Bentley Systems

Bentley Systems is a leading provider of infrastructure engineering software that develops, manufactures, licenses, sells, and supports computer software and services for the design, construction, and operation of infrastructure globally. The company's software products are used to design, engineer, build, and operate large constructed assets such as roadways, railways, bridges, buildings, industrial plants, power plants, and utility networks.

Bentley Systems was launched on September 5, 1984, by brothers Keith and Barry Bentley, who later recruited their brothers Scott, Greg, and Ray. The company settled in suburban Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. While a programmer at E.I. DuPont in Delaware, Keith developed software that allowed CAD drawings to be accessed by engineers on more cost-effective terminals. Retaining the rights to the software he wrote at DuPont, Keith moved to Southern California to join his brother Barry's software startup that developed software for chemistry laboratory data analysis.

The company introduced the commercial version of PseudoStation in 1985, which would evolve into MicroStation, one of Bentley's flagship products. Over four decades of innovation and more than 120 acquisitions, Bentley Systems has become the leading provider of infrastructure engineering software. Major acquisitions include Intergraph's civil engineering businesses (2001), SPIDA Software (2021), Seequent for $1.05 billion (2021), and most recently Cesium, a 3D geospatial company (2024).

Bentley made a successful initial public offering on the Nasdaq on September 23, 2020, with a market capitalization of approximately $4.96 billion. A historic leadership transition occurred in July 2024 when Nicholas Cumins took over as CEO, becoming the first person outside the Bentley family to run the company in its 40-year history. Keith Bentley retired in 2023, and Greg Bentley transitioned from CEO to Executive Chair in March 2024.

Today, Bentley Systems is headquartered in Exton, Pennsylvania, with operations in over 50 countries. The company employs 5,200 colleagues who generate annual revenues of more than $1.35 billion (2024) serving customers in 194 countries. For the first time, annual recurring revenue exceeded $1 billion in 2022, and by 2024, 91% of revenues were recurring. The company maintains a market capitalization of approximately $15 billion as of October 2024.