Autodesk adds AI tools & MaintainX in strategic deal

Autodesk has unveiled new artificial intelligence features across its software portfolio and agreed to acquire MaintainX. The announcements cover its design, engineering, construction, manufacturing and media tools.

The updates include a new version of Autodesk Assistant, broader integration for Forma and Fusion, and additions to products used in architecture, engineering, construction, manufacturing and content creation.

The changes are aimed at sectors under pressure from labour shortages, cost constraints and limited resources. In Australia, the construction industry has warned of a potential shortfall of almost one million workers by 2035, according to analysis cited by Autodesk.

Assistant expansion

A central part of the update is the next generation of Autodesk Assistant, the company's artificial intelligence interface for design and manufacturing workflows. Autodesk is developing it into a broader agentic AI experience that can surface relevant information and functions across products, projects and teams.

Instead of requiring users to choose a specific product or tool first, the assistant is designed to start with the task they want to complete. Where supported, users will also be able to bring their own agents, tools and partner services into the experience.

Assistant is already available across several Autodesk products. It is also expanding within Inventor and Vault, where it is intended to help engineers work with existing data and software.

AEC workflow

In architecture, engineering and construction, Autodesk is extending Forma across more of the project lifecycle. Civil 3D is becoming the newest Forma-connected client, part of the company's effort to keep project information and context linked across planning, design and delivery.

Artificial intelligence features in Forma and Revit are intended to help teams explore more options, reduce repetitive tasks and use project information more efficiently. Autodesk also introduced AI-driven construction agents that it said can cut manual review work and let teams focus on decision-making.

Autodesk framed those changes around what it calls project intelligence, which combines connected project data with industry-specific context. The approach is intended to help users understand project conditions and determine next steps without rebuilding information at different stages of a job.

Manufacturing tools

For design and manufacturing customers, new functions in Fusion automate repetitive design and manufacturing tasks. Autodesk also introduced a new agentic product lifecycle management experience designed to connect product data and decisions across teams.

In manufacturing, the company said, artificial intelligence needs to work with geometry, engineering intent and product data rather than rely only on text prompts. That reflects a broader effort by software providers to tailor AI systems to specialist industrial workflows, where context and traceability matter.

Operations link

The acquisition of MaintainX adds an operational technology component to Autodesk's design and engineering software. The deal is intended to help connect field operations with the design, manufacturing and asset management stages of a product or infrastructure lifecycle.

MaintainX focuses on maintenance and operational workflows. Its addition is intended to help customers identify issues before they lead to downtime, make better use of existing assets and feed operational lessons back into future design and engineering work.

The move highlights Autodesk's effort to extend beyond design tools and further into asset management after products or infrastructure have been built or deployed. That is an area where software groups are trying to tie operational data more closely to design and planning systems.

Creative software

Autodesk also outlined updates for media and entertainment users. In Flow Studio, artists can create and assemble characters and AI-generated worlds, then refine them in an editable 3D environment.

AI-assisted tools such as MotionMaker in Maya are intended to reduce repetitive animation work while keeping creative control with artists. That reflects a more cautious path for AI adoption in professional creative software, where precision and editorial control remain central concerns.

Some of the newly announced functions are already available and in use in Australia. Across the broader set of announcements, Autodesk is positioning AI less as a standalone assistant and more as a layer embedded in sector-specific workflows, from planning and drafting to maintenance and screen production.

Its industry cloud products, including Forma, Fusion and Flow, are intended to connect people, data and workflows across design, construction, manufacturing and operations, with MaintainX adding operational data from the field to that system.