We regularly tell many inspiring and compelling stories here on the Dassault Systèmes blog, but there is one story we perhaps don’t share enough: the story of who we are.
In this blog post, we’re sharing a little more about us, based on the most common questions we receive from prospective clients, job candidates, Google searches and, one of our favorite audiences: our families, who are always asking us, “What do you do all day at work?”
Here are some of the most common questions we get!
“Where is Dassault Systèmes headquarters located? Are you a French company?”
No! Legally, we’re a European company, but we have a global presence and market reach.
We have headquarters in Europe, the Americas and Asia Pacific: in Velizy (outside Paris), Waltham (outside Boston) and Shanghai, respectively. But we have 184 sites worldwide; you can discover all locations on our Office Locations page.
“When was Dassault Systèmes founded?“
Dassault Systèmes was founded in 1981 by a group of engineers from Dassault Aviation to design products in three dimensions and address the aerospace industry’s need for more sophisticated tools.
“Does Dassault Systèmes make airplanes?”
We do not – that’s our sister company, Dassault Aviation.
Dassault Systèmes was created by Marcel Dassault and Charles Edelstenne in 1981 as a spin-off from Dassault Aviation, a leading French aerospace company. Its purpose was to market software that was initially designed by and for Dassault Aviation, with the aim of becoming the industry benchmark in computer-aided design. Today, Dassault Systèmes and Dassault Aviation are separate companies that are both part of The Group Industriel Marcel Dassault — often called Dassault Group.
Dassault Systèmes helps the entire aerospace and defense industry innovate, however, and Dassault Aviation continues to be one of our customers to this day!
Learn more about Dassault Systèmes’ history!
“How do you pronounce Dassault Systèmes? Da-salt?”
The easiest way to think of it is like this: Dass-so Sis-tem.
“How many people work at Dassault Systèmes?”
As of 2025, we’re 25,000 people strong with locations around the world.
Check out the chart below for some other quick stats that tell our story – and you can find more on our Facts & FAQs page.
“What does Dassault Systèmes do?”
Dassault Systèmes provides virtual worlds to help address real-world challenges and push the boundaries of innovation, learning and production.
We do this through software solutions that allow customers to create innovative new products and services with virtual experiences that challenge and encourage them to imagine a world that addresses the major challenges facing the world today.
We currently offer 13 different brands along with the revolutionary, industry-transforming 3DEXPERIENCE platform with a proven track-record of helping our 370,000 customers across 12 industries better serve patients, citizens, consumers, entrepreneurs and learners. By creating virtual twin experiences of the real world with our 3DEXPERIENCE platform and applications, our customers push the boundaries of innovation, learning and production
To learn more about our breadth of activities, watch the video below:
“What is Dassault Systèmes famous for?“
Dassault Systèmes is known for our groundbreaking software solutions that enable customers of all sizes, in all industries, to create, design and simulate experiences and products in the virtual world.
Dassault Systèmes has a long history with 3D design, and is often recognized for our simulation tools, CAD software and other 3D-related products and solutions.
“What is Dassault Systèmes’ 3DEXPERIENCE platform?”
The 3DEXPERIENCE platform is a collaborative environment that empowers businesses to innovate in entirely new ways and push the boundaries of innovation, learning and production.
We launched it in 2012 to provide organizations a holistic, real-time view of their business activity and ecosystem, to connect people, ideas, data and solutions together in a single environment.
In the 13 years since its launch, we’ve rapidly advanced the 3DEXPERIENCE platform. It is unique in its unparalleled accuracy in matching the virtual world with the real one and for its incorporation of multi-physics, multi-scale and multi-discipline technologies that combine modeling, simulation and data science.
The platform creates a closed-loop connection between the virtual and real world that allows businesses to represent complex systems – from cars to cities to human hearts – to experiment as much as they wish and gain insights that result in a constant cycle of improvement from inception to market delivery and usage.
“What is the main product of Dassault Systèmes?”
Our broad portfolio and wide range of products and brand applications are all centered around our vision of creating Virtual Worlds for Real Life.
With 13 different brands and thousands of applications, powered by the 3DEXPERIENCE platform, businesses can connect the dots within and outside their company, facilitating sustainable business innovation across the full product lifecycle. Our brand applications are grouped into 3D modeling, simulation, social & collaborative and information intelligence. Together, they enable users to create virtual twins to visualize, model and simulate the entire environment of sophisticated and sustainable experiences.
Dassault Systèmes brands:
- Social and collaborative applications: 3DEXCITE, CENTRIC PLM, ENOVIA;
- 3D modeling applications: SOLIDWORKS, CATIA, GEOVIA, BIOVIA;
- Simulation applications: SIMULIA, DELMIA, 3DVIA;
- Information intelligence applications: NETVIBES, MEDIDATA;
- Infrastructure for business experiences: OUTSCALE
Discover more about our products and solutions.
“What does ‘Virtual Worlds for Real Life’ mean?“
“Virtual Worlds for Real Life” is Dassault Systèmes’ tagline that builds on a 40-year legacy and vision for a sustainable future.
The tagline builds on Dassault Systèmes’ commitment to making the power of virtual worlds accessible and impactful for all businesses and people. It helps people understand our story and establishes a common thread throughout our brands.
“What industry is Dassault Systèmes in?“
Dassault Systèmes serves 12 different industries, grouped into three economic sectors. They are:
- Manufacturing Industries: Transportation & Mobility, Aerospace & Defense; Marine & Offshore; Industrial Equipment; High-Tech; Home & Lifestyle; Consumer Packaged Goods – Retail
- Life Sciences & Healthcare
- Infrastructure & Cities: Infrastructure, Energy & Materials; Architecture, Engineering & Construction; Business Services; Cities & Public Services
“Is SOLIDWORKS owned by Dassault Systèmes?”
Yes! In 1997, Dassault Systèmes signed a definitive agreement to acquire SOLIDWORKS.
SOLIDWORKS provides designers with 3D CAD design, simulation, data management and collaboration applications that cover all aspects of the development process, providing easy-to-use and intuitive software to small and mid-size businesses.
“Is Dassault Systèmes the same as CATIA?”
Nope! But there’s no Dassault Systèmes without CATIA. Today, it’s one our 13 brands, but back in 1981 CATIA was our very first.
CATIA was released to provide multi-platform software for computer-aided design (CAD), manufacturing, computer-aided engineering (CAE), 3D modeling and product lifecycle management (PLM), initially for the aerospace and automotive industries. We’re proud of that brand’s 40+ year history and its impact on transforming how products are designed in 3D.
“What are 3D UNIV+RSES?“
3D UNIV+RSES are a new class of representation of the world that combines modeling, simulation, data science and AI-generated content.
They are secure industry environments where customers can experiment, learn and innovate and are poised to transform the creation and manufacturing of sustainable products and services. 3D UNIV+RSES enable the virtualization of an entire product lifecycle by linking virtual twins across design, engineering, manufacturing and operations, as well as combining multiple virtual twins across companies.
“Is Dassault Systèmes a great place to work?”
Well, we sure think so. And others agree! In 2023, for example, Forbes ranked us #21 on its World’s Best Employer’s list, and #2 among French companies. We are also very proud of our people and their talents, both in and out of the office.
Watch our people talking about who we are!
“Is Dassault Systèmes hiring?”
We are always looking to bring in top talent – be it in our R&D teams (which are 41% of our company) or other organizations like sales, marketing, HR, operations and more.
Our careers page shares all current opportunities across all 184 Dassault Systèmes sites.
“Is Dassault Systèmes a sustainable company?”
Absolutely. As a technology company serving clients from all sectors across the economy, we believe we have the power to catalyze radically more sustainable transformations in the processes that shape the physical world through our virtual universes.
In 2021, we announced our Sustainability strategy, which outlines our strategic goals between now and 2025. Dassault Systèmes allows companies to find a balance between an organization’s footprint – what they take from the planet to create products or services – and their handprint – the value they give back. By doing so, companies can stop the value leakage inherent to the traditional take-make-use-waste model, in which materials and products are discarded after one use. Instead, we encourage a circular economy.
We also strive to “walk the talk” and embed sustainability in everything that we do. Some of our most recent recognitions for being a leader in sustainability include ranking in the top 2% of global software companiesh in the S&P Global CSA (2024) which allows us to be a member of the Dow Jones Sustainability Index World (DJSI World), 20th for Corporate Knights World’s 100 Most Sustainable Corporations (2024) and getting an AAA score in the MSCI ESG Ratings assessment for being a leader in the software sector. Learn more about our recent sustainability ratings and awards.
Looking for more information? Contact us!
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Alyssa RossAlyssa is a Communications Director on the Dassault Systèmes Corporate Publishing team. She’s been part of DS for over 20 years, in roles ranging from public relations to marketing programs. Twitter: @DS_Alyssa