SpaceClaim, the Cool Kid

SpaceClaim, one of the youngest firms to elbow its way into the 3D modeler market, has just been named "a cool vendor" by industry watcher Gartner in its "Cool Vendors in Product Design and Life Cycle Management, 2010" report. (Content is available only to Gartner subscribers.) The report was compiled by Mark Halpern, Gartner's research director and respected PLM (product lifecycle management) analyst.

Gartner also publishes "Cool Vendors" listings for content management, information infrastructure, high-performance workplace, cloud security services, and other segments. About its selection process, Gartner says:

Gartner’s listing does not constitute an exhaustive list of vendors in any given technology area, but rather is designed to highlight interesting, new, and innovative vendors, products, and services ... Gartner defines a cool vendor as a company that offers technologies or solutions that are: Innovative, enable users to do things they couldn’t do before; Impactful, have, or will have, business impact (not just technology for the sake of technology); Intriguing, have caught Gartner’s interest or curiosity in approximately the past six months.

SpaceClaim made a name for itself with an intuitive direct modeler of the same name, which allows users to create geometry by pushing and pulling on solids, surfaces, and edges. Though not the first to introduce direct modeling, the company managed to cultivate a following quickly with its software's ease of use.

Most recently, SpaceClaim struck up a partnership with Luxion to incorporate Luxion's Keyshot rendering application into SpaceClaim 2009+ SP2. The company has also been able to secure a fresh round of funding, adding $5 million to its coffer.