Autodesk Establishes R&D Presence in Israel to Focus on Development of Emerging Technologies

TEL AVIV - Autodesk, Inc has established a research and development center in Tel Aviv, to help drive the development of emerging technologies such as web-based design and collaboration software. With the addition of Israel to Autodesk’s global development network, Autodesk now operates development centers in more than 14 countries around the world.

Through the acquisition of privately held Tel Aviv-based software firm PlanPlatform, Ltd. in November 2009, Autodesk gained a talented team of Israeli developers who will help Autodesk further expand its expertise in emerging technologies and remote application delivery, building upon Autodesk’s past development in this space. The new Autodesk Israel Research and Development Center will compliment Autodesk’s existing sales presence in Israel through its value added channel Omnitech.

“Through our new presence in Tel Aviv, Autodesk will be able to better leverage Israel’s excellent educational institutions and the growing talents in the Israeli software industry,” said Amar Hanspal, Autodesk senior vice president, platform solutions and emerging businesses. “We look forward to being an active participant in Israel’s thriving high-tech community and continuing the global democratization of design technology via the web.”

The Autodesk Israel team in Tel Aviv recently completed their first Autodesk project, a technology preview called Project Butterfly, which debuted on Autodesk Labs earlier this year. The Project Butterfly Technology Preview extends the AutoCAD experience onto the web by enabling users to view, edit, and collaborate on DWG drawings in real-time with colleagues and clients online without downloading any software.