gkoenig
Titanium
- Joined
- Mar 31, 2013
- Location
- Portland, OR
Perhaps not, but do you have an idea what the undisclosed price was for Sandvik to acquire CNC-Software?
'Cos until then, said private company has started from scratch, built, and maintained an otherwise successful and profitable company.
I can't tell if you're being sarcastic, or willfully ignorant or... what?
MasterCAM started in 1983, when the concept of CAM software was unheard of outside of places like Boeing or Lockheed. CAD was relegated to CATIA and Unigraphics which only ran on $10,000 (1980s money!) workstations. Christ, MasterCAM was founded about what, 10 years before SolidWorks came along and revolutionized CAD by putting it on desktop PCs?
2022 is not 1983. CAD/CAM software is now not only a thing, there are 50 companies who make these software packages and sell them. They have a mature customer base that has spent billions showing off their preferences already, and most of the customers are not shopping for something new.
You guys are bellyaching because somebody won't come along and make a reasonibly priced, perpetually licensed CAD and/or CAM package. I'm telling you that there is not enough market for that product to get an ROI off of the development costs. Simple as that.
Using your same logic though ...
What do you think the pricetag would be, should Gene decide to sell his self-built empire?
Or, are you saying that from here-on-end, only Multinationals need to apply?
I'm saying from here-on-end, the only CAD or CAM startups that will find any success are ones who innovate beyond anything we've seen in about a decade. Even then? If I was an investor, I would have a tough time kicking money into that kitty.
HSM Works was an ideal example. Big innovation in adaptive tool paths, plus a UI worlds better than anything else, and a low price to boot. They should have taken over the world, but because this industry is so crazy conservative and stuck in the mud, they had to turn to Autodesk for a buyout. Is that the sort of success a venture capitalist wants to replicate? Hell no!