Adam

What do they actually do

Adam makes a browser-based CAD app that uses AI to turn plain‑English prompts (and your current selection) into 3D models. It can generate either quick meshes or editable parametric parts, with sliders and feature controls for changing dimensions, fillets, holes, and similar edits. The product is live with Standard and Pro subscriptions and an enterprise tier (site, mesh/features, pricing).

A typical flow is: sign in, describe what you want (or upload an image/select a part), get a model back, tweak parameters, then export—STL is called out for 3D printing, and the open-source demo supports STL/SCAD (3D printing, CADAM README). Early adopters are makers, hobbyists, indie creators, and engineers experimenting with AI‑assisted parts; the team also maintains an open‑source text‑to‑CAD demo (CADAM) to gather feedback and community contributions (YC page, CADAM).

Who are their target customer(s)

• Hobbyist / 3D‑printing enthusiast: Wants a fast way to turn an idea into a printable part without learning a full CAD tool; needs reliable STL exports and simple controls to tweak fit/tolerance (3D printing, CADAM).
• Indie hardware creator / solo founder: Needs quick prototypes and many iterations without the overhead of a pro CAD workflow; requires parametric controls so generated parts can be adjusted and exported for manufacturing or prototyping (features, pricing).
• Design or mechanical engineer at a small team: Spends time on routine edits and boilerplate features; needs edits to be accurate and compatible with the existing CAD stack so downstream models don’t break (engineers, TechCrunch roadmap).
• CAD admin / engineering manager at an established company: Responsible for tool integrations, version control, export fidelity, and security; needs governance, predictable exports (e.g., STEP/others), and deployment options before adopting new AI tools (pricing/enterprise, TechCrunch enterprise push).
• Instructor / student in makerspaces or engineering programs: Has limited time to teach/learn CAD fundamentals; benefits from natural‑language creation and open tools that lower the barrier to experimentation (CADAM, HN discussion).

How would they acquire their first 10, 50, and 100 customers

• First 10: Recruit from the existing community (CADAM contributors, HN commenters, Adam’s X followers) and offer time‑limited Pro access in exchange for structured feedback calls and short video testimonials; fix top UX/export issues surfaced in these sessions (CADAM, HN, X, pricing).
• First 50: Run hands‑on workshops with makerspaces and partner with 3D‑print service marketplaces; sponsor in‑depth YouTube reviews that show STL export → printed part end‑to‑end, and turn those into reusable tutorials/templates (3D printing, YouTube review, CADAM).
• First 100: Launch targeted, paid pilots with indie hardware teams and small engineering groups focused on routine‑edit time savings and export fidelity into their CAD stack; convert pilots into multi‑seat subscriptions and publish short case studies to support enterprise outreach and inform the copilot roadmap (engineers, pricing/enterprise, TechCrunch).

What is the rough total addressable market

Top-down context:

Adam sits between the global 3D CAD software market (roughly low‑teens billions USD) and the 3D‑printing software segment (low single‑digit billions). If it embeds a copilot into enterprise CAD/PLM stacks, the reachable market expands into broader CAD+PLM spend in the tens of billions (3D CAD market, 3D‑printing software, CAD+PLM).

Bottom-up calculation:

As a proxy for the creator/CAD user base, Autodesk cites 55M+ cloud CAD users; if 1–5% of that population adopts Adam at a blended $10–$30/month based on current pricing, that implies roughly $66M–$990M in ARR from this segment alone, with additional upside from SMB and enterprise copilots (Autodesk 55M users, Adam pricing).

Assumptions:

• Only a fraction of cloud CAD users are realistically addressable near‑term (maker/students/SMBs first).
• Blended ARPU approximates today’s $10–$30/month plans; enterprise copilots would price higher.
• Enterprise CAD/PLM budgets are accessible only if export fidelity, integrations, and governance meet standards.

Who are some of their notable competitors

• Autodesk Fusion 360: Full‑featured CAD widely used by engineers; already includes generative design/automated modeling, which overlaps with AI‑assisted workflows Adam targets (Fusion help).
• Meshy.ai: Browser‑first text/image→3D service for creators; generates meshes with export options (including STL) and plugins for common engines—overlaps with Adam’s fast mesh/printing use cases (Meshy features).
• Sloyd.ai: Text‑to‑3D with templates and a parametric editor, plus 3D‑printing presets for non‑engineers—competes directly on hobbyist/maker workflows where parametric tweaks matter (Sloyd templates, blog on 3D printing).
• Kaedim: 2D→3D generation combined with artist review to deliver production‑ready meshes; targets studio/enterprise asset pipelines that also prize reliable exports (how it works).
• nTop (nTopology): Computational design platform used by engineering teams for physics‑driven and topology workflows; relevant if Adam’s copilot aims at high‑fidelity professional engineering use cases (platform overview).