M-Base
M-Base operates the Material Data Center, a curated plastics material property database with proprietary engineering calculators (cooling, flow, bending, snapfit), serving plastics industry engineers and manufacturers via Altair Engineering licensing.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1993
- HeadquartersAachen, Germany
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What M-Base does
M-Base is a German engineering software firm founded in 1993 and headquartered in Aachen, Germany. The company operates the Material Data Center, a specialized database providing curated property data for plastics materials alongside a suite of proprietary engineering calculators addressing injection molding cooling time, flow length, bending behavior, snap-fit joint design, model fitting, unit conversion, and carbon footprint estimation. The product targets plastics industry engineers, designers, and manufacturing companies that require reliable, structured material data for design validation, simulation input, and process optimization in plastic part manufacturing.
M-Base's technology centers on a domain-specific content library of verified plastics material properties coupled with deterministic engineering calculation tools. The platform exposes a free datasheet lookup for basic access and routes full licensing through Altair Engineering. The Material Data Center and all associated data have been migrated to Altair's unified materials platform at materials.altairone.com, positioning the product as an integrated module within Altair's broader CAE and engineering software ecosystem rather than a standalone offering.
M-Base operates as a privately held entity owned by Altair Engineering GmbH (Germany), a subsidiary of Altair Engineering Inc. (NASDAQ: ALTR). The company employs 11-50 people and monetizes via B2B subscription licensing sold through Altair's enterprise sales channel, with a freemium lead-generation tier. Its primary customer segment is plastics industry engineers and manufacturing organizations requiring standardized, simulation-ready material data and specialized engineering calculation tools for injection molding and plastic part design.
M-Base firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- M-Base
- Legal name
- Altair Engineering GmbH
- Website
- https://m-base.de
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1993
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- M-Base operates the Material Data Center, a curated plastics material property database with proprietary engineering calculators (cooling, flow, bending, snapfit), serving plastics industry engineers and manufacturers via Altair Engineering licensing.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
M-Base industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Engineering Material Database Software
- akta.pro primary industry
- Data Platform (Unified Data & Analytics) Suites (HDAEABAD)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Database Build, Migration & Master Data Management (MDM) Support (BPAAAKAJ)
Keywords
Where M-Base is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Aachen
- HQ country
- Germany
- HQ region
- Europe
Markets served
M-Base business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Material Data Center Licensing: Full access to Material Data Center requires licensing through Altair Engineering. The platform operates on a B2B licensing model targeting engineering and manufacturing companies in the plastics industry. Basic free datasheet lookup is available for lead generation and awareness.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Pay-as-you-go | Free Datasheet Lookup - Basic material data access |
| Subscription | Annual | Full Access License - Complete Material Data Center functionality |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels2 records
M-Base product offering
Product offeringCore offering
M-Base supplies the Material Data Center, a comprehensive database offering the plastics industry's quality data on materials and their applications, equipped with intuitive and intelligent search and analysis tools. The platform bundles the material database with a suite of engineering calculation utilities (cooling time, flow length, bending, snap-fit, model fit, unit conversion, and carbon footprint calculators) used for injection molding and plastic part design. Full access is licensed to enterprise customers through Altair Engineering, while a free datasheet lookup is available directly online.
Product overview
M-Base operates Material Data Center, a single unified platform providing plastics industry quality data on materials and their applications. The platform includes a comprehensive searchable database complemented by specialized toolbox utilities including Cooling Time, Flow Length, Bending, Snapfit, Model Fit, Unit Converter, and Carbon Footprint Calculator tools. Free Datasheet Lookup provides limited free access to material information.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Material Data Center
Quantifiable outcome
- Plastics industry's best quality data on materials and their applications
Companies that use M-Base
Customer profileSegments2 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
M-Base technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature8 records
M-Base partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- Altair Engineering GmbHcoreAltair Engineering GmbH is the owner and licensor of Material Data Center. The platform has been migrated to Altair's unified materials platform (materials.altairone.com), indicating a deeper integration with Altair's engineering software ecosystem. All licensing inquiries for full access are handled directly through Altair Engineering.
Scale indicators1 record
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights5 records
M-Base competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- MatWeb: MatWeb is an online materials database with a freemium model providing datasheets for plastics, metals, ceramics, and composites. It overlaps with M-Base's free datasheet lookup and engineering-design audience.
- Ansys Granta MI: Ansys Granta MI is a leading enterprise material intelligence platform covering polymers, metals, and composites with deep CAE integration. It is the most direct competitor to M-Base's plastics-focused Material Data Center, particularly for engineering organizations that need multi-domain material data inside simulation workflows.
- Total Materia: Total Materia is a global material properties database spanning metals, polymers, and other materials, used by engineers for selection and simulation-ready data. It competes directly with M-Base in the plastics and broader material data subscription category.
- UL Prospector (formerly IDES): UL Prospector is a materials search engine with deep plastics and chemical datasheet content, used by product designers and engineers. It competes with M-Base's datasheet lookup and material selection workflows in the plastics vertical.
- CAMPUS (Computer-Aided Material Preselection by Uniform Standards): CAMPUS is a plastics-industry consortium database of comparable material data sheets from major polymer producers (BASF, Covestro, SABIC, etc.). It is the most established industry-cooperative alternative to M-Base's plastics material database.
Broad incumbents
- Altair: Altair Engineering is the corporate owner and licensor of Material Data Center and the broader simulation platform (HyperWorks, Inspire) into which M-Base has been integrated. It is both the parent and the broad incumbent that competes with other full-stack CAE suites.
- Ansys: Ansys is a leading broad CAE platform whose Granta MI material data product overlaps with M-Base, and whose simulation suite addresses similar injection molding and structural workflows that rely on plastics material data.
- Autodesk: Autodesk provides material libraries inside Fusion 360 and other CAD/CAE products and competes at the broader engineering software platform layer, including for plastics part design and simulation-driven workflows.
Emerging players
- ASM International: ASM International provides curated material property databases (including polymers and composites) and reference handbooks used by engineers, with some overlap in audience and use case with M-Base's material data subscriptions.
- PTC (Windchill): PTC's Windchill PLM platform integrates material data and product information management, with partial overlap with M-Base's product information system ambitions for plastics manufacturers.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights5 records
Customer concentration
M-Base social profiles
Digital presenceM-Base financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
M-Base leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
M-Base funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
M-Base 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 M-Base
What does M-Base do?
M-Base supplies the Material Data Center, a comprehensive database offering the plastics industry's quality data on materials and their applications, equipped with intuitive and intelligent search and analysis tools. The platform bundles the material database with a suite of engineering calculation utilities (cooling time, flow length, bending, snap-fit, model fit, unit conversion, and carbon footprint calculators) used for injection molding and plastic part design. Full access is licensed to enterprise customers through Altair Engineering, while a free datasheet lookup is available directly online.
Is M-Base a public or private company?
M-Base is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was M-Base founded?
M-Base was founded in 1993. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is M-Base based?
M-Base is headquartered in Aachen, Germany, in the Europe region.
How does M-Base make money?
One revenue line is on record: material Data Center Licensing.
Who are M-Base's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are MatWeb, Ansys Granta MI, Total Materia, UL Prospector (formerly IDES) and CAMPUS (Computer-Aided Material Preselection by Uniform Standards). Broad incumbents are Altair, Ansys and Autodesk. Emerging players are ASM International and PTC (Windchill).
Does M-Base have an API?
No public API is recorded for M-Base.
What industry is M-Base in?
M-Base's product category is Engineering Material Database Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HDAEABAD, Data Platform (Unified Data & Analytics) Suites, with a secondary code of BPAAAKAJ, Database Build, Migration & Master Data Management (MDM) Support.