Autodesk Inc. has agreed to buy maintenance and operations software company MaintainX Inc. in an all-cash deal valued at about $3.6 billion, extending the design software maker beyond its core tools into the running of factories, facilities and physical assets.

The deal was announced alongside Autodesk’s first-quarter earnings. It marks Autodesk’s push into operations, a market it has so far touched only at the edges. It’s the largest acquisition in the company’s history.

Autodesk will fold MaintainX into a new unit, Autodesk Operations Solutions, alongside existing products that include the Tandem digital twin platform, simulation software Flexsim and Fusion Operations.

MaintainX builds software used to manage maintenance activity, work orders, inspections and asset records, much of it on the factory floor and in the field. Autodesk said the company gives it access to high-frequency data on asset condition, maintenance history and real-world performance, the kind of information that feeds artificial intelligence systems making decisions about physical equipment.

The logic behind the deal is to connect the teams that design and build assets with the teams that operate and maintain them. Autodesk said expanding into operations would extend the duration of its customer relationships from years to decades and meaningfully expand the market it can address.

“Autodesk is expanding beyond design and make to operations, ensuring data and insights flow seamlessly in a continuous lifecycle,” Chief Executive Andrew Anagnost said in a statement. “Our goal with MaintainX is to bring deep operational expertise, contextual data and workflows that enhance our ability to use AI to converge digital and physical worlds.”

Founded in 2018, MaintainX expects to top $135 million in annualized recurring revenue this calendar year. Revenue is growing more than 50% annually. Autodesk will fund the deal with cash on hand and debt. It is subject to regulatory review and should close before the end of the company’s current fiscal year.

The purchase fits Autodesk’s bet on industrial AI. Anagnost pointed to the company’s parametric and physics-based 3D technology as a check on AI output, saying it can test what a model produces against real-world physical constraints. He added that the combination puts Autodesk in a position to define the next generation of industrial AI.

The deal was announced with Autodesk’s fiscal 2027 first-quarter results, which beat analyst expectations. Despite solid figures, the company’s shares fell more than 5% in late trading.

For the quarter that ended on April 30, Autodesk reported adjusted earnings of $2.99 per share, up from $2.29 in the same quarter the previous fiscal year, on revenue of $1.934 billion, up 18% year-over-year. Analysts had been expecting $2.84 per share on revenue of $1.89 billion. Billings rose 18% to $1.688 billion.

Design revenue, Autodesk’s largest line, rose 18% year-over-year, to $1.612 billion. Make revenue grew 25%, to $224 million. Other revenue added 5% to reach $98 million. Among product families, the Architecture, Engineering, Construction and Operations unit led with $970 million, up 20% year-over-year. Net income nearly tripled to $491 million from $152 million a year earlier.

Autodesk also raised its full-year outlook. It now expects fiscal 2027 revenue of $8.155 billion to $8.215 billion and adjusted earnings of $12.40 to $12.65 per share. Neither figure counts MaintainX. The company said it would build the acquisition into guidance once the deal closes.

Image: MaintainX