en.Wedoany.com Reported - Graitec, a French structural software development company and one of the world's largest Autodesk partners, recently announced an artificial intelligence strategy aimed at redefining the current focus of discussion in the Architecture, Engineering, Construction, and Operations (AECO) sector. The company argues that the hard constraint in engineering is not the speed at which a model generates an answer, but whether that answer can be trusted, audited, and signed off by the engineer bearing computational responsibility.
Graitec has combined its roadmap with a new version of its flagship structural analysis platform, a unified steel structure delivery product, and an updated set of Revit productivity tools, aiming to demonstrate that the strategy is already in production. The company released a three-phase AI roadmap built around three layers—assistance, automation, and generation—embedding intelligence into existing engineering and manufacturing workflows. The latest version of its finite element structural analysis software, Advance Design 2027, introduces an Open API for custom automation and parametric studies, and includes Graitec Assistant, which can reference a company's own documents via SharePoint. The new unified product, Graitec STEEL, connects designers, detailers, fabricators, and engineers across the Autodesk Advance Steel and Inventor platforms. Client Richard K. Hood LLC reports average savings of 20 to 30 person-hours per job.
At the core of Graitec's strategy is relying on deterministic calculation and detailing engines to generate auditable results, limiting AI to preparation, interaction, and interpretation, while engineers retain sign-off authority. This announcement comes as Autodesk advances its own generative vision, highlighting how specialized developers can differentiate themselves.
Emmanuel Leroy, the company's Chief Product and Strategy Officer, believes that in the AECO field, AI can generate, but generation without accountability is insufficient. The real challenge is ensuring that generated content can be trusted, audited, and signed off in real-world projects. Founded in 1986, Graitec now operates in over a dozen countries, and its software is used by more than 100,000 architecture professionals.
Advance Design 2027 is the clearest application example of this strategy. The platform now includes an Open API, enabling engineering teams to build custom workflows, automate repetitive modeling, and run parametric studies. Graitec Assistant, embedded in the software and aware of the user's model and context, can connect to SharePoint to serve the company's own knowledge, ensuring answers reflect the organization's actual standards and documentation. Rawad Assaf, Vice President of Solutions Line, noted that Advance Design 2027 represents a significant step toward a more connected, automated, and intelligent structural design workflow, aiming to reduce manual labor for engineers and allow them to focus on higher-value decisions. This version also adds engineering capabilities such as layered shell modeling, integrated cross-laminated timber design compliant with Eurocode 5, a standalone reinforced concrete retaining wall module, improved structural analysis format workflows, and timber section optimization for North American codes.
Graitec STEEL is a new multi-platform product that places designers, detailers, fabricators, and engineers in a single environment, carrying consistent data from design to fabrication. The product integrates existing technologies such as PowerPack for Advance Steel, PowerPack for Inventor, and Stairs and Railings for Advance Steel, and works with Autodesk Advance Steel and Inventor. Brandon Ionata, Vice President of Manufacturing Solutions Line, stated that Graitec STEEL aims to break down the silos currently slowing down steel projects. Data from client Richard K. Hood LLC indicates the product saves an average of 20 to 30 person-hours per job.
Graitec also released updated Ideate Software bundles and the Ideate Automation tool for Revit 2023 through 2027. The new Ideate ExportHub feature centralizes the export process, offering repeatable multi-format exports, batch runs, and shareable naming conventions. This release improves interoperability with Forma, OneDrive, cloud-sync environments, Excel, and Revit sheet sets, and reports performance improvements for large models.
For the AECO market, Graitec's choice of accountability over speed as its banner contrasts with Autodesk's aggressive generative vision. Autodesk's own research also finds that leadership firmly believes AI will reshape the industry, but emphasizes that professionals remain the arbiters. Graitec is majority-owned by private equity firm Seven2 and has grown through acquisitions. The company's strategic logic is to open its ecosystem, integrating with platforms its clients already run, while adopting a left-shift approach to introduce intelligence early in the project lifecycle.
The strategy is organized around three phases, which are being developed and delivered simultaneously. The first phase embeds AI into existing tools, providing contextual guidance and task acceleration. The second phase hands repetitive tasks and coordination workflows over to automation. The third phase starts from design intent, generating optimized, compliant, and fabrication-ready solutions in minutes. Graitec describes an approach based on structural codes, manufacturing specifications, and company-specific rules, preserving a deterministic core within probabilistic technology.
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