Über ThreadMoat
ThreadMoat ist die Marktintelligenz-Plattform für Industrielle KI und Engineering-Software, erstellt und gepflegt von Michael Finocchiaro — einem unabhängigen Analysten mit 30+ Jahren bei Dassault Systèmes, PTC, IBM und HP, der heute die Unternehmen berät, die diese Branche umkrempeln.
Jedes Profil wird sorgfältig kuratiert — nicht gescrapt oder KI-generiert — und wöchentlich mit Finanzierungsereignissen, Produkteinführungen und Wettbewerbs-Scoring aktualisiert.
761
Startups verfolgt
>$15B
VC-Finanzierung kartiert
43
Länder
10
Marktsub-segmente
Daten aktuell ab Q1 2026
What Makes This Different
Three structural advantages that no scraper, no LLM, and no general-purpose database can replicate.
Quarterly Cohort Refresh
New startups, exits, and funding events added every quarter. Subscribers always work from the current cohort, not a year-old snapshot. The data compounds in value as the market evolves.
Proprietary 7-Dimension Scoring
Each company rated across Market Opportunity, Team Execution, Funding Efficiency, Growth Metrics, Technical Differentiation, Industry Impact, and Competitive Moat. Rated by a single analyst, consistently, since 2022. That continuity is the signal.
PLM-Native, Not Scraped
Crunchbase has 3M companies. We have 700+ that actually matter in engineering software. Every entry is hand-curated by a domain expert who spent 30 years inside the vendors being disrupted.
Michael Finocchiaro
Industrieanalyst · Berater · Advisor
Paris, Frankreich
Über Michael Finocchiaro
Michael ist ein unabhängiger Senior-Analyst für PLM und Fertigungsindustrie und Moderator der Podcasts AI Across the Product Lifecycle und The Future of PLM, die sich auf den Digital Thread und die Einführung von Industrieller KI in Ingenieurwesen und Fertigung konzentrieren.
Mit 30+ Jahren bei Dassault Systèmes (Sr. Director, 3DEXPERIENCE), PTC, IBM und HP berät Michael heute Startups und Industrieunternehmen zu Positionierung, Go-to-Market-Strategie und Enterprise-Deployment. Er ist auch Autor von Kernel Wars — einer Geschichte von CAD, PLM und den geometrischen Kernel-Kämpfen, die die Branche geformt haben.
Hat gearbeitet bei
Hat gearbeitet mit
Threaded! Konferenzserie
Threaded! bringt Startups und Branchenführer für intensive Arbeitssitzungen zusammen, in denen erörtert wird, wie KI Ingenieurwesen und Fertigung transformiert. Präsentatoren müssen explizit zeigen, wie ihre Produkte sich mit dem Digital Thread verbinden — welche Systeme sie integrieren, welche Entscheidungen sie verbessern und welche messbaren Ergebnisse sie ermöglichen.
Mitgesponsert von Aras Corporation und dem Podcast AI Across the Product Lifecycle, verbindet Threaded! Lösungsanbieter der nächsten Generation mit Unternehmensführern in PLM und Digital Thread. Geführter Lösungsaustausch und strukturiertes Feedback helfen Gründern, ihre Produktrichtung zu verfeinern, ICPs zu schärfen und glaubwürdige Nachweise für Enterprise-Käufer aufzubauen.
Threaded! Warwick
at Develop3D Live
Threaded! Miami
at Aras ACE 2026
More dates
Coming soon
Podcasts & Inhalte
AI Across the Product Lifecycle
Offene Gespräche mit Gründern, CTOs und Unternehmensführern, die KI im Ingenieurwesen und in der Fertigung entwickeln und einsetzen. Deep-Tech-Startups, echte Adoptionsgeschichten.
The Future of PLM
Video-Podcast mit Branchendenkern, die die Entwicklung des PLM, Digital-Thread-Strategie und Marktdynamiken diskutieren.
DemystifyingPLM — Blog- & Podcast-Archiv
Die Schwesterseite von ThreadMoat: ein Jahrzehnt an Essays, Podcast-Episodenarchiven und Deep Dives zu PLM, Digital Thread und Industriesoftware.
What Counts as a “Startup”?
ThreadMoat uses a strict, consistent definition. Every company in the database is classified against these criteria so aggregates, benchmarks, and filters mean the same thing across every chart.
Core Definition
A startup is an independently operated company founded within the last 10 years that has not gone public, has not been acquired by a larger corporation or private equity firm, and is actively building or scaling a business — typically pre-profitability or not yet cash-flow positive at scale.
Incorporated and building, but no public announcement of funding, product launch, or market entry. Founders are known; the company operates below public radar by choice.
- ✓Founded within the last 10 years
- ✓Independently operated — not a subsidiary or carveout
- ✓No publicly disclosed funding rounds or product ship
- ✓Not acquired, not IPO'd, not PE-backed
Early-stage companies with Pre-Seed through Series A funding, or bootstrapped and independently growing. The defining trait is independent operation and active scaling intent — not whether they have taken VC money.
- ✓Founded within the last 10 years
- ✓Independently operated
- ✓Funding stage: Pre-Seed, Seed, Series A — or bootstrapped ≤10 years
- ✓Not acquired, not IPO'd, not PE-backed rollup
Bootstrapped companies ≤10 years old that are actively growing are included here.
Venture-backed companies at Series B or later in active expansion mode — scaling go-to-market, entering new geographies, or consolidating market share. Still private and pre-IPO.
- ✓Founded within the last 10 years (or restructured as an independent scaleup)
- ✓Independently operated
- ✓Funding stage: Series B, C, D, or later
- ✓Revenue-generating with proven product-market fit
Privately held companies valued at $1 billion or more that remain independent and pre-exit. Included because they are still private, investable, and strategically relevant to the market.
- ✓Privately held — no public listing
- ✓Independently operated (not a subsidiary)
- ✓Investor-assigned valuation of $1B+
- ✓Not acquired, not IPO'd
Statistical outliers with extreme valuations at stealth stage are excluded from aggregate charts with a methodology footnote.
Spun out of a larger corporation and now independently operated with its own cap table and management. Included when the spinout is operationally independent and less than 10 years old as a standalone entity.
- ✓Spun out from corporate parent within the last 10 years
- ✓Independent management with its own cap table
- ✓Has raised external (non-parent) capital or operates with full strategic autonomy
- ✓Not a wholly owned subsidiary — parent revenue/headcount are excluded
Excluded: carveouts where the underlying technology is >10 years old and the parent remains the effective owner (e.g. assets rebranded by a PE rollup).
Privately held companies that have grown to meaningful scale without institutional venture capital — self-funded through revenue, founder capital, or small angel rounds.
- ✓Founded within the last 10 years
- ✓No institutional VC or PE backing
- ✓Independently operated and generating revenue
- ✓Not acquired, not IPO'd
Excluded from Startup Counts
Companies that have been acquired (by a larger corporation or PE firm), gone public via IPO, shut down, or are classified as PE rollups of mature software assets are tracked separately but excluded from all startup aggregates, benchmarks, and count metrics. This prevents distortion of the market picture by companies that are no longer independently competing.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is ThreadMoat?
ThreadMoat is a market intelligence platform providing competitive scoring, funding data, investor networks, and interactive analytics for the industrial AI and engineering software landscape.
Who builds ThreadMoat?
ThreadMoat is built by Michael Finocchiaro, an engineering software and industrial AI expert with 35+ years of experience across PLM, CAD, simulation, and manufacturing software.
What markets does ThreadMoat cover?
ThreadMoat covers 761 startups across PLM, CAD, CAE, simulation, IoT, industrial AI, manufacturing software, and adjacent engineering technology sectors.
How is ThreadMoat different from Crunchbase or PitchBook?
Crunchbase and PitchBook cover millions of companies across every sector. ThreadMoat covers only the engineering software and industrial AI startups that matter, curated by a domain expert who spent 30 years inside the vendors being disrupted. Every entry is hand-scored across 7 dimensions: market opportunity, team execution, funding efficiency, growth metrics, technical differentiation, industry impact, and competitive moat.
How often is the data updated?
ThreadMoat data is updated at least once per week with new startup intelligence — new companies, exits, and funding events — so subscribers always work from the current state of the market, not a stale snapshot.