Munich-based SimScale scores $29.78M Series C to accelerate the expansion of its cloud-based engineering simulation platform

SimScale, a Munich, Germany-based tech startup and the provider of the world’s first production-ready SaaS application for engineering simulation, today announced that it has closed $29.78 million (€27 million) in Series C funding to accelerate the expansion of its cloud-based computer-aided engineering (CAE) platform for customers and grow global operations.

The round, which follows a prior round in 2017, was led by Global venture capital and private equity firm Insight Partners, with participation from existing investors including Earlybird, Union Square Ventures, June Fund, Vito Ventures, Bayern Kapital, and High-Tech Gründerfonds.

Co-founded in 2012 by David Heiny, Johannes Probst, Alexander Fischer, Anatol Dammer and Vincenz Dölle, SimScale GmbH was born out of a passion to bring CAE solutions to the mass market. While operating as a small team providing consulting services for engineering simulation projects they encountered the frustrations first-hand brought on by requiring costly hardware and software. By providing instant access to computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and finite element analysis (FEA) to over 150,000 users, SimScale has moved high-fidelity physics simulation technology from a complex and cost-prohibitive desktop application to a user-friendly cloud application accessible via a subscription-based pricing model. SimScale has offices in Munich, New York, and Boston.

SimScale provides computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and finite element analysis (FEA) simulation via the cloud, eliminating the hurdles that often accompany traditional, on-premises simulation tools. By leveraging the power of the cloud, SimScale helps customers cut the cost of expensive hardware and software maintenance fees. Also, SimScale offers parallel processing of multiple designs, allowing customers to quickly identify those that are best-performing. Engineers seeking to make their design processes more iterative can simulate their designs using only a standard web browser.

“SimScale’s platform has minimized the barriers that prevented many engineering firms from using or scaling simulation,” said Joshua Fredberg, CAE software veteran and operating partner at Insight Partners, who joined SimScale’s board of directors. “Simulating designs is now possible for engineers who previously believed such capabilities were out of reach. We believe SimScale is well positioned to transform not only who uses simulation, but how it is used across several engineering disciplines.”

Insight Partners is a leader in investing in changemakers who create transformational software and are experiencing monumental growth. Insight has invested in more than 300 companies and participated in over 40 IPOs. As a growth equity investor, Insight is focused on providing capital and operating expertise to the best software companies and helping them scale.

“SimScale is proud to have brought cloud-based simulation to engineering teams worldwide,” said David Heiny, CEO of SimScale. “We’re thrilled to welcome the team from Insight Partners to SimScale’s journey. This investment marks the next phase of SimScale’s growth, as we empower more customers to produce better designs faster.”

“We are excited to invest alongside Insight Partners in the current Series C funding. The investment of the US venture firm impressively underlines that Germany is not only strong in mechanical engineering, but also creates cutting-edge technology in the field of software engineering, which sets standards worldwide,” said Hendrik Brandis, partner of Earlybird.

SimScale Founders