Our History
A story that began in 2002, from the vision of four engineers.
The Origins of SmartCAE
SmartCAE was founded in 2002 through the entrepreneurial vision and passion of four engineers who strongly believed in the strategic value of computer-aided simulation as a powerful tool to support engineering design.
At that time, Computer-Aided Engineering (CAE) simulation was still an emerging discipline, rarely included in academic curricula and primarily used by large corporations—the only organizations able to invest in the hardware, software, and dedicated personnel required to manage this technology.
Those were also the years when the first Windows-based PC workstations became available, offering computing performance suitable for industrial simulation at a fraction of the cost of traditional UNIX systems.
At the same time, a new generation of agile software companies began developing simulation codes using modern programming languages and native Windows architectures. These solutions proved highly competitive, delivering strong performance while significantly reducing software acquisition and maintenance costs compared with established enterprise platforms.
Together, these two technological trends made CAE simulation accessible to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) for the first time.
Within this evolving landscape, SmartCAE positioned itself as a trusted partner for Italian manufacturing companies, helping them successfully adopt the Virtual Testing philosophy: using computer simulation to evaluate a product's performance and qualification requirements before building physical prototypes, enabling engineers to identify potential design issues early in the development process and optimize product performance.
From the very beginning, SmartCAE has embraced a consultative approach: helping each customer identify the software solution best suited to their engineering challenges and supporting its successful adoption through tailored training and methodology development services designed around the customer's specific needs.
The Origins of SmartCAE
SmartCAE was founded in 2002 through the entrepreneurial vision and passion of four engineers who strongly believed in the strategic value of computer-aided simulation as a powerful tool to support engineering design.
At that time, Computer-Aided Engineering (CAE) simulation was still an emerging discipline, rarely included in academic curricula and primarily used by large corporations—the only organizations able to invest in the hardware, software, and dedicated personnel required to manage this technology.
Those were also the years when the first Windows-based PC workstations became available, offering computing performance suitable for industrial simulation at a fraction of the cost of traditional UNIX systems.
At the same time, a new generation of agile software companies began developing simulation codes using modern programming languages and native Windows architectures. These solutions proved highly competitive, delivering strong performance while significantly reducing software acquisition and maintenance costs compared with established enterprise platforms.
Together, these two technological trends made CAE simulation accessible to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) for the first time.
Within this evolving landscape, SmartCAE positioned itself as a trusted partner for Italian manufacturing companies, helping them successfully adopt the Virtual Testing philosophy: using computer simulation to evaluate a product's performance and qualification requirements before building physical prototypes, enabling engineers to identify potential design issues early in the development process and optimize product performance.
From the very beginning, SmartCAE has embraced a consultative approach: helping each customer identify the software solution best suited to their engineering challenges and supporting its successful adoption through tailored training and methodology development services designed around the customer's specific needs.
