The Hidden Engine Behind CAD: Tech Soft 3D’s Big Bet on HOOPS AI

Tech Soft 3D quietly powers much of the engineering software industry. Its technology sits beneath hundreds of CAD, CAM, CAE, additive manufacturing, construction and PLM applications. Now the company is making a major move into AI with HOOPS AI, a framework designed to make rich 3D engineering data usable inside machine-learning workflows. In this special edition of AI Across the Product Lifecycle, I speak with Jonathan Girroir of Tech Soft 3D about: • Why engineering workflows are moving from files to APIs • How cloud adoption is producing hybrid architectures • Why native multi-CAD data matters more than neutral geometry • Where HOOPS AI fits into geometry search, feature recognition and part reuse • How CAD data can connect with costing, procurement and manufacturing information • Why text-to-CAD is still overhyped • Whether OpenUSD could become a common layer across engineering and manufacturing • The coming Tech Soft 3D Data Hub • Build-versus-buy decisions for engineering software startups • Whether engineering will experience its own “OpenAI moment” before 2030 • How quantum computing could reshape simulation Jonathan also explains why the most valuable applications of AI may not be flashy generative design demos, but the ability to find, understand and reuse engineering knowledge already buried inside decades of product data. Timeline 00:00 Introduction 00:37 What Tech Soft 3D does today 01:21 HOOPS, SpinFire and 30 years of engineering software 02:41 Cloud, hybrid architectures and data sovereignty 05:30 Connected workflows and engineering ecosystems 06:33 Why rich multi-CAD data matters 07:51 What customers want from Tech Soft 3D 09:29 Rendering, OpenUSD and interoperability 10:53 Major 2026 announcements 11:09 Introducing HOOPS AI 12:24 Is text-to-CAD overhyped? 13:31 Geometry search, reuse and contextualized 3D data 15:01 SpinFire mobile, cellular volumes and the Data Hub 16:32 The customer problems behind the roadmap 18:31 Why HOOPS AI generated the biggest reaction 20:15 Supporting engineering products for decades 22:43 What customers really want from AI 23:26 Where AI creates genuine value 24:04 Where engineering AI is overhyped 24:46 Why topology, PMI and design intent matter 25:49 Visualization across the enterprise 27:59 Web-based 3D collaboration 28:40 Build versus buy 31:02 Openness, interoperability and IP 33:36 Advice for engineering software startups 35:17 How Tech Soft 3D supports startups 35:49 Will engineering have an OpenAI moment? 38:45 Quantum computing and simulation 40:15 The opportunity in the glue between systems 40:37 What comes next for HOOPS AI 41:16 How to evaluate Tech Soft 3D 41:42 Closing thoughts #CAD #EngineeringAI #EngineeringSoftware