
Autodesk has made a strategic investment in Toolpath, an AI-focused start-up dedicated to revolutionizing manufacturing solutions.
At Autodesk, we recognize the pressures the manufacturing industry faces today: rising inflation costs, a shifting geopolitical landscape, labor shortages, and an ever-increasing demand for high-quality products.
We also recognize that manufacturers are ready and eager to harness the power of innovative technology—like artificial intelligence (AI)—to navigate and overcome these hurdles.
In light of these challenges and opportunities, I’m excited to share that Autodesk has made a strategic investment in Toolpath, an AI-focused start-up dedicated to revolutionizing manufacturing solutions. Our investment in Toolpath joins those made previously by companies like Kennametal and ModuleWorks earlier this year.
Toolpath’s innovative approach to manufacturing
Our investment in Toolpath is anchored in a shared vision for the manufacturing industry—one where cutting-edge technology like AI is leveraged to transform the productivity, profitability, and creativity of manufacturers around the globe.
Toolpath is at the forefront of integrating AI into computer-aided manufacturing (CAM), offering innovative solutions that optimize tool selection and toolpath strategies. Its software intelligently analyzes machining processes and parts, providing manufacturers with actionable insights. These insights then empower industry professionals to make smarter, more informed decisions, leading to better outcomes—outcomes that are rooted in the invaluable expertise of manufacturers and enhanced, not replaced, by the practical application of AI.
Enabling growth and strategic partnership
Our investment in Toolpath aims to support their mission by facilitating the growth of their engineering team and further enhancing their market presence.
It also marks the start of a strategic partnership, enabling our two companies to integrate closed-loop, fully automated workflows into Autodesk Fusion. Looking ahead, combining Toolpath’s technology with Autodesk’s Manufacturing Data Model would enable Fusion users to automatically analyze manufacturability, plan machine strategies, and send complete programs to Fusion. The goal here is to streamline and elevate the user experience, harnessing AI to automate and augment critical aspects of the production process.
Autodesk’s decade-long commitment to AI
Supporting our own and external AI technologies is nothing new for Autodesk—in fact, we’ve been investing time, talent, and capital in the space for over 10 years now. Why? Because we believe automation, augmentation, and analysis of complex processes is key to maintaining a competitive edge in an ever-evolving market. And by investing in ourselves and partnering with innovative companies like Toolpath, we’re reinforcing that commitment to transform workflows, enhance efficiency, and foster innovation.
Another example of this is our previous investment in CloudNC—a company that offers differentiated support to that of Toolpath. Together—Toolpath, CloudNC, and our very own Fusion—we collectively ensure the manufacturing industry broadly can benefit from expanded AI-driven toolsets. While Fusion focuses on providing an end-to-end platform for manufacturing that includes our own automation technologies, Toolpath and CloudNC specialize in addressing additional specific persona requirements, creating a separate but comprehensive suite of solutions that supports manufacturers across the board. This underscores our firm commitment to an open platform for all.
Forging a brighter, more efficient future together
We are incredibly excited about what lies ahead and look forward to sharing further developments with you. Together with Toolpath, Autodesk is poised to redefine the possibilities of AI in manufacturing, creating a brighter, more efficient future for the industry.