Columbia, MD – – Vectorworks, Inc., a global provider of design and Building Information Modeling (BIM) software, today announced the acquisition of Morpholio, the developer of the popular suite of iPad and iPhone apps – Morpholio Trace, Morpholio Board and Morpholio Journal. The move signals a strategic alignment aimed at bridging the gap between desktop design workflows and mobile creativity, offering architects, interior designers, and other creative professionals a more seamless and integrated design process.
The acquisition formalizes a collaboration that has been developing for years, including efforts to connect Morpholio’s mobile applications with Vectorworks Cloud Services. Vectorworks, part of the Nemetschek Group, sees the integration as a way to combine its powerful CAD and BIM platform with Morpholio’s intuitive mobile sketching, markup, moodboarding, and journaling capabilities. This pairing aims to provide designers with greater freedom, confidence, and control throughout their projects.
“We are thrilled to welcome Morpholio to the Vectorworks portfolio,” said Jason Pletcher, CEO of Vectorworks. “Morpholio shares our belief that software should enhance designers’ creativity, not hinder it. By combining Vectorworks’ CAD and BIM platform with Morpholio’s expertise in mobile sketching and presentation, we are strengthening our foundation and expanding what our tools can do together, so customers gain even more freedom, confidence, and creative control in their workflows.”
Morpholio’s apps have carved out a niche in the design world by offering tools specifically tailored to the needs of creative professionals working on Apple’s mobile platforms. Morpholio Trace, in particular, has become a go-to application for architects, offering scale-aware sketching and layering capabilities that mimic traditional drafting techniques. Morpholio Board caters to interior designers and stylists, providing tools for moodboarding, product curation, and presentation. Morpholio Journal offers a flexible digital sketchbook for capturing ideas and notes on the go.
The founders of Morpholio, who are themselves architects and designers, will be joining the Vectorworks team. This integration of talent is expected to accelerate the development of both the Morpholio apps and the broader Vectorworks ecosystem. According to Morpholio Co-Founder Mark Collins, “This partnership allows us to put the best of mobile together with the best of desktop and create opportunities for designers to bring the unique magic of drawing to more parts of their process.”
Beyond the immediate benefits of combining existing tools, the acquisition also points towards a future where artificial intelligence (AI) plays a more prominent role in the design process. Vectorworks already has existing AI capabilities, and Morpholio brings additional production-ready AI features and a roadmap for integrating AI into sketching, moodboarding, and presentation workflows. This suggests a move towards AI-assisted design tools that can augment, rather than replace, the creative process.
For existing Morpholio users, the immediate impact will be minimal. Day-to-day use of the apps will remain unchanged, and subscriptions will continue to be managed through the Apple App Store. However, Vectorworks plans to introduce new offerings designed for larger offices and collaborative workflows within Morpholio Trace and Board in the future. This indicates a potential shift towards more robust team features and enterprise-level functionality.
The acquisition also aligns with a broader trend within the Nemetschek Group, Vectorworks’ parent company, to deliver intelligent, connected, and open solutions across its portfolio of AEC (Architecture, Engineering, and Construction) brands. Sunil Pandita, Chief Division Officer Planning &. Design, and CEO of Allplan, stated that the acquisition is “an important step in our strategy” to expand the availability of Morpholio’s mobile sketching and presentation capabilities to a wider range of Nemetschek applications.
Morpholio Co-Founder Anna Kenoff highlighted the role of Apple’s iPad and Pencil in sparking a creative renaissance for architects and designers, stating, “Over the past decade, the iPad and Apple Pencil have sparked a creative renaissance for architects and designers. Morpholio was founded with the vision to help define that era.” She added that the acquisition represents a move towards leading the industry into its “next creative technology revolution.”
The integration of Vectorworks and Morpholio promises a more cohesive design experience, allowing designers to seamlessly transition between ideation on mobile devices and detailed execution within Vectorworks’ desktop environment. Vectorworks emphasizes that this acquisition reinforces its commitment to design freedom and creating tools that are tailored to the way designers actually work. Morpholio Co-Founder Toru Hasegawa believes the combination will be a “multiplier,” expanding the reach and long-term value of both companies.
As Vectorworks and Morpholio move forward as a unified team, customers can anticipate continued investment in the Morpholio app portfolio, deeper integration with Vectorworks products, and the development of new tools that blend the best of both worlds – the intuitive creativity of mobile sketching with the power and precision of desktop BIM and CAD.
