What's Up with Tech?

Inside Dassault’s 3D Experience Lab: How Startups Build, Scale, And Ship

• Evan Kirstel

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When the CES show floor goes dark and the crowds thin out, the real conversations begin.

We sat down with Dassault Systèmes’ Fred Vacher and Abhishek Bali to explore how early-stage startups turn flashy demos into certified, manufacturable products. Using virtual twins, hands-on mentorship, and a global partner ecosystem, they walk founders through the hard part of innovation, moving from prototype to production. If you’ve ever wondered why some ideas stall while others scale, this conversation breaks down the journey step by step.

We dig into the mission of the 3DEXPERIENCE Lab and how it works hand in hand with SOLIDWORKS for Startups to support founders across design, simulation, compliance, and industrialization. Many teams join for CAD and quickly discover a full-stack platform that includes multiphysics simulation, quality systems, clinical workflows, data management, and real-time collaboration. The mentorship layer adds a critical advantage: expert design reviews, manufacturing guardrails, and introductions to enterprise partners across more than a dozen industries. That’s how a clever concept becomes a product that survives audits, pilots, and real-world production.

The broader tech landscape is evolving fast. Impact is no longer an afterthought, it’s the goal. Deep tech is on the rise, especially in medical devices, industrial systems, and sustainable hardware. We dive into the emergence of “physical AI,” where embodied systems like exoskeletons and humanoid robots gain intelligence at the edge. At CES, the team highlighted startups working on pill-based endoscopy, mobility exoskeletons, biosensors, and desktop dialysis. Meanwhile, Dassault’s main booth showcased life sciences innovation at scale, from virtual hospitals and organ twins to patient-specific implants designed in CATIA and manufactured for real-world deployment. Sustainability was front and center too, with energy harvesting and ultra-thin batteries that could eliminate disposable power sources for sensors and smart tags.

Founders will walk away with a practical playbook: design for manufacturing from day one, simulate early to cut costs and risks, plan certification upfront, and build long-term partnerships that support growth. We also preview what’s coming at 3DEXPERIENCE World, including community showcases, maker spaces, and generative AI tools reshaping 3D design and engineering.

Ready to move beyond hype and into real-world impact? Listen in, subscribe for more deep dives, and share what you’re building next.

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SPEAKER_00:

Hey everyone, and welcome to What's Up with Tech. I'm Evan Kirstell. And I'm Irma Rastagaeva. Welcome. On the heels of CES, we're really excited to dive into this conversation. CES always sparks big ideas and bold promises. And today we're focused on the part that really matters when the lights go down at CES, how ideas turn into real products inside the 3D experience lab at DASO Systems, and how founders and startups are taking that CES momentum and turning it into actual progress beyond the demo booth. Irma.

SPEAKER_01:

We're joined today by Frederick Foscher, head of innovation at Dassault Systems and founder of 3D Experience Lab. Joining us from France, where Dustel Systems is headquartered. We're also joined by Abishek Bali, Director of Mainstream Innovation and Solid Works for Startups, and director of the 3D Experience Lab North America, based in Boston. Welcome both.

SPEAKER_03:

Welcome everyone, and thank you, Yvan, for hosting us.

SPEAKER_00:

Well, great to see you again, Fred and Abishek. Before we dive in, how do each of you describe your team, your mission, and the mission? You know, in your own words, Fred, I'll let you start.

SPEAKER_03:

You know what, DESO Systems, we uh are innovators since uh 40 years. Uh we are uh supporting all the industries, uh more or less in uh 140 countries, more than 400 and 0,000 customers, making everything you have around you in virtual twin technologies, uh, from plane cars, boats, uh phones, or whatever you have around you. Uh and uh since more than 10 years now, we are investing heavily in life sciences so that we can also apply this virtual twin modeling and simulation technologies to a molecule, uh, from molecules to shelf. So this is DASO system on uh the Free Experience Lab initiative I uh started 10 years ago, is uh to accelerate disruptive innovation that strongly impacts the society. What we aim at DASO system is to have virtual words for a better world. And uh to make it real, we decided to invest strongly 10 years ago. So it's not a buzzword, and uh it gives it gives reference to your uh TV channel name, uh Ivan, uh making an impact. Uh this is what we we want to do supporting early stage startups that are having great ideas and helping them to go from ID to uh market uh and inspiring the complete industry. So, this is where we believe we can play a strong role uh helping the future uh generation of uh makers, entrepreneurs, and uh driving them uh to uh create products, services for a better world.

SPEAKER_00:

Amazing. And uh Abishak, how do you describe the work that you and your your team do? Uh you've been on this 10-year mission uh as well.

SPEAKER_02:

Right. So uh I have two roles at the Source Systems. One, of course, I'm part of Fred's team. I joined uh 3D Experience Lab team actually nine years ago. It's about 10th year in the in the running. And um so I so basically I I started off uh with the Boston Um 3D Experience Lab, uh responsible for setting uh it up in collaboration with MIT's Center for Bits and Atoms and the PAP Foundation, where we are looking at startups not just in North America, but I would say the entire world. Uh but I manage the North American operations under Fred. So that's one part where, as Fred has mentioned, the the whole idea is to how to uh give access to startups that are solving tough technical challenges around sustainability. That's why we work with the UN STT board very closely, um, and how to source, mentor, and make sure that their journeys are smoothened out all the way to from um from idea conception all the way to manufacturing using the 3D experience uh platform. Um so that's one part of my role. The other part uh is is for the Solidworks for Startups program, which I assumed three years ago, uh, where uh we are we are looking at any hard tech company that uh that wants to design their own product and sell in the market under their own name and who who are under$1 million in revenue and funding, um, and who uh who who really want to make a dent in the universe through their product. So we give them easy access to uh not just SolidWorks, which is one of the gold standards for 3D design software, but also to simulation, you know, engineering, data uh management products, all under the 3D Experience platform um umbrella. So these are the two roles that I play, and me and my team, um they they help uh help me and of course Fred to meet our goals every year.

SPEAKER_01:

Fred, uh you started 3D Experience Lab in 2015. So congratulations on 10-year anniversary. Thank you. Um what has changed most over that decade in terms of technology, but also in how startups approach innovation?

SPEAKER_03:

Well, first 10 years ago, nobody was speaking about impact. Uh, we had many people talking about uh metaverse, uh AI, and uh uh but uh changing the world for a better was really I think uh uh uh an initiative that we uh created and initiated. And what I'm seeing is more and more people are willing to create an impact. Uh VCs are having uh funds dedicated to impact, which is quite new. You know, it's I started to see this uh since uh three to five years. Um so it's uh now uh embraced by the um global ecosystem. Uh second, uh we see more and more deep tech startups. Uh, ten years ago, you could find a lot of startups doing digital, you know, creating an app to put in an app store. Uh and uh what we are interested with at the system is uh uh technology and science, uh scientific projects that really can uh simulate the the real world. Uh and uh we see more and more of those uh young entrepreneurs willing to tackle some uh extreme and difficult challenges. So this is very uh interesting for us because we are here now in operation uh in all countries uh with uh not only uh as I said a software solution but with uh a global approach to help them to succeed. Uh a startup, they obviously need to create their PowerPoint deck to raise money, they need to have a prototype, but this is just the beginning of the story, you know. And as you know, it's very difficult to stay to uh uh to go over this uh uh as we call the dev valet uh on in Digtep on hardware. Uh it's particularly difficult. You have obviously to think about industrialization, you need to think about certification, clinical trials, FDA approvals. So it's a long journey, uh, and we are here to help.

SPEAKER_00:

Brilliant. And of course, uh the 3D experience platform over the past decade has become really world-renowned uh as the basis for so much innovation. When founders walk into the lab for the first time, what usually surprises them about what the platform can do for them in a practical way?

SPEAKER_03:

To be honest, usually startups know us uh thinking about SolidWorks, 3DCAD design, and they expect to get this uh free for us, which is an entry point. But when they discover the amazing portfolio you have around, uh and as I was saying, you can do clinical trial on a platform, you can do you have solutions to make sure you comply to uh to regulations, uh obviously a lot of simulations, a marketplace with services. It's a collaborative platform in a way. Uh but what they in fact value the most is our approach at the lab to provide mentors. We not only provide platform on applications, but we provide experts that will bring their skills at the right time to help them to do it right the first time. Second, and this is not what they uh know. In fact, as I was telling in my introduction, uh we are uh in contract with uh something like 400,000 customers in many industries in many countries. And this network is of great value for those startups because at one point or another they need to connect with the industries. Uh it's easy to uh to uh to to uh do a startup early stage, and when you need to scale up onto uh industrialized scale, having partnership with big industrials is uh uh often very important, and we are here to to connect the dots.

SPEAKER_01:

Uh speaking of collaboration, Fred, how are large enterprises and your large partners shaping uh what startups are specifically building in the lab? Is there an influence?

SPEAKER_03:

In fact, the influence is coming on both sides. Uh startups are small, they have no legacy, so they can have bright ideas on go, take risk, uh, on the uh think out of the box. The big industrials they're having their uh their uh uh their processes, their business, their legacy, their history. So it's more difficult for them to jump into a complete new space. So the connection between two is uh very rewarded. Uh and more and more they want to work together. It's uh really what they they they value coming to uh to the lab. It's not only uh looking at uh uh a technology lab, but really uh uh with us and with the amazing uh portfolio of disruptive projects we have, being inspired to think differently.

SPEAKER_00:

Brilliant. And Abishek, uh you manage the SolidWorks for Startups program. So you see founders much earlier in the journey uh that than anyone else, really. Um talk about the role they they they can play in in your ecosystem and um the impact that some of the partners can have on their success.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, definitely. Um so you you're right. Um also we we look at um early to mid-stage companies at the SOLIDWORKS program and also at the 3D Experience Experience Lab, by the way, because both the programs work together in tandem. Uh, and that's why we were at CES as part of one booth. And in fact, the SOLIDWORKS program is a feeder program to the 3D Experience Lab in so many ways. So, what we know is like Fred said, that it's not just access to software, but uh in a way, we are also responsible for making sure that a startup is uh is on a journey to success all the way through. So while the SolidWorks for Startup Program is a three-year program, um but starting second year, in fact, it's in some cases in the first year itself, some of the startups um they get a chance to actually um, you know, of course, we bring them to CES or Viva Tech, all these big events, but some of them, based on what they're doing, um, they actually get a chance to be connected to some of our bigger industrial partners. Um, it depends on what these startups are actually doing. Although I I have a lot of names around, um I would say industrial equipment is a big one, then medical devices is another big one. We have companies um like Cell Link that started with our program, and by the way, they were part of the 3D Experience Lab also, and now they are a very big name. Um they are 3D printing human cells uh with a great mission. Uh, similarly, we have companies like Domain Medical that was part of our program, and then the 3D Experience Lab, and now they are doing really well. And all the way through, we have helped them connect with our partners because so what we believe in um at both the teams is that it's it's all about making connections. Startup journey is not just about access to software and your 3D CAD and design, it's an emotional journey. Every founder is smart enough to be working at the best companies at your fat packages and all that stuff. But they they start a company with a vision and they start, you know, they they they have so many challenges. So if we can take off you know the challenge around uh software connections, mentoring in some ways off their journey off the table, I think then that's that's uh you know it's a big service to them. And that's why both the 3D Experience Lab and the SolidWorks program are so popular among founders.

SPEAKER_01:

Um Abishek is uh SolidWorks for Startups program is also celebrating its 10-year anniversary this year. So congratulations on that. So, um, how has the program changed over the years? And tell us more about the synergy and collaboration between the 3D Experience Lab and the SolidWorks for Startups program.

SPEAKER_02:

Right. Um, so I would say that when um because I was uh part of the the 3D Experience Lab, like I said, for nine years, uh, from the early days. Uh almost from the beginning. Yeah, yeah, almost the beginning. Yeah, I I remember. Uh and uh so I have seen both the programs very, very closely because when 3D Experience Lab was physically built and you know we had a lot of interest around um you know the lab, it was big on news everywhere, here in Boston, of course, in Paris. The Solid Rooks for Startups program was very, very nascent. And to be very honest, you know, we were experimenting uh with a lot of things because we were first um you know in the in in the US market at least, uh, giving you know access to software. Um, you know, I would say to any hardware startup because the 3D Space Lab is focused on sustainability. That's that was very clear mission. But here we were experimenting for a few years and to the point where now we have you know 10,000 startups applying every year. It's a big program. And what I have seen over the years is that uh interestingly, because the the there's so many startups that apply to the program, the program actually uh mimics or it it tracks the the changing trends in technology. Okay so many years ago, I remember like in 2017, 20 uh 18, uh when AI was not a buzzword, there was a lot of focus around um you know start with medical devices, everybody was looking at virtual surgery and all that stuff. Um, and then uh during COVID, the the number of startups working around COVID and you making face masks, uh, that increased. And we had a lot of again medical devices in there. Um, and then by the way, transportation and mobility has always been a big hit uh with with the program. So that has remained constant. But now what I see is that in the past two years, there is a there is something around you know like everything is merging, like hardware products or hard tech products are not just hardware, but they are physical AI. That's that's the the new thing where there is a layer of of AI uh or intelligence over every single hardware uh product. So when I when I see all the applications, my team looks at each and every application very closely. So we we see that everybody is integrating AI, which actually is not a bad thing because the the shift that has happened is that now founders are not just trying to only sell a product, but also trying to make sure that it is more intelligent and not to make it more complex, but slowly now they are trying to simplify it, which I think is great, which I did not see I think you know two or three years ago. So I'm happy about this trend, but just wanted to let you know that that's how we see the trends. Now, the the other interesting part is how we work with 3D Experience Lab is because we get a lot of applications around all the you know 12 industries that we are in. Uh, we uh we our program at SolidWorks is like a feeder program to 3D Experience Lab because at the lab we are looking at just 10 to 12 stellar companies that are trying to work on, you know, I would say uh products that are that can actually shift this the scales of innovation. And these are very, very it's a super selective, uh equity-free, um, you know, sustainability focused, mentors mentorship-based program. So we have to be very choosy. And that's where you know we are able to uh relay um you know a lot of startups from the SORWS program so that Fred and his team, uh, including me, we can look at them, we can analyze them, we can and you know interact with them and try to figure out who could be part of the 3D Experience lab and get all the mentoring for two years and also access to all the advanced tools on the 3D Experience platforms.

SPEAKER_03:

Amazing. It's a it's a two-side approach, blue and red. You have value on volume, uh, the lab is value, the the solid drugs program is volume, and uh both are working together in both uh directions. So any anyone is uh uh free to join the Solid Drugs program as soon as you are an early stage startups. Uh and as Abishek was saying, on the lab standpoint, we are very selective because in reality, very few uh startups are really impacting with uh with uh uh great new IDs. Uh so and it's what we are chasing, and this is why we are at CES and in many uh uh entrepreneurs uh on startup perspair.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, and that's why you know Evan Urma, you were at CES. You might have seen at our booth we had this red and blue blue pill uh there. And you know, yeah, and it was a great idea because you know, um, you know, it it helped us explain the program because on the face of it, these are two programs definitely. Uh, but the spirit is is the same that we want to help at the source system, we want to help startups um you know with different flavors. So there's room for everybody.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, it was great seeing you at CES Abishek. And of course, you brought several founders from each program with you. It was great to meet them and interview them. Uh, what felt new about your presence with CES this year? Uh, you've been there so many years. You know, what was the strategic intent uh behind your uh your amazing presence this year, Abishek?

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, in fact, Fred and I, we were talking about this um you know um a while ago. The interesting thing is that I think this was my seventh year at CES being there. Uh, but every year, you know, when we watch. Around the Eureka Park area where you have thousands of startups and from all across the world. Every other startup we talk to that's working around hardware, either they are uh part of the Solvable for Startups program or they have applied to the 3D experience lab. Uh, and some of them are actually part of 3D Experience Lab. We bring um every year companies from both the programs. So uh, you know, Fred had this amazing thought that you know, why don't we actually bring both the programs uh together um you know at CES? So we said, yeah, that that could be really interesting. So that was very different. That this is the first time that we we at a at a bigger booth within the the French Tech or Business France area, they are our partners. We had both the programs represented, and uh we had brought four uh startups, um, you know, NDATX, which is making a pill bot um, you know, for uh for uh they want to replace endoscopy, and it's it's a low-cost maneuverable uh uh pill that you can ingest. Um and then there's a company called Biomotem. They are they are making exoskeletons, um, 3K nano from India. They are working on nanomolecules uh like biosensors, um, and then Oli, which uh which interestingly is also part of our partners called Hacks or SOSV. We have great relations with Hacks, they are one of the top hardware accelerator programs in the world. So Oli is working on uh on a mission to to bring hymodalysis or hemodialysis uh to the desktop. So we had brought these four startups from both the programs, and I think that that that was really, really good. And that's why the red and blue pill idea was a hit.

SPEAKER_03:

In addition to that, we had the deso system main booth in the main hall uh focusing on on life sciences, as you could uh imagine. The objective is to inspire uh the uh pharmaceutical industry and medical at large uh on what the virtual twin technology can bring to this uh market. We are at the really beginning, and uh there are a lot of opportunities to uh to uh optimize uh what's being done with the virtual twin from you know hospitals. You know, you can think about uh uh managing an hospital like a factory um with the uh virtual twin technology to optimize the uh the uh the workflow, uh to optimize the uh capacity, to optimize the plannings and all that stuff. Uh I talk about the molecules, obviously, medical devices, but also uh virtualizing uh human body with organs. And uh that's a project we started and initiated 10 years ago at the Free Experience Lab. Uh, what's uh can what value we can bring by uh uh virtualizing patient-specific organs for medical imaging. Uh, and uh from surgery preparation to organ-3D printing for training, there are a lot of uh scenarios uh and uh this will change completely the way we treat patients in the future. Uh and especially uh talking about implants, smart implants, uh patient-specific implants. We have in India a startup called Lucid Implant. Uh we reconstruct the skull of a patient so that with Katia, we design the prosthesis, patient-specific prostheses, it has been 3D printed, and then the surger implants those uh uh specific implants for the patient so that he recovers his face. So it is changing the life of the patient, obviously. It's in production in India, about 300 surgery per month. Uh so it's not uh uh uh a dream, it's not science fiction, it happens now, and this is what uh we focus on to make it uh real from a good idea to a reality, a reality that brings value and that could change people's life.

SPEAKER_01:

That's amazing technology, and that main boost, the DESO systems boost uh on the show floor was really quite uh quite an experience. So um well done.

SPEAKER_03:

This big box, you know, with a production system.

SPEAKER_01:

Yes, so um Abishek, uh stepping uh just a little bit beyond DESO systems, um, talking about CS in general, you spent a lot of time on the CS floor. Uh, what caught your attention in particular this year? You know, what was uh like a real signal versus the you know all the noise that that um that we hear?

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, this is an interesting question because uh it's really fascinating how technology actually moves. Uh so while me and my team were at CES uh physically, I know Fred and Frank and our colleagues in France and the world over, they could actually sense what's happening through some of our tools like netwides, which is around market sensing. So they were actually looking at all the trends and and suggesting us, recommending us um in real time that hey, you know, you should go and check this booth, and and it was a great partnership, of course. But what I I've I've seen is that yes, there were you know robotic butlers and uh how AI can actually uh help you help you in your loneliness. And of course, uh there were um uh one of the interesting things was um there were there was a lollipop which which uses bone conduction to play music uh in your head. So beyond all of this, which I would say are very glittering, uh glamorous things or you know interesting things that make you smile, but there were some really, I would say, um serious heart um heart-tech innovations. There were um humanoids, of course, where and by the way, I would say most of them use either Katea or SolidWorks, so it's like a big homecoming event for us every year at CES when you know uh okay, this company is doing this, so they are part of our program or they are using Ketia or SolidWorks, so it's it's great. But I but I know Boston Dynamics um had their um you know electric atlas that they had brought in. By the way, Boston Dynamics is just right. I can actually see the building from here. Uh they are great partners. And uh then, of course, another interesting thing was this uh I know that it was it was something called Rocket, uh, which was I think it won the best of the ES award. It's a uh displayless uh design of an eyewear, but you can actually talk to it. So I think voice first uh invisible assistant, that was really interesting. But overall, the shift that I was saying uh the rise of the physical AI as a separate category, I think that's that's here and that's gonna stay for long. That's that's what I am really excited about. Where um you know there's a layer of intelligence, but not only that, there are like agentic AIs that are placed on the device. So you can now is the time that you cannot differentiate between a hard tech product and its intelligence. So you know that was really interesting, and again, uh because us as a company that the source system, like we our our motto is or tagline is virtual worlds for real life. I could see that in action at CES. And in fact, friend, I would like to know your thoughts also. You're sitting in Paris. I think could you sense that sentiment somehow?

SPEAKER_03:

Well, that's true, but um AI will transform the robotic industry and especially especially the humanoid. So I think we'll see more and more uh on the market those uh those robots that really bring uh real services for people. It was not the case in in the past, except for the industries, obviously. You are entering a factory, you you would have seen uh a lot of robots uh acting. Uh, but for uh consumer usage, uh many companies tried, but those robots were not relevant enough to really bring value. Uh, I think we are at the beginning of a new era on the topic. Uh, robots that will uh sense the word and that will uh help you really. Uh, first, with uh a lot of Chinese companies were there, by the way, at CES. Uh, companies like XPang, for instance, uh, they are releasing their humanoid this year uh with a first scenario of like a hotel receptionist or uh some dedicated task, but in the future, the objective is to do like a figure AI, this Californian company who is also uh a Katia customer, to to have a companion with you at home to uh help you doing uh all the painful tasks that uh you want to avoid. And uh, if you looked on uh on YouTube, we already have a uh uh testing scenario in a dedicated uh home in uh I think it's in Nevada where they're testing on on uh on learning because uh those robots need to learn from humans. Um so uh you do tasks and they they record the tasks in order to perform similar uh gestures. So that's the real uh a new era, I think, for uh for uh robotics on humanoid to to change the world. So some people would be maybe scared because we could see that those robots are taking humans' jobs, but in reality they are taking the painful jobs. So uh obviously you need to think about your uh job and the value you bring, uh because you will have probably uh on its true also for Genai and uh in the software industry as well, like uh like we do. Uh software now is generative, so but the real value of software developer is not to develop code, you know, piece of uh lines of code, it's to it's to think, it's to uh put the specification together, obviously to develop, and then to uh uh uh put it in in production and to help the users in their transformation through this uh digital journey. So uh it's um I think it's great. It's great. And um what I see also in terms of transformation is 10 years ago, CS was really uh uh a fare for gadgets, uh a lot of tech, but for uh roughly uh just entertainment and fun. Uh more and more, you know, you see uh a strong medical uh uh domain area coming. You see uh a lot of uh tech for impact, more and more, and we are pushing really heavily on this. Uh tech that makes sense. You see a lot of automotive industry at CES, it was not true 10 years ago. So you see uh our customers like uh Audi, BMW, or others revealing new cars at CES. Um, because cars are uh tech now, obviously, and they're computer on wheels, um, and uh they need also to take this uh wave, um sensing the world for uh for better mobility, in fact. Incredible.

SPEAKER_01:

Great. So um back to CS. CS is famous for Slack demos. Um, so uh Abishek, how do you help founders stay focused on building something that survives the real world? And also building on that CS momentum, what should they do maybe the next 90 days to turn the momentum into real progress?

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, I I think uh if you want to talk about uh learnings or take home from CES for the for the founders, I think um what I feel is that it's always great to be at CES for getting all the inspiration you you as a founder come to know that probably you are not the only one working on that problem. So you get to to kind of benchmark your progress against some of the of your potential competitors or collaborators. So definitely there's a lot of uh homework that that founders need to do. Um, like for example, a lot of exoskeleton companies are there. But I think I I would say that more than the competitive spirit, it's about collaboration, where companies uh and startups they they meet other ecosystem partners who they can actually work with and uh come up with a better solution. Um I know from our software point of view, uh companies that are in our program, uh they in particular, they when they come to CES, um they they meet other co-founders or other founders and they learn how they are utilizing um like design or engineering tools or you know simulation, of course, uh to better their product. I think that's that's that's where our software actually comes into picture, where you know we the the software wells, Ketria or Simulia and SolidWorks, the whole idea is to to reveal the unvisible, the invisible. Uh so how can gone are the days of you know wind tunnel testing and drop testing physically, uh now with simulation tools, all the high-end um you know, physical testing has been replaced by by our tools. So it it helps the founders to to reach the market and place the market, their product in the market faster. Um so this is what what I I feel, and this is what I hear from uh startups um year on year. Um yeah. And Fred, do you have any anything to add to this?

SPEAKER_03:

Oh, I think that's true. Uh we CS is good for hype and for visibility, uh, but uh the startup journey is uh longer, obviously. Uh and often the startups uh don't see uh the long-term on that's an issue, and this is mostly why they fail. First, they need longer standing partners and trustable partners like a company like us. Uh, but second, uh, whatever you do in the startup world, it takes years. Um, or not one year. Usually it's uh before having a product on market, really it you could see it's roughly 10 years. Uh because obviously uh you need a certification and going into regulations and so on. So uh you need to stay calm uh and to think long term and to build one step after the other uh to avoid you know the the rush that would uh uh because obviously, with all this excitement, uh people want to uh to to go very fast. Um but uh usually when you go too fast you fail. Uh you need to think about uh industrialization uh in advance so that you are uh you don't need to re-engineer everything because you are uh I don't know, uh doing this part in plastic, so then you need a uh mold injection, and then you need some specific design for that. So this is where in fact the system is really helping, um, because most of the startups don't think about any installation. Um, it's very easy to do a prototype, very difficult to uh to manufacture in uh in series. Um so taking those constraints as soon as possible will avoid you to to uh to have to redo. Uh if you need to redo, obviously uh you fail.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, and I I would like to add another point to what what uh Fred is saying, if I may, uh, with an example, actually. Uh Fred, you remember last year uh we met Flint batteries, uh paper batteries uh at CES. So uh Flint is now part of the 3D Experience Lab, by the way. But these conversations with uh with with bigger companies like ours, with with with uh you know all these accelerator programs, it's very important for startups to be at CES and talk. And of course, we discovered where like we we we talked to this the the co-founder last year, and uh that that's very important because there's so many companies making batteries, but most of the batteries are are using toxic, expensive, and rare materials. So Flint is doing something really different, and uh they're they're making paper thin batteries, and of course, now they are in our 3D Experience Lab program using our mentoring. So I think it's a it's a great, like I said, homecoming for all the companies and startups that are working on the sustainable technology so that they can discover each other, and that's what actually takes um or accelerates the journey of a startup.

SPEAKER_03:

So you can doing doing energy from paper, so bio bio batteries, it's uh it's very interesting. Uh Flint is a kind of new one. We just announced uh two days ago this uh this uh this project uh being part of the lab. Uh and in the other side, we had with us Dracula Technology at CS. Yes, uh, a company we uh incubated eight eight years ago, uh also doing uh energy but from light, uh, and uh printable uh panels, uh so you can print on any uh surface, uh, that is capturing the energy not only from the sun but from the light. And uh they are now in production. So obviously, those technologies are not to uh uh to propulse a car, it's more for uh small devices like sensors. Uh but can you imagine avoiding having uh uh lithium batteries uh that you need to change every time in your rare tags, for instance, to give a consumer product. It's almost every year. Uh if they could be powered just by the light or by uh paper, but we change the world definitely. Um, so this is the type of project we are excited with.

SPEAKER_01:

Speaking of collaboration and also showcasing what's uh the latest and greatest, uh, you have your own uh event coming up uh literally a week from today, 3D Experience World. Can you talk a little bit about um what people will see there and um what's so exciting about what's coming up?

SPEAKER_02:

Fred, do you want me to ask answer that question? Abishek, it's your event.

SPEAKER_03:

Uh you're just loading the truck from the Boston lab uh today, so uh people could see maybe in live uh everything you do for this amazing event.

SPEAKER_02:

Right, right, right, right. Yeah, in fact, that's why you know I'm I'm not in the lab physically right now because I'm getting text from from my team that uh they are actually uh using uh you know cranes to uh to to bring everything in in the truck because uh you know there'll be a huge truck that'll start uh on Monday and it'll it'll reach Houston. Um, you know, um I know you know the weather is not very conducive right now, but you know, everything will work out fine. But at the 3D Experience world this year, um amazing stuff, amazing stories are being uh brought. Where in the we have a playground expo area where we every like every year we have a 3D Experience Lab zone where we'll be um you know showcasing our virtual 3D Experience Lab for the first time. I'm really excited about that. And also we have some communities like the Open Tesla community where we are we are calling all the makers across the world, hobbyists, makers, engineers, designers, to uh try and replicate um you know. So Tesla the car, huh?

SPEAKER_03:

Tesla.

SPEAKER_02:

No, not the car, yeah, not the car. Nikola Tesla, uh uh and uh I think uh yeah from Serbia, I think. And uh because you know we we we we have this culture being an engineering company, we have this culture of getting inspired. So, of course, like Dawinchi is very close to our heart, and your friend and I we worked with uh with with with Hollywood uh writer, you know, Jim Kapebianko many years ago. around 3D experience world actually uh to give uh to use our tools to give um you know to make his vision a reality and uh there was a movie called the inventor um made using i mean where we had our contribution in terms of there was a there was a challenge that we had floated announced at 3D experience world I think three years ago where uh we asked hobbyists and designers engineers to get inspired from Da Vinci's codices codexes his drawings and come up with um you know their own versions or replicas of of his machines and now in in the movie the inventor actually uh you can see Fred Mai and the names of of the all the winners uh we had a great competition but this year of course we are bringing the open Tesla community so that people can start getting excited and work towards it then we have we are bringing um you know some startups um you know there's there's a company called Mag Lab Arrow that is actually about to sign the contract uh to to to become part of the the lab uh program and they're already part of the Solidworks for startups program so there you are a story where you how the lab and this the the the startup program work together this biomodem uh company around exoskeleton uh there's another interesting company that's part of the Solidworks program which I'm really excited about it's called Solo Suits and they uh the the founder is a is a is a very well known space suit designer and uh he's based out of Houston so he's bringing uh his you know space suit that he's designing using Solidworks for startups program space suit is a very critical part of the entire space mission um and and then we have another company called uh tusk from from india they are they've come up with uh world's first um self-cleaning cleaning uh toothbrush uh which is great um and and so on so we have a lot of companies like that but then we have a maker zone where we have all different types of um makers that are using our um you know our platform pretty experienced platform to give uh their ideas a shape a reality and then 3D printing or using digital fabrication to to make physical product using our our maker offer which is called Solidworks for startup for makers which we started three years ago now when thousands of of subscribers thousands of makers have used this offer so the maker zone will have fabrication tools there'll be uh you know classes workshops it's always a very very busy area and that's where uh there is a big dinosaur that that will be placed there that has been uh been designed using uh our X apps X design X shape by our our employees our people from Solidworks and our makers um you know it's it's an amazing big thing and it's here in the 3Dxplained lab right now so the whole task the the entire afternoon will we'll find out a way to box it and put it on the truck uh it's it's a big one it's a big one it's a really big one um as you understood it's a it's a world of passionate people 3D Expansion world is massive there are thousands of users uh from makers startupers but also customers uh engineering with uh with uh with our solutions uh obviously this year uh we'll have some particular uh partnership announcement uh i guess you you saw uh the buzz is starting with uh with nvidia uh gensen will be uh on stage with our CEO Pascal Dalos uh and uh we'll also talk a lot about Genai because Genai is not only for text for semantics or for pictures but also it applies for 3D modeling and we are at the core of this revolution and we'll show some amazing new functionalities and technologies there.

SPEAKER_00:

Amazing sounds like I need to get on a plane like next week I mean this is book your tickets very quickly this is like the uh the Olympics and the World Cup and uh the Super Bowl of engineering all in one. Wow what an event uh what an amazing uh opportunity and thank you both for sharing a peek behind the curtain reflections insights and more really a masterclass in helping founders and startups turn ideas into impact and as a follow-up you know follow all of DASO's uh social properties on on LinkedIn in particular follow Fred because every day Fred has some really blockbuster announcement or project or insight uh really is an education and masterclass and design and engineering and more. Thanks everyone thanks guys Navashek Fred Irma thank you thank you very much to see you love to see you