Computer simulation enters the AI age: the Altair story
Summary
Scapa, a mechanical engineer by training, who also earned a masters of business administration from the University of Michigan, has spent 35 years building Altair into one of the preeminent companies in computer simulation. In particular, it spent years building and buying enterprise programs for so-called business intelligence, things like data reporting, particularly for the financial services industry. "They wanted me to keep buying solvers," he said, using the industry vernacular for compute engines that represent different physics problems and that can be continuously added to the companys platform in predictable ways to expand its utility. Canaccords Davis wrote that despite his objections to the DataWatch deal, "we give Altairs management credit for cleaning house there and then allocating what appears to be a rational amount of employee talent to an effort to grow the business." With ownership of about 45% of the shares outstanding of a $2.6 billion company, and over half the voting power, Scapa, who is also chairman, is in a position to do what he believes he must in spite of the grumbling.