Adobe vs Autodesk: Founders, CEOs and History
Adobe was founded in 1982 by John Warnock, Charles Geschke and is led by Shantanu Narayen. Autodesk was founded in 1982 by John Walker, Dan Drake, Mike Ford and is led by Andrew Anagnost.
Company facts
Founders
Adobe
John Warnock
Warnock co-founded Adobe with Charles Geschke in 1982. He served as chief executive officer until 2000 and helped lead the development of PostScript and PDF. He died in 2023.
Charles Geschke
Geschke co-founded Adobe in 1982 and helped develop PostScript. He remained an Adobe director until 2020 and died on April 16, 2021.
Autodesk
John Walker
Autodesk was founded in January 1982 by John Walker with Dan Drake and 14 other programmers, who pooled about $59,000 of their own money and incorporated the company in California on April 26, 1982. There was no single product plan.
Dan Drake
Dan Drake is a software engineer and Autodesk co-founder, named alongside John Walker in the company's founding records.
Mike Ford
Mike Ford was one of Autodesk's 16 original co-founders. While John Walker and Dan Drake worked on AutoCAD itself, Ford worked on marketing and sales, including the dealer network that distributed the product, and on tracking Autodesk's position against other…
CEOs and their tenures
Adobe
- John Warnock1982–2000
Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer
Warnock co-founded Adobe and led it through the introduction of PostScript, Illustrator, Photoshop, Acrobat, and PDF.
Source - Bruce Chizen2000–2007
Chief Executive Officer
Chizen led Adobe when it completed the Macromedia acquisition in 2005.
Source - Shantanu Narayen2007–present
Chair and Chief Executive Officer
Narayen has served as CEO since December 2007 and led Adobe's expansion of subscription services, Digital Experience, and Firefly.
Source
Autodesk
- John Walker1982–1986
Co-founder, President and Chief Executive Officer
Walker co-founded Autodesk in January 1982, acquired Michael Riddle's Interact drafting program in exchange for royalties, co-wrote the first versions of AutoCAD from it and led the company to its 1985 listing.
Source - Alvar J. Green1986–1992
President and Chief Executive Officer
Green joined Autodesk as chief financial officer in 1984 and succeeded co-founder John Walker as president and chief executive in November 1986, the company's first chief executive who was not a founder.
Source - Carol Bartz1992–2006
Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer
Bartz was hired from Sun Microsystems in April 1992 after a six-month search and ran Autodesk for fourteen years.
Source - Carl Bass2006–2017
Chief Executive Officer
Bass ran Autodesk for eleven years after joining through its 1993 purchase of Ithaca Software.
Source - Andrew Anagnost2017–present
President and Chief Executive Officer
Anagnost joined Autodesk in 1997 and became president and chief executive in June 2017, finishing the move from perpetual licenses to subscriptions.
Source
Timeline: Adobe and Autodesk side by side
1982Adobe
Adobe founded
John Warnock and Charles Geschke founded Adobe after working together at Xerox.
1982Autodesk
Autodesk founded and AutoCAD launched
John Walker, Dan Drake and 14 other programmers pooled about $59,000 and incorporated Autodesk in California on April 26, 1982.
1984Adobe
PostScript introduced
Adobe introduced PostScript, its first product and a foundation of desktop publishing.
1985Autodesk
Initial public offering on Nasdaq
Autodesk became a public company in 1985 under the ticker ADSK. Walker wrote at the first founders' meeting afterwards that the group had committed its own money in January 1982 and reached the public markets three years later without outside investors.
1986Adobe
Adobe completes IPO
Adobe completed its initial public offering and its shares began trading on Nasdaq.
1986Autodesk
John Walker hands the chief executive role to Alvar Green
Alvar J. Green, who had joined Autodesk as chief financial officer in 1984, succeeded co-founder John Walker as president and chief executive in November 1986. Walker returned to writing code and stayed at the company until 1994.
1987Adobe
Illustrator launched
Adobe introduced Illustrator for vector graphics.
1989Autodesk
Sales pass $100 million
Autodesk's sales passed $100 million in 1989. AutoCAD Release 2.1, shipped in 1986 with the AutoLISP interpreter, had allowed outside developers to build industry-specific add-ons, which widened the product's market well beyond general drafting.
1990Adobe
Photoshop 1.0 released
Adobe released the first version of Photoshop after licensing the software from Thomas and John Knoll.
1992Autodesk
Carol Bartz hired as chairman, president and chief executive
Autodesk ended a six-month search in April 1992 by hiring Carol Bartz from Sun Microsystems. She stopped the company's diversification outside computer-aided design and took revenue from $285 million to $952 million by fiscal 2004.
1993Adobe
Acrobat and PDF introduced
Adobe introduced Acrobat and the Portable Document Format.
2000Adobe
Bruce Chizen becomes CEO
Bruce Chizen succeeded John Warnock as chief executive officer.
2002Autodesk
Revit Technology Corporation acquired for $133 million
Autodesk bought Massachusetts-based Revit Technology Corporation in February 2002 for $133 million, adding the parametric building information modeling product that grew into its largest product family.
2005Adobe
Macromedia acquisition completed
Adobe completed its stock acquisition of Macromedia, adding products including Flash and Dreamweaver.
2006Autodesk
Carl Bass promoted to chief executive and Alias acquired
Carl Bass, who had joined Autodesk through its 1993 purchase of Ithaca Software, was promoted to president and chief executive in 2006, with Bartz becoming the company's first executive chairman.
2007Adobe
Shantanu Narayen becomes CEO
Shantanu Narayen became Adobe's chief executive officer in December 2007.
2009Adobe
Omniture acquisition completed
Adobe acquired Omniture and expanded into web analytics and digital marketing software.
2013Adobe
Creative Cloud subscription shift
Adobe stopped developing new Creative Suite releases and focused future creative-software releases on Creative Cloud subscriptions.
2016Autodesk
Perpetual licenses withdrawn from core products
Autodesk stopped selling new perpetual licenses for its core desktop products, moving customers onto subscriptions. Reported revenue fell to $2.031 billion in fiscal 2017 with a net loss of $582 million before the subscription base began to compound.
2017Autodesk
Andrew Anagnost becomes president and chief executive
Andrew Anagnost, who joined Autodesk in 1997, became president and chief executive in June 2017 and completed the transition to subscriptions that had begun under Carl Bass.
2018Adobe
Marketo acquisition completed
Adobe completed its $4.75 billion acquisition of Marketo.
2018Autodesk
PlanGrid and BuildingConnected bought for $1.15 billion
Autodesk completed its $875 million purchase of the construction field software PlanGrid on December 20, 2018 and agreed the same week to pay $275 million for the bid-management platform BuildingConnected, spending $1.15 billion to move from designing building…
2021Adobe
Frame.io acquisition completed
Adobe completed its acquisition of Frame.io for approximately $1.275 billion.
2021Autodesk
Innovyze acquired for $1 billion
Autodesk paid $1 billion for Innovyze, which models water and wastewater networks, extending its infrastructure products from design into the operation of municipal water systems.
2023Adobe
Firefly launched
Adobe introduced Firefly generative-AI models and began integrating them into its applications.
2023Adobe
Figma agreement terminated
Adobe and Figma mutually terminated their proposed merger after concluding there was no clear path to regulatory approval.
2023Autodesk
Autodesk AI announced at Autodesk University
On November 13, 2023 in Las Vegas, Autodesk announced Autodesk AI, machine learning features built into its products to automate repetitive work, analyze project data and support design exploration.
2025Adobe
Fiscal 2025 revenue reaches $23.769 billion
Adobe reported $23.769 billion in revenue and $7.130 billion in net income for fiscal 2025.
2025Autodesk
Restructuring and a cooperation agreement with Starboard Value
Autodesk cut about 1,350 roles in early 2025. On April 24, 2025 it agreed to add Jeff Epstein and Christie Simons to its board under a cooperation agreement with Starboard Value, ending the campaign the activist investor had run since June 2024.
2026Adobe
Anil Chakravarthy named next CEO
Adobe appointed Anil Chakravarthy to become president and CEO on December 1, 2026, with Shantanu Narayen becoming executive chair.
2026Autodesk
Fiscal 2026 revenue of $7.21 billion
Autodesk reported revenue of $7.206 billion for the year to January 31, 2026, up 18 percent, with net income of $1.124 billion, free cash flow of $2.409 billion, up 54 percent, and remaining performance obligations of $8.30 billion.
2026Autodesk
MaintainX agreed for about $3.6 billion
On May 28, 2026 Autodesk agreed to acquire MaintainX, a maintenance and operations software company, in an all-cash deal valued at about $3.6 billion, its largest acquisition. MaintainX expected annual recurring revenue above $135 million in 2026.
2026Autodesk
Products grouped into three industry clouds with agentic AI
At Autodesk University on September 15, 2026 Autodesk previewed agentic AI across three industry clouds: Autodesk Forma for architecture, engineering and construction, Autodesk Fusion for design and manufacturing, and Autodesk Flow for media and entertainment.
Acquisitions
Adobe
- Frame.io2021$1.3B
- Workfront2020$1.5B
- Magento Commerce2018$1.7B
- Marketo2018$4.8B
- Omniture2009$1.8B
- Macromedia2005$3.4B
Autodesk
- MaintainX2026$3.6B
- Innovyze2021$1B
- Spacemaker2020$240M
- BuildingConnected2018$275M
- PlanGrid2018$875M
- Delcam2014$286M
Questions about Adobe vs Autodesk
Who is the CEO of Adobe Inc. and Autodesk, Inc.?
Adobe Inc. is led by Shantanu Narayen and Autodesk, Inc. is led by Andrew Anagnost. Both serve as the top executive responsible for the company's strategy, operations, and financial performance.
When was Adobe Inc. founded vs Autodesk, Inc.?
Both Adobe Inc. and Autodesk, Inc. were founded in 1982, making them the same age.
How many employees does Adobe Inc. have compared to Autodesk, Inc.?
Adobe Inc. employs approximately 31,360 people, while Autodesk, Inc. employs approximately 14,300. Adobe Inc. has the larger workforce at 31,360 employees, compared to Autodesk, Inc.'s 14,300. A higher headcount does not necessarily imply greater efficiency — it often reflects differences in business model (e.g., manufacturing vs. software).
Where are Adobe Inc. and Autodesk, Inc. headquartered?
Both Adobe Inc. and Autodesk, Inc. are headquartered in United States, meaning they operate under the same primary regulatory and tax environment.
Who founded Adobe Inc. and Autodesk, Inc.?
Adobe Inc. was founded by John Warnock, Charles Geschke. Autodesk, Inc. was founded by John Walker, Dan Drake, Mike Ford.
Which company has a longer operating history — Adobe Inc. or Autodesk, Inc.?
Adobe Inc. has been operating for approximately 44 years, making it the more established of the two companies. Autodesk, Inc. has been in operation for around 44 years. A longer operating history often signals greater institutional resilience and brand recognition, though it can also mean slower adaptation to new market conditions.
Figures come from each company's filings and the sources linked beside them. Amounts reported in another currency are shown in US dollars at an approximate rate and marked with ~. Back to the Adobe vs Autodesk overview