Cadence moves deeper into multiphysics with $3.18B acquisition of Hexagon’s D&E business

A worker uses Hexagon’s design and engineering technology on his computer. Cadence Design Systems has agreed to acquire Hexagon’s D&E business for roughly $3.18 billion (2.7 billion euros). Courtesy of Hexagon

The engineering simulation industry continues to consolidate at unprecedented speed. Cadence Design Systems, best known for its electronic design automation (EDA) tools, has announced a $3.18 billion acquisition of Hexagon’s Design & Engineering (D&E) business, which includes some of the most widely used structural and multibody dynamics solvers in the world.

This acquisition represents one of the most significant moves in the structural and multiphysics simulation market in the last decade and highlights a trend Mansim is seeing across all sectors: the growing need for integrated, cross-domain modelling as systems become more complex.

A major expansion into mechanical and structural simulation

Hexagon’s D&E business includes flagship tools such as:

• MSC Nastran, a gold-standard structural analysis solver

• MSC Adams, industry-leading multibody dynamics simulation

• Patran, Marc, Easy5, and others

These tools are widely used by aerospace and automotive leaders including Boeing, Lockheed Martin, BMW, Toyota and many more.

By bringing these platforms under Cadence’s umbrella, alongside its growing portfolio in electromagnetics, electrothermal modelling and CFD, the company aims to offer a full-spectrum multiphysics platform, covering:

• fluids

• structures

• motion

• electromagnetics

• thermal

• system-level analysis

This amplifies Cadence’s existing simulation strategy following its earlier acquisition of BETA CAE Systems.

Why this matters for Mansim and our clients

As independent specialists in high-fidelity CFD, multiphysics, thermal analysis, and AI-enabled simulation, Mansim sees several important implications for organisations across the energy, nuclear, manufacturing, automotive and health sectors:

1. Structural + flow + thermal simulation will converge even more

Complex systems — battery storage, SMRs, hydrogen systems, cleanrooms, medical devices, powerplants — cannot be analysed through a single physics lens.Cadence’s acquisition underscores the market’s shift toward fully integrated physics, a direction already central to Mansim’s modelling philosophy.

2. Greater demand for early-stage simulation

The rise of electrification, autonomous systems, and advanced materials requires simulation much earlier in the design process.This aligns with Mansim’s work helping companies reduce physical testing and accelerate engineering cycles through simulation-first development.

3. More powerful, scalable solvers for industry

Cadence’s increasing investment in HPC orchestration and cloud-based simulation will accelerate progress in:

• large-scale transient CFD

• coupled FEA-CFD workflows

• optimisation loops

• big-data/AI-driven modelling

• digital twin applications

These are exactly the areas where Mansim’s project work is growing most rapidly.

4. Rising importance of structural/FEA expertise in operational environments

For many clients, thermal and flow performance cannot be separated from structural behaviour (e.g., fatigue, vibration, load cycling).The acquisition suggests structural analysis will play an even larger role in system-level engineering — complementing Mansim’s own multiphysics simulations.

A sign of wider industry momentum

With Synopsys acquiring Ansys, Siemens acquiring Altair, and now Cadence acquiring Hexagon’s D&E tools, the simulation industry is undergoing dramatic consolidation.

These moves validate the importance of high-fidelity modelling and the type of engineering insight Mansim delivers to clients every day. Source: https://www.manufacturingdive.com/news/cadence-design-systems-acquiring-hexagon-design-engineering-business-simulation/760224/