High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Autodesk Inventor, developed by U.S.-based software company Autodesk, is 3D mechanical solid modeling design software for creating 3D digital prototypes used in the design, visualization and simulation of products. Autodesk Inventor competes directly with SolidWorks and SolidEdge and less directly with Creo Elements/Pro, CATIA, and NX (Unigraphics).