Autodesk (ADSK) Citi’s 2025 Global Technology, Media and Telecommunications Conference summary

AI strategy and product innovation

• AI is being leveraged to automate tedious tasks, accelerate workflows, and lower barriers to using complex design software, expanding the potential user base.

• The AI Lab, established in 2018, focuses on industry-specific AI, with notable features like Auto Constrain in Fusion showing rapid adoption and improvement cycles.

• AI features are driving a shift toward a consumption-based business model, with high customer acceptance and increased product usage.

• The AI roadmap follows a continuum from feature automation (desktop, subscription) to workflow and system automation (cloud, consumption), with gradual expansion of transformative tools.

• Future AI will enable mining of historical project data and more intuitive, dynamic user interfaces, fundamentally changing software accessibility.

Competitive positioning and data strategy

• Significant lead in AI for design is supported by extensive scientific publishing, proprietary infrastructure, and deep customer data integration.

• Barriers to entry for competitors include the need for specialized data, customer trust, and years of domain-specific AI development.

• The transition to cloud and granular data models is a precursor to effective AI, enabling more efficient workflows and collaboration.

• The company’s infrastructure is optimized for AI workloads, with custom solutions outperforming standard cloud offerings.

• Ongoing investments in R&D, M&A, and share repurchases support long-term growth and innovation.

Construction business outlook and growth drivers

• Construction clients face labor shortages, supply chain challenges, and interest rate pressures, but maintain strong backlogs and optimism.

• Growth is driven by sectors like data centers, hospitals, education, advanced manufacturing, and public infrastructure.

• The construction product suite has evolved into a comprehensive end-to-end solution, attracting customers from competitors.

• International markets, especially India and the Middle East, are key growth areas, with increasing traction among large contractors and owners.

• Construction Cloud is resonating strongly, with business growth in line with the broader Make segment, around 20%.