Autodesk Company History: The Early Years, 1982 to 2000

In the early 1980s, Autodesk began as a partnership with limited startup capital and a drafting program comprising approximately 12,000 lines of source code. This early history of the company, from its founding through 2000, highlights its rapid growth, strategic pivots, and willingness to adapt to...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inIEEE annals of the history of computing Vol. 47; no. 3; pp. 135 - 144
Main Author Lively, Terri
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published IEEE 01.07.2025
Subjects
Artificial intelligence
Commercialization
Companies
History
Leadership
Product design
Product development
Software packages
Strategic planning
Training
Venture capital
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ISSN1058-6180
1934-1547
DOI10.1109/MAHC.2025.3599770

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Summary:In the early 1980s, Autodesk began as a partnership with limited startup capital and a drafting program comprising approximately 12,000 lines of source code. This early history of the company, from its founding through 2000, highlights its rapid growth, strategic pivots, and willingness to adapt to changing market demands. Autodesk’s decision to focus on AutoCAD, initially a simple drafting tool, proved to be the cornerstone of its success. By continuously refining AutoCAD, introducing specialized versions, and capitalizing on its competitive advantages, Autodesk transformed from a small startup into a multibillion-dollar software firm. AutoCAD would go on to dominate the computer-aided design industry for decades, as the company’s flagship product.
ISSN:1058-6180
1934-1547
DOI:10.1109/MAHC.2025.3599770