Autodesk Foundation Team
Scaling Innovation for the New Era of Making
Reflecting on a decade of impact at the Autodesk Foundation, we see that the most complex challenges can be addressed when innovators are equipped with the right tools and resources. Our portfolio of nonprofits and startups is at the forefront of shaping the new era of making.
We saw this in action at Autodesk University 2025 as portfolio organizations brought the new era of making to life in classes, on stage, and in the exhibit hall.
De-risking innovation with philanthropy
A decade of experience has shown us that philanthropy has a unique role to play in de-risking early-stage solutions that have the potential to transform industries. We dove into this topic with Autodesk customers and portfolio organizations on the Innovators Stage at AU on the panel From Risk to Reality: Using Corporate Philanthropy to De-Risk Industry Innovation.
Autodesk Foundation Managing Director Jean Shia moderated an engaging discussion with Last Energy Chief of Staff Olivia Columbus, Stacks + Joules Co-Founder Michael Conway, Buro Happold Foundation President Robert Okpala, and Caterpillar Foundation President Asha Varghese.
“Philanthropy is about de-risking, fostering innovation, and incubating solutions that create opportunities in untapped sectors, all of which require immense collaboration.
– Asha Varghese, President, Caterpillar Foundation
Scaling industry impact
We heard how portfolio organizations are utilizing new tools, embracing data, and deploying AI to scale workforce and climate solutions more quickly.
Found Energy
In their session Fueling the Future: How Found Energy Is Unlocking Aluminum As the Future of Clean Energy, Found Energy showcased how their aluminum-based fuels are a solution for both the energy crisis and securing the supply chains by recovering critical minerals from industrial waste streams. AutoCAD has allowed Found Energy to scale and industrialize rapidly, safely, and accurately.
Build Health International
In the session The Adoption of ACC: Integration in the Design and Construction of Climate-Resilient Infrastructure, Build Health International demonstrated how Autodesk Construction Cloud is supporting the design and construction of climate-resilient infrastructure for vulnerable communities across the world.
Last Energy
And in the AU Expo, a dynamic exhibit on Last Energy highlighted a promising, scalable solution to the energy crisis: micro-modular nuclear reactors. Their 20-megawatt modular plants can be delivered 80% faster than traditional nuclear projects, making clean energy more feasible for industries worldwide.
Last Energy integrates Autodesk tools into all of its engineering and design workflows to accelerate their modular and prefab deployment model. Organization-wide use of Autodesk tools allows for easy adaptation of prefab and modular designs to meet municipal requirements and communicate across their entire team.
“Prefab is the future of scaling nuclear power. Since every geography and municipality is different, the design has to be productized and adaptable.”
Chris Muscari, Director of Product, Last Energy
Last Energy received the Making a Better World Award as part of Autodesk University’s annual Design & Make Awards.
Community as a catalyst
Finally, AU reminded us of the impact we can have when we unlock our individual and collective capacities.
Autodesk Foundation Portfolio Summit
We know that the new era of making asks us all to continue to upskill and adapt.
We organized a full day of training for technical leads, blending sessions on AI for design, Autodesk Platform Services, and sustainability with soft skills development like an interactive elevator pitch workshop.
Carlos Andres Rogéliz Prada, Technical Director, The Nature Conservancy
“Attending AU gave us exposure to emerging technologies and innovative approaches that will strengthen our overall technology strategy, particularly in how we integrate advanced digital tools into our workflows for conservation and water resource management.”
AU Welcome Reception
At the AU Welcome Reception, attendees volunteered with Hands On, United Way to assemble over 700 disaster preparedness kits for Middle Tennessee communities.
The enthusiasm was infectious: many participants created multiple kits simultaneously.
Looking forward
AU 2025 reminded us that the choices we make in the coming five years will shape the next fifty. We are at a pivotal moment for creating impact. This sense of urgency, and the opportunity it brings, defines this new era of making.
Together with our portfolio organizations, Autodesk employees, and partners, we’re unlocking new capacities, making more with less, and designing and making not only what the world needs today, but what it will need tomorrow.
Explore more lessons learned over the last decade and how they are shaping what comes next.