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{{short description|Company that produces mathematical computing software}}
{{Use American English|date = February 2020}}
{{Use mdy dates|date = February 2020}}
{{Infobox company
| name
| logo
| logo_size = 150px
| type
| foundation
| founders ={{ubl|[[John N. Little|Jack Little]]|[[Cleve Moler]]|Steve Bangert}}
| location_city = [[Natick, Massachusetts]]
| location_country = U.S.
| area_served = Worldwide
| key_people = {{ubl|class=nowrap|Jack Little (CEO and President)|Cleve Moler (Chief Mathematician)}}
| industry
| products
| revenue = {{Increase}} {{US$|1.5 billion|link=yes}} (2024)<ref name=about>{{cite web |title=About MathWorks |url=https://www.mathworks.com/company/aboutus/policies_statements/taxid.html |access-date=30 April 2022 |website=mathworks.com}}</ref>
| num_employees = 6,500 (2023)<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.mathworks.com/content/dam/mathworks/fact-sheet/2023-company-factsheet-8-5x11-8282v23.pdf |title=2023 Company Fact Sheet |access-date=2 July 2024 |publisher=MathWorks}}</ref>
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}}
'''The MathWorks, Inc.''' is an American privately held [[corporation]] that specializes in mathematical computing [[computer software|software]]. Its major products include [[MATLAB]] and [[Simulink]], which support data analysis and simulation.
==History==
MATLAB was created in the 1970s by [[Cleve Moler]], who was chairman of the computer science department at the [[University of New Mexico]] at the time. It was a free tool for academics. [[John N. Little|Jack Little]], who would eventually set up the company, came across the tool while he was a graduate student in electrical engineering at Stanford University.<ref name=Globe1997/><ref name=MolerIEEE>{{cite journal |last1=Haigh |first1=Thomas |title=Cleve Moler: Mathematical Software Pioneer and Creator of MATLAB |journal=IEEE Annals of the History of Computing |date=January 2008 |volume=30 |issue=1 |pages=87–91 |doi=10.1109/MAHC.2008.2|s2cid=31651607 }}</ref>
Little and Steve Bangert rewrote the code for MATLAB in [[C (programming language)|C]] while they were colleagues at an engineering firm.<ref name=Globe1997/><ref name="Nagar"/> They founded MathWorks along with Moler in 1984,<ref name="Nagar">{{cite book |last1=Nagar |first1=Sandeep |title=Introduction to MATLAB for Engineers and Scientists: Solutions for Numerical Computation and Modeling |date=2017 |publisher=Apress |___location=New York |isbn=978-1484231890 |page=3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GsJADwAAQBAJ&pg=PA3 |access-date=5 December 2018}}</ref> with Little running it out of his house in [[Portola Valley, California]].<ref name="Higham">{{cite news |last1=Higham |first1=Nicholas |title=Tracing the Early History of MATLAB Through SIAM News |url=https://sinews.siam.org/Details-Page/tracing-the-early-history-of-matlab-through-siam-news |access-date=5 December 2018 |work=SIAM News |date=16 March 2017}}</ref> Little would mail [[diskettes]] in baggies (food storage bags) to the first customers.<ref>{{cite news| title = At Mathworks, support + fun = success CEO Jack Little believes in power of his workers -- and their ideas| url = https://www.newspapers.com/clip/26952065/the_boston_globe/ | publisher = The Boston Globe| first=Kimberly| last=Blanton| date=20 April 1997 |access-date=10 January 2019 |page=J1}}</ref> The company sold its first order, 10 copies of MATLAB, for $500 to the [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology]] (MIT) in February 1985.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Ogewell |first1=Verdi |title=MathWorks: Product Digitization is a Boost for Smart Algorithms and Simulation |url=https://www.engineering.com/PLMERP/ArticleID/11942/MathWorks-Product-Digitization-is-a-Boost-for-Smart-Algorithms-and-Simulation.aspx |access-date=5 December 2018 |work=Engineering.com |date=25 April 2016}}</ref> A few years later, Little and the company moved to Massachusetts.<ref name="Higham"/><ref>{{cite news |last1=Chesto |first1=Jon |title=MathWorks expansion could bring up to 2,000 new jobs to Natick in the next five years |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2018/06/18/mathworks-expansion-could-bring-new-jobs-natick-next-five-years/kkuDtuCS0ykAJXkNf4tM7N/story.html |access-date=5 December 2018 |work=The Boston Globe |date=18 June 2018}}</ref> There, Little hired Jeanne O'Keefe, an experienced computer executive, to help formalize the business.<ref name=Globe1997/> By 1997, MathWorks was profitable, claiming revenue of around $50 million, and had around 380 employees.<ref name=Globe1997>{{cite news| title = At Mathworks, support + fun = success CEO Jack Little believes in power of his workers -- and their ideas| url = https://www.newspapers.com/clip/26952040/the_boston_globe/ | publisher = The Boston Globe| first=Kimberly| last=Blanton| date=20 April 1997 |access-date=10 January 2019 |page=J5}}</ref>
[[Image:Main campus, MathWorks, Natick MA.jpg|thumb|right|250px|{{center|Apple Hill Campus in [[Natick, Massachusetts|Natick]]}}]]
Since 1993 an [[open source]] alternative, [[GNU Octave]] (mostly compatible with matlab) and [[scilab]] (similar to matlab) have been available.
In 1999, MathWorks relocated to the Apple Hill office complex in Natick, Massachusetts, purchasing additional buildings in the complex in 2008 and 2009,<ref>{{cite news|first=Charlie |last=Breitrose| title = MathWorks buys Natick building to create campus| url = http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/news/x1444026990/MathWorks-buys-Natick-building-to-create-campus| publisher = The Metrowest Daily News| date = December 30, 2009}}</ref> ultimately occupying the entire campus. MathWorks expanded further in 2013 by buying [[Boston Scientific]]'s old headquarters campus, which is near to MathWorks' headquarters in Natick.<ref>{{cite news| first=Thomas |last=Grillo |title = MathWorks pays $55M for Boston Scientific's Natick HQ| url = http://www.bizjournals.com/boston/real_estate/2013/04/mathworks-pays-55m-for-boston-sci.html| publisher = Boston Business Journal| date = April 5, 2013}}</ref>
By 2018, the company had around 3,000 employees in Natick and said it had revenues of around $900 million.<ref name=Globe2018>{{cite news |last1=Chesto |first1=Jon |title=Natick software firm to add 2,000 local jobs within five years |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/business/talking-points/2018/06/15/natick-software-firm-add-local-jobs-within-five-years/4bOlgyWEXoXcCpFodCwGtM/story.html |work=Boston Globe |date=June 15, 2018}}</ref>
On May 18, 2025, MathWorks was the target of a [[ransomware]] attack which took down online applications for over a week. <ref>{{Cite web |last=Jones |first=Connor |date=May 27, 2025 |title=Ransomware attack on MATLAB dev MathWorks – licensing center still locked down |url=https://www.theregister.com/2025/05/27/mathworks_ransomware_attack_leaves_ondeadline/ |website=The Register}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=MathWorks Status |url=https://status.mathworks.com/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250527121506/https://status.mathworks.com/ |archive-date=2025-05-27 |access-date=2025-05-28 |website=status.mathworks.com |language=en}}</ref>
==Products==
The company's two lead products are [[MATLAB]], which provides an environment for scientists, engineers and programmers to analyze and visualize data and develop algorithms, and [[Simulink]], a graphical and simulation environment for [[model-based design]] of dynamic systems.<ref>{{cite news|title=Matlab edges closer to electronic design automation world|url=http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1151422|access-date=17 July 2017|work=EE Times|date=4 October 2004}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Ogewell|first1=Verdi|title=MathWorks: Product Digitization is a Boost for Smart Algorithms and Simulation|url=http://www.engineering.com/PLMERP/ArticleID/11942/MathWorks-Product-Digitization-is-a-Boost-for-Smart-Algorithms-and-Simulation.aspx|access-date=4 August 2017|work=Engineering.com|date=25 April 2016}}</ref> MATLAB and Simulink are used in aerospace, automotive, software and other fields.<ref name="WBJO">{{cite news|last1=Welker|first1=Grant|title=MathWorks now in more than 180 countries|url=http://www.wbjournal.com/article/20170529/PRINTEDITION/305269996/mathworks-now-in-more-than-180-countries|work=Worcester Business Journal Online|date=29 May 2017}}</ref> The company's other products include [[Polyspace]], [[SimEvents]], [[Stateflow]], and [[ThingSpeak]].
==Corporate affairs==
===Intellectual property and competition===
In
MathWorks's Simulink software was found to have infringed 3 patents from [[National Instruments]] related to data flow diagrams in 2003, a decision which was confirmed by a court of appeal in 2004.<ref>{{cite news|title=Federal Circuit Affirms Decision For National Instruments In Patent Suit Vs. Mathworks|url=https://www.law360.com/articles/2115/federal-circuit-affirms-decision-for-national-instruments-in-patent-suit-vs-mathworks|work=Law360|date=September 7, 2004|language=en}}</ref>
In 2011, MathWorks sued [[AccelerEyes]] for copyright infringement in one court, and patent and trademark infringement in another
In 2012, the European Commission opened an [[antitrust]] investigation into MathWorks after competitors alleged that
===Logo===
The logo represents the first vibrational mode of a thin L-shaped membrane, clamped at the edges, and governed by the [[wave equation]], which was the subject of Moler's thesis.<ref
===Community===
The company annually sponsors a number of student engineering competitions, including [[EcoCAR]], an advanced vehicle technology competition created by the [[United States Department of Energy]] (DOE) and [[General Motors]] (GM).<ref>{{cite news|last1=Lulka|first1=Jess|title=EcoCAR3 and MathWorks Partner for Advanced Vehicle Technology|url=http://www.digitaleng.news/de/ecocar-3-and-mathworks-partner-for-advanced-vehicle-technology/|access-date=17 July 2017|work=Digital Engineering|date=14 October 2015}}</ref> MathWorks sponsored the mathematics exhibit at London's [[Science Museum, London|Science Museum]].<ref>{{cite news|last1=Booth|first1=Nick|title=MathWorks - the proof is in the Science Museum|url=http://www.computerweekly.com/microscope/news/450409914/MathWorks-the-proof-is-in-the-Science-Museum|access-date=17 July 2017|work=Computer Weekly|issue=22 December 2016}}</ref>
In the coding community, MathWorks hosts MATLAB Central, an online exchange where users ask and answer questions and share code. MATLAB Central currently houses around than 145,000 questions in its MATLAB Answers database.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Waterman|first1=Pamela J.|title=Mainstreaming Math Tools for Engineers|url=http://www.digitaleng.news/de/mainstreaming-math-tools/|access-date=17 July 2017|work=Digital Engineering|date=1 June 2015}}</ref> The company actively supports numerous academic institutions to advance [[Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics|STEM]] education (primarily through the use of MathWorks products), including giving funding to MIT Open Courseware and MITx.<ref>{{cite news|title=MathWorks supports MIT with $2M funding|url=http://www.wbjournal.com/article/20140321/METROWEST01/140329985/mathworks-supports-mit-with-2m-funding|access-date=17 July 2017|work=Worcester Business Journal Online|date=21 March 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=MathWorks Sponsors Boston STEM Week|url=http://www.digitaleng.news/de/mathworks-sponsors-boston-stem-week/|access-date=17 July 2017|work=Digital Engineering|date=10 October 2016}}</ref>
==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}
==Further reading==
* {{cite news |last1=Higham |first1=Nicholas |title=Tracing the Early History of MATLAB Through SIAM News |url=https://sinews.siam.org/Details-Page/tracing-the-early-history-of-matlab-through-siam-news |work=SIAM News |date=March 16, 2017}}
==External links==
{{commons category}}
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[[Category:Companies based in Natick, Massachusetts]]
[[Category:
[[Category:Software companies based in Massachusetts]]
[[Category:1984 establishments in Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Software companies of the United States]]
[[Category:1984 establishments in the United States]]
[[Category:Companies established in 1984]]
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