Altium
 | |
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Software |
| Founded | 1985 |
| Founder | Nick Martin |
| Headquarters | La Jolla, California, United States |
| Products | Altium Designer, Altium 365, Octopart |
| Parent | Renesas Electronics |
| Website | altium |
Altium Limited is a software company. It is based in La Jolla, California, in the United States. The company makes software that engineers use to design printed circuit boards. Printed circuit boards are small boards that hold electronic parts inside computers, phones, and other machines.
Altium was started in 1985 in Australia by Nick Martin.[1] In 2024, a Japanese company called Renesas Electronics bought Altium.[2]
History
[change | change source]Nick Martin started the company in 1985 in Australia. At that time, it was called Protel Systems. The first product was a tool that helped people design printed circuit boards on a personal computer. This was new at the time.[1]
In 1991, the company made the first design tool of its kind for Microsoft Windows.[3]
In 1999, the company sold shares on the Australian Securities Exchange. In 2001, the company changed its name to Altium.[4]
Over the years, Altium bought other companies to add to its products. Some of these companies included Octopart in 2015 and Upverter in 2017.[5][6]
In 2021, another company called Autodesk tried to buy Altium. Altium said no.[7]
In 2024, Renesas Electronics from Japan bought Altium for 5.9 billion US dollars. Altium became part of Renesas.[2][8]
Products
[change | change source]Altium's main product is called Altium Designer. Engineers use it to design printed circuit boards. The company also makes Altium 365, which is a cloud tool that lets people work on designs together over the internet.
Other products from Altium include:
- Altium Discover, Altium Develop, and Altium Agile, which are different versions of the design software
- Altium Concord Pro and Altium Vault, which help store and manage design files
- Altium NEXUS, a tool for larger teams working together
- CircuitMaker, a free design tool for hobbyists
- CircuitStudio, a simpler design tool
- TASKING, software for embedded systems
- Octopart, a search engine for electronic parts
- Ciiva, a tool for managing electronic parts
- Upverter, a cloud-based design tool
Altium's tools are used in many fields. These include cars, airplanes, the military, and phones.
References
[change | change source]- 1 2 Morris, Kevin (1 February 2005). "Nick Martin Executive Focus". FPGA and Programmable Logic Journal. Archived from the original on 12 October 2008. Retrieved 7 April 2026.
- 1 2 Nussey, Sam (14 February 2024). "Japan chipmaker Renesas to buy software firm Altium for $5.9 bln". Reuters. Retrieved 15 February 2024.
- ↑ Tomorrow's world: the Australian initiative. North Sydney: Associated Publishing Corporation. 1995. ISBN 0-646-25348-4.
- ↑ Santarini, Michael (18 January 2000). "Protel buys Accel Technologies". EE Times. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
- ↑ Wurzel, Sam (13 August 2015). "Octopart is Joining Altium". Octopart. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 13 August 2015.
- ↑ Homuth, Zak (28 August 2017). "Upverter Joins Altium". Archived from the original on 8 January 2023. Retrieved 21 May 2026.
- ↑ Manekar, Sameer; Duran, Paulina (7 June 2021). "Software maker Altium rejects $3.9 billion takeover bid from Autodesk". Reuters. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
- ↑ Tyler, Neil (1 August 2024). "Renesas completes acquisition of Altium". New Electronics.