ESI (Engineering Systems International) was created in France by Alain de Rouvray and three other Berkeley PhDs: Jacques Dubois, Iraj Farhoomand, and Eberhard Haug.

The company initially operates as a consulting company. ESI gradually developed sophisticated simulation techniques based on Finite Element Analysis and acquired a broad understanding of industrial processes and needs.

Following a strong demand from German automotive companies as they start to implement the very first crash and safety regulations, ESI opens a subsidiary in Germany (ESI GmbH).

ESI teams up with a German consortium led by Volkswagen to become the first company to develop simulation software analyzing the severe deformations inflicted on a car as a result of a crash. This is the first step towards the development of ESI’s flagship product PAM-CRASH (PAM standing for: Program in Applied Mechanics).

ESI raises capital from venture capital firm Burr, Egan & Deleage to become a software editor of applied mechanics. ESI also creates the software company PSI (PAM Systems International), in charge of developing a unique set of software tools to speed up the manufacturing and testing process of industrial products, while improving their design.

To market its software more widely, ESI sets up subsidiaries in the United States, in Japan, and in South Korea a few years later. ESI Group is now an international organization.

ESI Group acquires from Framatome (now AREVA) its software subsidiary Framasoft (renamed Systus International), a leading French provider of mechanical simulation tools, especially suited to the nuclear energy sector.

ESI Group reinforces its expertise in metal stamping simulation with the acquisition of Dynamic Software, editor of the Optris "virtual press" software.

With its IPO on July 6th, 2000, ESI Group is successfully listed in Eurolist Compartment C of Euronext Paris stock market and raises around 30 million Euros.

During the same year, in order to strengthen and improve its process management, the company is involved in a large quality enhancement program. ESI Group successfully obtains its first ISO 9001 certification, following audits conducted by an independent and accredited third-party company.

ESI Group pursues an active acquisitions policy by successfully integrating companies and creating subsidiaries for developing European markets.

Acquisition of Straco (French company), a first step to enter in the Vibro-Acoustic market

ESI strengthens its position in Europe and opens a new subsidiary in the UK.

ESI also extend its offering in:

- the Vibro-Acoustic sector with VASci (Vibro-Acoustic Sciences), an American solution for the simulation of noise and acoustics;

- the casting & industrial metallurgy sector with the acquisition of the American software ProCAST, followed by the integration of the Swiss-based metallurgical & distribution company Calcom.

ESI Group acquires from the American vendor EASi the intellectual property rights to EASi’s CAE (Computer-Aided Engineering) simulation design and control software environments, allowing ESI to develop an open collaborative engineering environment.

During the same year, ESI creates a subsidiary in India to reinforce its global offering and to provide local high-quality services.

The acquisition of CFD Research Corporation’s product division enables ESI Group to diversify its business in advanced Fluid Dynamics, targeting new market sectors with strong growth potential, including electronics, biotechnology and alternative energies. Facing a fast growing local economy, ESI Group creates a subsidiary in China to facilitate access to strategic industrial projects for the benefit of Chinese customers.

ESI Group signs a strategic partnership, which culminates with the acquisition of the Chinesebased company ATE Technology International, bringing expertise of integrated solutions in the aeronautic sector.

ESI Group acquires the branch of IPS International for digital simulation services in engineering applications (CAE) in South Korea, as well as the intellectual property rights to their virtual human models, empowering ESI to enter promising markets such as passenger comfort simulation.

In order to strengthen its position in Europe and in alignment with its distribution network development strategy, ESI opens a subsidiary in Italy.

ESI Group acquires Vdot™, a software platform for lean process management from the US company Procelerate Technologies Inc. This enterprise process decision-making tool can capture and automate best practices and naturally complements ESI’s range of digital simulation solutions, delivering virtual prototyping integration and synchronization within the PLM (Product Lifecycle Management).

ESI Group also acquires leading US Services provider Mindware Engineering Inc. This acquisition clearly accelerates ESI’s ability to further develop Virtual Prototyping in the CFD market while strengthening its presence in the US.

ESI Group opens a new subsidiary in Brazil, a country with fast developing industries, and also in Tunisia, where a "near shore" competency center is now dedicated to high value-added projects.

ESI acquires IC.IDO GmbH, the leading European vendor of immersive Virtual Reality solutions, allowing customers to experience their models "live" in 3D, to support effective and collective decision-making.

The acquisition of Efield follows: the European specialist in electromagnetic simulation solutions strengthens ESI’s electromagnetic offering.

ESI acquires OpenCFD Ltd., the leader in Open Source Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) software, and consequently becomes the owner of the OpenFOAM® trademark. In September, ESI opens its first offices in Russia, strengthening its existing position on the fast-growing Russian market. In November, ESI signs a joint-venture framework agreement with BIAM-AVIC (Beijing Institute of Aeronautical Materials), to follow up on the strategic partnership agreement signed in 2011. That same month, ESI signs a protocol for a multi-year strategic collaboration agreement with Astrium, Europe’s leading space technology company.

ESI shows a steady growth with 2012 revenue totaling 109 Million Euros, balanced between Europe, Americas and Asia.

In January, Renault and ESI Group sign a framework agreement for strategic collaboration. The agreement aims at supporting Renault’s new strategic plan "Renault 2016 – Drive the Change".

In May, ESI signs the Joint Venture contract initiated in 2012 with AVIC-BIAM. Under the terms of the contract, the parties agree to establish and operate the Joint Venture company "AVIC-ESI (Beijing) Technology Co. Ltd.".

In October ESI acquires CyDesign Labs, a lead innovator in systems-modeling. This US company based in the Silicon Valley owns a disruptive proprietary technology for advanced product design.

In 2014, ESI acquires the Vietnamese company CAMMECH, deploying ESI’s multi-shoring model and strategically strengthening its presence in Asia.

In May, in Paris, the 3rd ESI Global Forum gathers ESI users from all over the world, while the second OpenFOAM conference in Berlin evidences the potential for the open-source code at industrial scale

ESI pursues its acquisition strategy aimed at building a holistic and complete offering for Virtual Prototyping. CIVITEC, creators of a breakthrough technology dedicated to the development and integration of embedded Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) joins ESI Group. ESI also acquires the assets of PRESTO, providers of a disruptive solution dedicated to the electronic device market, the assets of PicViz, specialists in big data visual analysis to detect unknown operational problems, and the assets of Ciespace, for Cloud Based CAE modeling.

ESI acquires ITI GmbH, a global leader in the realistic simulation of mechatronic and multi-domain systems with their software SimulationX. ESI also acquires Mineset Inc., a big data visual analytics and machine learning specialist. At the end of the fiscal year, ESI announces the transfer of its shares from the compartment C to compartment B of Euronext Paris.

Board member since 1999, Cristel de Rouvray becomes Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of ESI Group, succeeding ESI founder Alain de Rouvray. Holder of a PhD in Economics from London School of Economics (LSE), Cristel has successfully performed several executive roles at College Track, an American NGO recognized for helping unfortunate youth to enter and graduate from college. She also served as the Chairwoman of the Compensation, Nomination and Governance Committee, as project leader for succession planning, and as head of an operational committee for critical Human Resources related topics at ESI Group.