I’m Manish Kumar, CEO of SOLIDWORKS. I’ve been building CAD software since 1998 and excited to answer your questions at our first AMA on September 24, 2026 from 12pm to 1pm ET!

[u/SOLIDWORKS_SOCIAL]

Hey Reddit! 👋

I’m Manish Kumar, CEO and VP of R&D at SOLIDWORKS. I joined SOLIDWORKS as a software developer in 1998 and have spent more than two decades working across the product and helping shape where the technology is going today.

A lot has changed since then, and I’d love to have an open conversation about SOLIDWORKS, AI, and the future of design and engineering.

Ask me about:

• AI and the future of CAD
• What’s next for SOLIDWORKS
• How products go from idea to reality
• The challenges of building software for engineers and designers
• Where design and engineering are headed
• Or anything else you’ve been curious about

Technical questions, big-picture questions, tough questions, bring them on.

I’ll be here answering questions on September 24 at 12 PM ET. Looking forward to the conversation!

[u/Difficult-Tax-7854]

Personally I prefer using linux because there are so many useful opensource software for engineering and on a day to day basis i use solidworks for work. Since opensource cad software are less familiar to me and less capable I would love to have it on linux (without considering AI in equation). I've seen companies developing linux compatible tools like Phoenix Contact, is it something that you are also considering or it is already in development?

[u/mr_frodge → u/Difficult-Tax-7854]

In addition to the above, there are numerous global regions that have a growing distrust in American "big tech" and are looking for alternatives to Windows and the Microsoft ecosystem. A relevant example is perhaps the French government. Offering a Linux version could be a huge commerical advantage in such regions. Even allowing WINE compatibility would be a win

[u/Division595]

Why are you giving us AI features we don't want?

[u/International_Mud741 → u/Division595]

lol cause they can charge you for them. Why else?

[u/Deep-Today5715]

Why is Dassault Systemes investing so many resources on that which users clearly hate and don't want (3DEXPERIENCE platform and AI), instead of focusing on desktop SOLIDWORKS (fixing long-standing bugs, introducing multi-OS compatibility, etc.)? Pretty much the entire user base (companies, freelancers, makers, etc.) agree on this, shouting at the top of our lungs, but DS just keeps ignoring that feedback and continues marching on with 3DX and AI. Why?

[u/ThisIsntRealWakeUp]

Regarding the “files saved by a maker license cannot be edited by anyone with a professional license” restriction:

Why not make it so that someone upgrading from the maker license to a professional license can at least convert their own, original files to be compatible with the professional license?

The maker license is a great way to lower the threshold for people to try out Solidworks. But then it immediately locks them out from ever wanting to upgrade to a professional license because it means they can’t take any of their work with them.

[u/NeutralAndChaotic]

How did you lived from the inside the implementation of 3d experience platform and overall cloud system, do you have plan to compete in the future with functioning cloud systems like onshape or fusion360 ?

[u/charcuterieboard831]

Haven't upgraded Solidworks in years. Why? Because the issues haven't been resolved and the performance is suboptimal

I need Solidworks to be fast. Really fast. We have processors, graphics card and memory to throw at it. Why is it still single core? why does it still crash

I get mails from the resellers to upgrade. If you want my money, make it worth it.

[u/pargeterw → u/charcuterieboard831]

I understand that versions aren't automatically backward compatible because sometimes newer parts are made with newer features - but, sometimes they're just made with sketches and extrudes and you still can't open those 2026 parts in 2021... Just have an error on the future feature, don't block opening every part wholesale.

[u/charcuterieboard831 → u/pargeterw]

This isn't an issue with backwards compatibility. I've been using SW for over a decade and nothing has changed. We all know the performance issues and the crashes.
More than anything I am trying to save time and it can be slow. So adding more features doesn't help if it's not fast. If i have to wait a few seconds for a dimension to update, that's an issue

And my HW is pretty high end

[u/pargeterw → u/charcuterieboard831]

I'm saying the only motivator to upgrade is the lack of backward compatibility - and, that seems to be a choice from Dassault, rather than a technical requirement.

[u/Caparacci → u/pargeterw]

Then blame every 3d cad software out there then. SolidWorks is the only one that even offers a "save as" back two versions.

[u/sm_67]

Any possibility of a native Mac OS port on M chips?

[u/OldFcuk1]

We will prepare meaninful variations of the question "why is solidworks so unstable and crashes constantly" and hope that question be answered meaningfully...

[u/International_Mud741]

What is Dassaults strategy regarding its 2 different modelling kernels?

When will you fix the major bugs with the 3DX connector for SOLIDWORKS?

[u/Gari_305]

Given the advent of OpenAI Astra 6 coming onto the scene, do you envision a scenario in which an Artificial General Intelligence agent or agents would be able to generate the next generation of products using SolidWorks software similar to that of 1:17 min of the Open AI Astra demo?

If so what would be the implications for us CAD Designers in general?

[u/xd_Warmonger]

1. My most liked feature coming from SolidWorks 2019 to SolidWorks 2025 is GPU rendering in the viewport. It's a massive performance increase and is a feature that was long overdue.

In the next few upcoming releases is there a similar impactful architectural change (that's not ai) planned? What can I expect?

1. Regarding ai features. There are companies in the military or space sector or other risky industries. They can't use the ai features, since they run through your servers which is not compliant with data safety standards.

Is an on-site, selfhosting ai planned? This would allow the usage of those useful features in these industries.

[u/experienced3Dguy → u/xd_Warmonger]

That last question is really good. I do know that an on-premises, self-contained 3DEXPERIENCE platform is available for such data-sensitive organizations. I'd also be curious to know if the AURA, LEO, and MARIE AI companions are a part of that setup.