Istari

Istari is a developer of an engineering simulation and metaverse platform intended to develop physical objects and systems in a digital world. The company's platform allows engineers to develop, test, and certify their technology and systems through modeling and simulation. The simulation and testing software offers users digital twin capabilities across various industries, such as aerospace and agriculture. Istari's technology is designed to reduce the logistical barriers of development and to help engineering teams reduce the time and costs of product development.

Istari was founded in 2022 by Will Roper and Christopher Benson, with backing from Eric Schmidt. Will Roper previously worked as U.S. Air Force assistant secretary and as a McKinsey & Co. advisor, with experience working in Industry 4.0 initiatives. Istari emerged from stealth in early 2023 with nine government and commercial contracts.

Istari's platform is intended to offer users a simple and secure digital engineering platform capable of collaboration among users and to accelerate decisions within teams. The platform includes collaborative tools for physical systems, sometimes called digital threads, which have proven challenging to develop for software companies. Will Roper created the platform in response to his experience with digital threads in the Air Force, which often relied on taxing, expert-led integrations.

The platform creates a digital twin of physical systems, giving users an internet-like possibility in terms of collaboration, accessibility, and development capability. It allows users to securely and simply collaborate with various tools specific to organizations, engineering functions, and security levels. Meanwhile, the platform is intended to be a single place where users can design, test, and learn more than is possible in physical systems. Further, the platform can reduce waste and the environmental impact of designing and testing physical systems.