Altair (Nasdaq: ALTR), a global leader in computational intelligence, has entered a partnership agreement with the European Space Agency (ESA) through the ESA Partnership Initiative for Commercialisation (EPIC). Under a memorandum of understanding, Altair’s aerospace and defense solutions within the Altair® HyperWorks® and Altair® RapidMiner® platforms will be made available to all startups, companies, research centers and universities across Europe that collaborate with ESA or develop technologies supported by ESA.
“ESA is a key reference point for everyone working in the space sector across Europe and around the world, and it continuously works with local organizations to drive innovation through its programs. For Altair, this partnership brings together two pioneers in the aerospace field,” says Pietro Cervellera, Senior Vice President for Aerospace and Defense at Altair. “We are excited to collaborate with ESA to provide access to our simulation, AI and data analytics solutions. Our tools help accelerate development, reduce risk when exploring breakthrough ideas, and advance our mission to create a safer, more connected and more sustainable aerospace industry.”
Through EPIC, Altair’s AI-driven engineering will enable ESA-supported startups to develop and validate their products more quickly, helping them bring minimum viable products (MVPs) to market faster—a crucial step toward securing funding and reaching commercialization. Importantly, the initiative gives aerospace and space startups access to the same Altair technologies for simulation, data analytics and AI that are used by leading aerospace organizations worldwide, along with Altair’s premium consulting services and technical mentorship.
“With nearly 40 years of domain expertise in the industry, Altair’s broad technology portfolio plays a leading role in numerous space organizations around the world,” says Joana Kamenova, EPIC lead at ESA. “We look forward to helping extend the reach of Altair’s technology so organizations across Europe can access the best tools needed to launch the next generation of space innovation.”
By joining the EPIC initiative, Altair reinforces its position as a leader in the aerospace sector and strengthens its commitment to driving innovation across the industry. With a versatile, scalable, and unified technology portfolio combined with consulting expertise, Altair helps aerospace and space organizations of all sizes navigate the evolving digital landscape, accelerate solution development, and scale capabilities across their operations.
EPIC was established in 2022 to connect commercial, academic and institutional partners with ESA-supported startups. Its goal is to foster entrepreneurship and streamline the commercialization pathway for European startups by simplifying access to leading technologies. EPIC reaches across ESA’s extensive innovation network, including ESA Business Incubation Centres (ESA BICs), ESA Technology Brokers, ESA Φ-labNET, ESA Φ-lab (ESRIN), and the InCubed Earth Observation commercialization program, along with the hundreds of startups these programs support. Collectively, EPIC links partners and ESA-backed startups to broaden the innovation ecosystem’s reach and further diversify the aerospace industry.
To learn more about Altair’s aerospace and defense offerings, visit Altair’s aerospace page. For further information about ESA and the EPIC program, consult ESA’s EPIC initiative resources.