Granta Design
Granta Design (now Ansys Granta under Synopsys) provides materials information management software and curated datasets for engineering enterprises in aerospace, automotive, energy, healthcare, and industrial equipment. Its Granta MI platform integrates with CAD/CAE/PLM systems and supports materials selection, regulatory compliance, and simulation workflows.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1994
- HeadquartersCambridge, United Kingdom
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Granta Design does
Granta Design, founded in 1994 as a spin-out from the University of Cambridge, builds materials information management software that enables engineering enterprises to capture, govern, and apply materials data across product development. The company is now operated as the 'Ansys Granta' product line following Ansys's 2019 acquisition, and was placed under Synopsys in 2025 via Synopsys's acquisition of Ansys; the original Granta Design Ltd. no longer operates as an independent entity.
The product portfolio is structured as a platform-plus-modules architecture. Granta MI Enterprise is the flagship materials data management system, integrating with leading CAD, CAE, and PLM systems; Granta MI Pro offers a faster-start alternative with 2,600+ pre-loaded materials datasets; Granta Selector provides intelligent materials selection via property trade-off analysis; and the Materials Data Library delivers 250,000+ advanced materials records in simulation-ready formats. Add-on modules extend the core: Granta MI AI+ applies machine learning to derive process-property insights, the Sustainability Add-On supports environmental footprint reduction, and the Restricted Substances Module addresses REACH-style regulatory compliance, with data supplied through a partnership with Chemwatch. Granta EduPack serves academic markets and Granta Collaborations is a consortium-style program for cross-organizational materials data sharing.
Revenue is generated via enterprise subscription and perpetual licensing for Granta MI Enterprise, Granta MI Pro, Granta Selector, and Materials Data Library access, sold on a quote-based annual cadence through Ansys's global enterprise sales force, partner ecosystem, and inside-sales/demo-request channels. Target customers are large manufacturing enterprises in aerospace (Rolls-Royce, Embraer), automotive (Vitesco Technologies, Oracle Red Bull Racing), energy (Baker Hughes), healthcare (Medtronic), industrial equipment, defense, and consumer goods (Mars), plus academic and research institutions. The standalone revenue figure is not publicly disclosed, as the business is now reported as part of Ansys (within Synopsys).
Granta Design firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Granta Design
- Legal name
- Granta Design Ltd.
- Website
- https://grantadesign.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1994
- Operating status
- Acquired
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- Granta Design (now Ansys Granta under Synopsys) provides materials information management software and curated datasets for engineering enterprises in aerospace, automotive, energy, healthcare, and industrial equipment. Its Granta MI platform integrates with CAD/CAE/PLM systems and supports materials selection, regulatory compliance, and simulation workflows.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Where Granta Design is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Cambridge
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Granta Design business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Software Licenses and Subscriptions: Enterprise software licenses for Granta MI Enterprise, Granta MI Pro, Granta Selector products. Sold as subscriptions or perpetual licenses through Ansys corporate sales. Primarily B2B enterprise software model targeting manufacturing companies.
- Materials Data Library Access: Access to unrivalled materials data libraries including 250,000+ advanced materials datasets for simulation and materials selection
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | Enterprise-grade materials information management |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels6 records
Granta Design product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Granta Design (now Ansys Granta) develops and sells materials information management software that enables engineering enterprises to capture, control, and apply materials property data across product design and simulation workflows. The portfolio combines a core data management platform (Granta MI Enterprise and Granta MI Pro), an intelligent materials selection tool (Granta Selector), and large reference materials databases (250,000+ records) integrated with CAD, CAE, and PLM systems, plus add-ons for machine learning, sustainability, and regulatory compliance.
Product overview
Ansys Granta is a comprehensive materials information management portfolio that has been developed over 25 years to enable organizations to capture, safeguard and capitalize on Material Intelligence. The offering consists of a platform-plus-modules architecture: Granta MI Enterprise and Granta MI Pro serve as the core materials data management systems with CAD/CAE/PLM integration capabilities; Granta Selector provides intelligent materials selection and comparison tools; Materials Data Library and Materials Data for Simulation deliver comprehensive datasets of 250,000+ advanced materials; Granta EduPack serves the academic/education market; and add-on modules including Granta MI AI+ (machine learning), Sustainability Add-On (environmental footprint assessment), and Restricted Substances Module (regulatory compliance) extend the platform's capabilities. The portfolio is completed by Granta Collaborations, a consortium-based program for sharing materials data across organizations.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Granta MI Enterprise: Leading materials data management platform for enterprise-wide materials information management, offering CAD, CAE and PLM integration, access to 250,000+ advanced materials data, sustainability add-on, and Granta MI AI+ capabilities.
- Granta MI Pro
- Granta Selector
- Granta Materials Data
- Granta EduPack
- Granta MI AI+
Products and services
- Ansys Granta MI Enterprise Enterprise materials data management system that enables organizations to create, control, and store valuable material data with seamless integration into leading CAD, CAE, and PLM systems; serves as a 'gold source' for materials intelligence across engineering functions.
- Ansys Granta MI Pro Fast-start materials data management solution with a user-friendly interface, 2,600+ pre-loaded materials datasets, and integration with leading CAD and CAE products for smaller engineering teams.
- Ansys Granta Selector Intelligent materials selection tool that enables trade-off analysis of materials properties from comprehensive databases to help select the best-suited material for an application; supports export of simulation-ready data.
- Materials Data Library Materials data library providing access to 250,000+ advanced materials data records with trusted datasets, simulation-ready data formats, and complete comparable datasets across a wide spectrum of material types.
- Materials Data for Simulation Simulation-ready materials data offering trusted data, simulation-ready material models, and easy access for accurate engineering simulation.
- Ansys Granta EduPack Teaching and learning resource providing a comprehensive database of materials and processes, powerful visualization and selection tools, sustainability-in-engineering-design content, and interactive projects, exercises, and lectures for university-level materials education.
- Granta MI AI+ AI-powered add-on module for Granta MI that applies machine learning algorithms to material datasets to enable materials teams to gather insights on process-property relationships.
- Sustainability Add-On Add-on for Ansys Granta MI that provides a toolset and data to help sustainability experts, materials experts, and designers reduce product environmental footprint early in the design phase.
- Restricted Substances Module Module that identifies and reports on possible restricted substances in products to support regulatory compliance such as REACH; integrates Chemwatch substances data to enable compliance early in design and avoid business risk.
- Granta Collaborations Collaboration program that brings organizations together to meet materials information challenges and enable materials digital transformation through consortium-based data sharing.
Quantifiable outcome
- Time saved equated to several millions of dollars per year for Rolls-Royce
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Granta Design
Customer profileNamed customers8 records
Segments8 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Granta Design technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration3 records
AI capability2 records
Feature8 records
Granta Design partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- ChemwatchcorePartnership with Chemwatch to enable Granta MI users with easy access to difficult-to-find restricted substances data for regulatory compliance (e.g., REACH). Integrates substances data into the Granta MI Restricted Substances Module.
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Granta Design competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Altair: Altair provides simulation, design, and engineering optimization software that increasingly bundles materials data and selection alongside CAE. Like Ansys Granta, Altair sells into the same aerospace, automotive, and industrial manufacturing enterprise engineering teams and competes for the same materials-data-management budget.
Broad incumbents
- Siemens Digital Industries Software: Siemens' Teamcenter PLM and Simcenter simulation portfolios include embedded materials data libraries and selection tools for engineering workflows. As a broad incumbent, it competes with Granta for materials governance inside enterprise engineering stacks.
- Granta MI competitors inside Hexagon (MSC Software): Hexagon's MSC Software and CAE suite (e.g., MSC Nastran, Digimat) embed materials data for composites and engineering simulation. As a broad simulation incumbent, Hexagon competes for the same materials-data-management dollars in aerospace and automotive.
- Autodesk: Autodesk Fusion 360 and Inventor embed materials libraries for design and simulation users. While not a focused materials-information platform, Autodesk competes for the same engineering materials-data budget inside the same design-to-manufacture customer base.
- Dassault Systèmes: Dassault's 3DEXPERIENCE platform and SIMULIA simulation brand bundle materials data, PLM, and CAE for manufacturing enterprises. It is a broad incumbent with overlapping materials-data capabilities inside a much larger PLM/CAE portfolio.
Emerging players
- Schrödinger: Schrödinger provides physics-based materials simulation and materials science software for industrial and life-science customers. It is an emerging adjacent player intersecting with Granta on simulation-ready materials data for engineering workflows.
- Citrine Informatics: Citrine focuses on AI-driven materials informatics and data platforms for materials R&D and manufacturing. It overlaps with Granta MI AI+ on AI-for-materials and competes for the same materials-data platform budget in industrial and specialty materials programs.
- Materialise: Materialise focuses on additive manufacturing software and materials data for 3D printing. It intersects with Granta's additively-manufactured-materials use case in aerospace and medical-device customers.
Others
- ASM International (materials databases): ASM International curates authoritative materials property data used by engineers globally. It is adjacent rather than directly competing with Granta but overlaps on the underlying materials property dataset that both depend on.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Granta Design social profiles
Digital presenceGranta Design financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Granta Design leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Granta Design funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Granta Design 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 Granta Design
What does Granta Design do?
Granta Design (now Ansys Granta) develops and sells materials information management software that enables engineering enterprises to capture, control, and apply materials property data across product design and simulation workflows. The portfolio combines a core data management platform (Granta MI Enterprise and Granta MI Pro), an intelligent materials selection tool (Granta Selector), and large reference materials databases (250,000+ records) integrated with CAD, CAE, and PLM systems, plus add-ons for machine learning, sustainability, and regulatory compliance.
Is Granta Design a public or private company?
Granta Design is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently acquired.
When was Granta Design founded?
Granta Design was founded in 1994. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is Granta Design based?
Granta Design is headquartered in Cambridge, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Granta Design make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Software Licenses and Subscriptions are the primary driver. The others are materials Data Library Access.
Who are Granta Design's main competitors?
Altair is listed as a direct peer. Broad incumbents are Siemens Digital Industries Software, Granta MI competitors inside Hexagon (MSC Software), Autodesk and Dassault Systèmes. Emerging players are Schrödinger, Citrine Informatics and Materialise. ASM International (materials databases) is listed as an others.
Does Granta Design have an API?
Yes. Ansys provides developer resources through the Ansys Developer Portal, which includes documentation, a knowledge base, and an App Catalog. The developer portal provides APIs and developer resources for extending Ansys products. Developer documentation is at developer.ansys.com.