Siemens buys Altair for $10bn to create ‘most complete AI portfolio’
5 November 2024 
Siemens is buying the industrial simulation and analysis software developer Altair Engineering for around $10bn. It says the acquisition will strengthen its leadership in industrial software, and create the world’s most complete AI-powered design and simulation portfolio.
By adding Altair’s simulation portfolio, which is strong in mechanical and electromagnetic applications, Siemens will enhance its digital twin capabilities to offer a physics-based simulation portfolio as part of its Xcelerator platform. Altair’s data science and AI-powered simulation capabilities allow anyone to access simulation expertise, and to accelerate time-to-market and design processes. In addition, Altair’s data science capabilities will unlock Siemens’ industrial expertise in product lifecycle and manufacturing processes.
“Acquiring Altair marks a significant milestone for Siemens,” says Siemens’ president and CEO,” Roland Busch. “This strategic investment aligns with our commitment to accelerate the digital and sustainability transformations of our customers by combining the real and digital worlds.
“The addition of Altair’s capabilities in simulation, high-performance computing, data science, and artificial intelligence, together with Siemens Xcelerator, will create the world’s most complete AI-powered design and simulation portfolio,” he adds. “It is a logical next step: we have been building our leadership in industrial software for the last 15 years, most recently, democratising the benefits of data and AI for entire industries.”
For Altair’s founder and CEO, James Scapa, the deal represents “the culmination of nearly 40 years in which Altair has grown from a start-up in Detroit to a world-class software and technology company. We have added thousands of customers globally in manufacturing, life sciences, energy and financial services, and built an amazing workforce, and innovative culture.
“We believe this combination of two strongly complementary leaders in the engineering software space brings together Altair’s broad portfolio in simulation, data science, and HPC with Siemens’ strong position in mechanical and EDA design,” Scapa continues. “Siemens’ outstanding technology, strategic customer relationships, and honest, technical culture is an excellent fit for Altair to continue its journey driving innovation with computational intelligence.”
The acquisition will boost Siemens’ income by 8%, adding €600m to its digital business revenues of €7.3bn in 2023. Siemens expects to achieve significant synergies, especially from cross-selling of the complementary portfolios and giving Altair access to Siemens’ global customer base, with a projected impact on revenue of more than $500m million a year in the medium term, growing to more than $1bin in the longer term.
Altair Engineering, headquartered in Troy, Michigan, is a leader in computational science and AI (artificial intelligence) that focuses on: simulation and analysis; data science and AI; and high-performance computing. Founded in 1985, Altair went public in 2017. Around 1,400 of its more than 3,500 employees work in R&D.
♦ Siemens is selling its Siemens Logistics business to Vanderlande, a company owned by Toyota Industries, for €300m. Netherlands-based Vanderlande specialises in logistic process automation in the warehouses, airports and parcel-handling facilities. “By selling Siemens Logistics, we’re taking another important step in sharpening our portfolio as a leading technology company,” says Siemens’ chief financial officer, Ralf Thomas. “In Vanderlande, we have found the best future owner for our airport logistics business.” The transaction expected to close during 2025.
