PLM software maker Aras lands $70M investment from Goldman Sachs

November 30, 2018 – PLM software developer Aras has landed a $70 million minority investment by Goldman Sachs Private Capital Investing group, with participation from Silver Lake Kraftwerk, to expand its global operations and grow its open PLM platform.

In addition, Hillel Moerman and Holger Staude of Goldman Sachs will join Aras’ board of directors as a board member and as an observer, respectively.

Aras uses its software for PLM, maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO), and quality management systems (QMS). 

“At Goldman Sachs, our focus is on high-growth companies with significant barriers to entry, leading technology, and experienced management teams – these characteristics drove our interest in Aras,” says Moerman, head of private capital investing, Goldman Sachs. “Globally, industrial businesses are wrestling with the transition to the digital era, whether refreshing mission-critical enterprise applications or positioning themselves for new opportunities.” 

Aras announced a $40-million investment round last September led by Silver Lake Kraftwerk with participation from GE Ventures. Since then, Aras has completed strategic acquisitions to grow its applications suite with the additions of Impresa MRO for in-service assets and Comet SPDM for simulation management; expanded global operations with offices in the United Kingdom and Italy; doubled office footprint at its U.S. headquarters, and grown global employee head count by more than 50 per cent. Aras was also named a leader in the Forrester Wave for Product Lifecycle Management for Discrete Manufacturers.

Peter Schroer, CEO and founder of Aras, says, “This funding round with Goldman Sachs PCI enables us to move forward rapidly on multiple fronts and deliver the critical capabilities our customers need to innovate and transform their operations. We view this additional capital as another positive step forward for our entire open PLM community so that we can deliver capability faster, on a larger scale.”