nilsson who chairs the Turbomachinery Special Interest Group. Academic partner contributing to technical committee governance.
• University of MichiganminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerKevin Maki, Associate Professor of Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering, chairs the Marine Applications Special Interest Group.
• SEATminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSpanish automotive manufacturer as OpenFOAM partner, contributing to automotive applications development.
• MANminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGerman automotive/truck manufacturer partner contributing to OpenFOAM development.
• IHCantabriaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInstituto de Hidraulica Ambiental de Cantabria, Spanish research institute partner for marine and environmental applications.
• AkishimaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerJapanese engineering partner (MES Co. Ltd) for OpenFOAM.
• VKI (von Karman Institute)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBelgian educational institution partner for fluid dynamics research and education.
• Upstream CFDminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerCFD consulting partner offering OpenFOAM-based services.
• Elta Fans LimitedminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerCollaborated on office ventilation modelling case study, providing real-world validation of OpenFOAM CFD capabilities for HVAC applications.
• CIBSE (Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers)minorOthersProfessional body partner for ventilation and building services research collaboration.
• IBPSA (International Building Performance Simulation Association)minorOthersInternational building simulation association partner for ventilation and building performance research.
• IMechE (Institution of Mechanical Engineers)minorOthersProfessional engineering institution partner for knowledge sharing and research collaboration.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Siemens (Simcenter): Offers Simcenter STAR-CCM+ and Simcenter FLOEFD, established commercial CFD platforms competing for the same enterprise simulation budget as OpenFOAM and typically bundled into broader Siemens digital-industry portfolios.
• ANSYS: World's largest engineering simulation software vendor offering Fluent, CFX, and other CFD products that directly compete with OpenFOAM across commercial enterprise accounts, sold as part of a much broader multiphysics suite.
• Dassault Systèmes (SIMULIA): Provides SIMULIA PowerFLOW and XFlow CFD products as part of the 3DEXPERIENCE platform, competing with OpenFOAM in multiphysics simulation and increasingly in automotive aerodynamics workflows.
• Altair: Offers HyperWorks CFD including AcuSolve, an established commercial CFD suite competing for enterprise simulation contracts and often sold alongside Altair's broader CAE and optimisation portfolio.
• Hexagon (MSC Software): Provides Cradle CFD as part of its broader engineering software portfolio, competing with OpenFOAM in commercial CFD across manufacturing, automotive, and electronics thermal-management use cases.

Direct peers

• Convergent Science: Commercial CFD software (CONVERGE) focused on internal combustion engines and reacting flows with autonomous meshing, directly competing with OpenFOAM's combustion and multiphysics capabilities in transport and energy.
• SimFlow: Commercial GUI front-end for OpenFOAM offering a similar wrapper/environment to ENGYS HELYX, directly comparable to OpenCFD as a paid layer on top of the open-source solver for engineers who prefer not to use the command line.
• ENGYS: OpenFOAM-based commercial CFD company offering the HELYX GUI/environment; comparable to OpenCFD because both serve CFD engineers with open-source-rooted solutions and monetize via support, training, and consulting.

Emerging players

• SimScale: Cloud-native simulation platform that uses OpenFOAM as one of its solver backends, competing for SMB and cloud-first CFD users who might otherwise download and self-host OpenFOAM directly.

Others

• Cadence (Pointwise): Mesh-generation software widely used in OpenFOAM CFD workflows; comparable because it serves the same CFD engineering audience with adjacent tooling rather than competing directly on the solver layer.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/openfoam
• GitHubgitlab.com/openfoam
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/919646

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles16 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 OpenCFD