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Adam
YC W25San Francisco, US · Founded 2025 · 4 employees · Hiring · 13 known investors
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Adam is an AI agent that connects to CAD software, PLM systems, and supplier tools to automate hardware engineering workflows like BOM management, design reviews, sourcing, and RFQ generation. It serves hardware engineering teams and operates across Onshape, SolidWorks, Fusion, and other existing tools without requiring data migration.
Also known as adam.new · AdamCAD
Founders & leadership· Y Combinator alumni (W25)
Adam was founded in 2025 by Zach Dive and Aaron Li.
Investors · 13
How we know: research · venturecapital.com · official-page verification 2026-10 · open dataset · 5k.vc investor directory · Not right? Tell us
How we know: Tq Ventures Llc's portfolio page · techcrunch.com · the VCSheet dataset · Not right? Tell us
How we know: Transpose Platform Management's portfolio page · techcrunch.com · research · venturecapital.com · Not right? Tell us
How we know: the Y Combinator directory · open dataset · 5k.vc investor directory · Not right? Tell us
How we know: press coverage · the VCSheet dataset · research · venturecapital.com · Not right? Tell us
How we know: open dataset · 5k.vc investor directory · Not right? Tell us
How we know: Y Combinator's founder network · Not right? Tell us
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Also in the syndicate · 4
Funding
SEC filings, press & company announcements$8.2M disclosed across 2 of 4 rounds · 2025
- $4.1MSeed RoundNov 2025 · 2 sourcesSource ↗
- $4.1Mseed roundOct 2025 · 3 sources
TQ Ventures (lead), 468 Capital, Pioneer, Script Capital, Transpose Platform
Source ↗
Source: company announcements and press reports — follow each round's link for the claim.
Company profile
researched Aug 2026Adam is a San Francisco-based applied AI company building AI-powered CAD and end-to-end agents for mechanical design. Its first product was a web-based text-to-CAD editor that turns natural-language prompts into parametric CAD files, with dynamically generated sliders for parametric edits and export for 3D printing. The company subsequently moved toward a copilot that operates inside professional CAD workflows, taking in the context of a user's CAD environment and making directed edits.
The current product is positioned as an AI CAD workspace for hardware teams. Adam connects to CAD systems (Onshape, Autodesk Fusion, SolidWorks), PLM (Arena), supplier catalogs (McMaster-Carr, Digi-Key, Xometry) and general work tools (Google Drive, Jira, Linear, Notion, Airtable, Slack, Gmail, and what the company describes as 3,000 more), reading geometry, BOMs, drawings and revisions as a single connected graph rather than exported copies. Users message Adam from Slack or email, and it returns finished artifacts: branched model edits, reconciled BOMs, updated and dimensioned drawings, render sets, CMF options, ECO packets, factory-handoff packages and drafted RFQs, each linked back to its source. Built-in skills cover engineering geometry changes, BOM cleanup and part-number reconciliation, drawing detailing with tolerances and datums, component sourcing and end-of-life alternates, renders, and vendor communication.
Founding story
Adam was founded in 2025 by Zach Dive (Founder/CEO), previously in AI research and engineering at Adept and design at Berkeley, and Aaron Li (co-founder and CPO), who previously shipped designs at VIVO and worked at BMW and NIO with a design background at Berkeley. The launch post also credits Avi alongside Aaron and Zach. The founders state a mission of removing the friction between engineering and reality so more ideas get built.
Business model
Software product sold via self-serve subscription plans for individuals alongside a Teams and Enterprise tier. As of October 2025 the company reported paying customers on standard and pro plans priced at $5.99 and $17.99 per month, with an enterprise offering in testing ahead of monetization.
Recurring subscription revenue from consumer/prosumer plans ($5.99 standard, $17.99 pro per month) with a planned enterprise tier.
Traction
By October 2025 the company reported a substantial user base and paying customers on its standard and pro plans, over 10 million social media impressions from its text-to-3D launch, and a $4.1 million seed round secured after multiple inbound term sheets. Y Combinator listed a team size of four with multiple open engineering roles in San Francisco.
Latest developments
Announced a $4.1 million seed round on 31 October 2025 led by TQ Ventures; expanding from consumer text-to-3D into a professional CAD copilot and enterprise offering in testing, with hiring focused on AI and engineering talent including founding engineer and forward-deployed mechanical engineer roles.
▸Full profile — market position, technology, go-to-market, geography, history, risks & controversies
Market position
One of several entrants in the AI copilot for CAD segment; the company aims to differentiate by blending conversational and parametric interaction paradigms and by combining CAD generation with sourcing, documentation and vendor workflows rather than text-to-CAD alone. Y Combinator categorizes it under artificial intelligence, hardware and design.
Combines conversational prompting with parametric slider-based editing, operates inside customers' existing CAD, PLM and supplier stack without migration or exported copies, and returns production-ready artifacts (model branches, BOMs, drawings, renders, RFQs, ECO packets) with links to source data.
Technology
AI agents applied to computer-aided design: a text-to-CAD generation model producing feature-rich parametric models, parametric editing via generated sliders, and a copilot that ingests the context of a user's CAD environment to make directed geometry edits. The system integrates with CAD, PLM and supplier systems to build a real-time connected graph of geometry, BOMs, drawings and revisions without data migration or exported copies of customer IP.
Go-to-market
Consumer-facing self-serve signup (Google or email) driven in part by a viral product launch that generated over 10 million social media impressions, converting into paid individual plans, with a top-down Teams and Enterprise motion in testing. Adam is delivered into existing workflows through integrations with CAD, PLM and supplier tools and interfaces such as Slack and email, and is hiring forward-deployed mechanical engineers.
Initially makers and hobbyists using text-to-3D generation; increasingly professional mechanical engineers and hardware engineering teams, including design, sourcing and manufacturing functions, with an enterprise tier for teams.
Geography
Headquartered in San Francisco, California, with roles advertised in San Francisco; the product is delivered as a cloud web application.
History
Founded in 2025 and part of Y Combinator's Winter 2025 batch, Adam first launched a text-to-CAD web editor aimed at makers, which spread widely on social media. Early user feedback pushed the company toward professional users, and it began developing a copilot for professional-grade CAD workflows, starting with Onshape. In October 2025 it raised a $4.1 million seed round led by TQ Ventures and said it would use the capital to hire AI and engineering talent, deepen 3D copilot capabilities and expand from consumer tools to enterprise-grade CAD. The product is now presented as an AI CAD workspace connected to hardware teams' CAD, PLM and supplier systems.
Risks & controversies
Company statements acknowledge competition in the AI copilot for CAD segment and that its enterprise offering was still in testing and not yet monetized as of October 2025, having pivoted its target market from makers to professional engineers shortly after launch.
Compiled by commissioned research from 8 cited public sources — announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed — not independently audited.
Related companies · 10
Companies working in the same space as Adam.
Timeline · 4
launches, deals, and filingsAdam announced a $4.1 million seed round led by TQ Ventures, with participation from 468 Capital, Pioneer, Script Capital, Transpose Platform and angel investors Tim Glaser, Trevor Blackwell and Theo Browne. Funds are earmarked for AI and engineering hiring, expanding 3D copilot capabilities, and moving from consumer tools toward enterprise-grade CAD.
$4.1M source ↗
Adam took part in Y Combinator's Winter 2025 batch; primary partner listed as Brad Flora.
Following feedback on its consumer text-to-3D tool, Adam said it planned to introduce a copilot for professional-grade CAD workflows by the end of the year, initially focused on mechanical engineering and starting with Onshape support.
Adam launched a web-based text-to-CAD editor that generates parametric CAD files from natural-language prompts with dynamically generated parametric sliders and export for 3D printing; the launch drew more than 10 million social media impressions.
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
In the news
▸Research sources · 8
primary sources listed
- Adamadam.new · web
8 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does Adam do?
- Adam is a San Francisco AI CAD company building agents that automate mechanical design, BOM, sourcing and documentation work.
- Who founded Adam?
- Adam was founded by Zach Dive, Aaron Li in 2025.
- Who are Adam's investors?
- Adam's investors include Pioneer, Tq Ventures Llc, Transpose Platform Management, Y Combinator, 468 Capital, Brighteye Ventures, Leonis Investissement, Presto Ventures and 1 more.
- How much funding has Adam raised?
- Adam has disclosed $8.2M raised across 2 of its 4 known rounds.
- Where is Adam headquartered?
- Adam is headquartered in San Francisco, US.