Description
Ansys is an American company based in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania. It develops and markets CAE/multiphysics engineering simulation software for product design, testing and operation and offers its products and services to customers worldwide.
Ansys was founded in 1970 by John Swanson, who sold his interest in the company to venture capitalists in 1993. Ansys went public on NASDAQ in 1996. In the 2000s, the company acquired numerous other engineering design companies, obtaining additional technology for fluid dynamics, electronics design, and physics analysis. Ansys became a component of the NASDAQ-100 index on December 23, 2019.
History
By 1991 SASI had 153 employees and $29 million in annual revenue, controlling 10 percent of the market for finite element analysis software. According to The Engineering Design Revolution, the company became "well-respected" among engineering circles, but remained small.
In 1992, SASI acquired Compuflo, which marketed and developed fluid dynamics analysis software.
In 1993, Swanson sold his majority interest in the company to venture capitalist firm TA Associates. Peter Smith was appointed CEO and SASI was renamed after the software, Ansys, the following year.
Ansys went public in 1996, raising about $46 million in an initial public offering.
By 1997, Ansys had grown to $50.5 million in annual revenue.
In the late 1990s, Ansys shifted its business model away from software licenses, and corresponding revenue declined. However, revenue from services increased stronger.
From 1996 to 2000, profits at Ansys grew an average of 160 percent per year.
In February 2000, Jim Cashman was appointed CEO. Current CEO Ajei S. Gopal was appointed in early 2017.
