{"id":17579,"date":"2016-07-11T21:02:05","date_gmt":"2016-07-11T21:02:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.autodesk.com\/products\/eagle\/blog\/?p=233"},"modified":"2023-09-29T10:32:20","modified_gmt":"2023-09-29T17:32:20","slug":"autodesk-acquires-eagle-qa-look-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.autodesk.com\/products\/fusion-360\/blog\/autodesk-acquires-eagle-qa-look-future\/","title":{"rendered":"Autodesk acquires EAGLE: Q&A and a look into future!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Hello EAGLE users one and all!  Welcome to the new website & more importantly, welcome the next stage in EAGLE\u2019s long life as \u201cthe people\u2019s\u201d ECAD tool! That\u2019s right, in case you hadn\u2019t heard, just two short weeks ago (June 2016) Autodesk officially acquired CadSoft<\/a> \u2013 the makers of EAGLE \u2013 from parent company Premier Farnell!  And we\u2019re super excited!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWait, what does this mean?  What\u2019s going to happen to EAGLE?  What\u2019s changing?  What happens to my license?  Will there still be a free version?\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Never fear because we plan to answer much of that both here and into the future!  But before we get there, let me be the first to welcome you to the next phase in EAGLE\u2019s development!<\/strong>  The website \u2013 now simply https:\/\/cadsoft.io\/<\/a> is only one very small stop on the long, exciting journey ahead of us and we hope you like what we\u2019ve done with the place.  \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now before we jump in, let me also suggest having a read of several other interviews, articles, etc. as much of what you’re wondering is probably being answered in real time across various sites as this plays out.  The two I\u2019d consider required reading are Adafruit\u2019s Exclusive Q&A<\/a> and also Hackaday\u2019s coverage<\/a>, as both were done in collaboration with \u2018yours truly\u2019.  You can also find us on the eevblog forums<\/a>, Hackaday.io\u2019s chat channel<\/a> and other sites across the web.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why CadSoft?  Why Autodesk?  Why now?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

So an obvious question is \u201cWhy?  \u2026Why did Autodesk acquire CadSoft?  Why now?  And what does Autodesk have in store for EAGLE?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The acquisition of EAGLE marks a new phase in not just EAGLE\u2019s development, but in Autodesk\u2019s as well.  You see, we\u2019re serious about becoming the standard for the design and manufacture of the whole <\/em>product \/ widget \/ whathaveyou and this move into electronics is the next big frontier in our development as that<\/em> company.  So where in the past we\u2019ve had amazing tools for mechanical design, 2D CAD, additive manufacturing, subtractive \/ CNC, even media and entertainment; the acquisition of EAGLE marks our push into the next big frontier:  the board.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now lest you shudder ‘just how is Autodesk is going to come up to speed on electronics and PCB design?<\/em>‘ let me be the first to say that Autodesk has assembled an amazing team who combined with CadSoft’s already rock-solid developers, have the skills to both improve EAGLE’s core (see below), while maintaining its simple, easy to use workflow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In regards to \u201cwhy EAGLE?\u201d the answer was absolutely clear:  EAGLE is the<\/em><\/strong> Schematic and PCB design software for makers, hackers, startups & professionals for a reason!  Likewise, being at the center of the open source hardware community, it\u2019s these people & their contributions and the spirit of what this represents that makes EAGLE a stand-out.  We couldn\u2019t let this go to just any<\/em> company.  If we\u2019re serious about having an impact on how electronic products are developed, it makes sense to bring Autodesk\u2019s resources to bear alongside the Cadsoft team to take the EAGLE to the next level!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So what\u2019s next for EAGLE? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Well firstly, CadSoft\u2019s development team has just grown overnight and with it, our ability to deliver important, high-valued features to EAGLE \u2013 the things users have been asking for most!  So for example:<\/p>\n\n\n\n