Leo AI
Leo AI is an engineering copilot for mechanical engineers. It answers technical questions with cited sources, searches parts across your PLM and vendor catalogues, runs calculations and generates 3D concepts, directly inside your CAD software.
What is Leo AI?
Leo AI is an engineering copilot built for mechanical engineers, and it is unusually literal about that focus: the company describes it as the first AI built by and for mechanical engineers, named after Leonardo da Vinci. At its core sits a proprietary foundation model the company calls the Large Mechanical Model. Where a language model treats words as tokens, the LMM was trained on millions of man-made products and treats machine parts - bolts, bearings and the rest - as its tokens, assembling them into DFMA-compliant products. Leo AI claims three US patents for reading CAD natively, working on B-rep geometry, feature trees and full assembly structures rather than on a text description of them. It accepts multimodal input: a written question, a hand-drawn sketch, a 2D image or a 3D CAD file.
Two knowledge sources feed every answer. The first is a corpus of more than a million pages of vetted engineering material - standards, technical textbooks, peer-reviewed articles and manufacturer datasheets - which the vendor credits with 96% accuracy on technical queries, against a 46% error rate it attributes to general-purpose AI. The second is your own organisation: PLM and PDM vaults, local Windows directories, CAD and text files. Every technical answer carries source citations, which is the point for anyone who has had to justify a material property in a design review.
The product breaks into three uses. Engineering Chat handles practical advice, theoretical questions and questions asked directly about a CAD assembly, with a built-in code solver for calculations. Part Retrieval searches by property, by intent, by image or several parts at once, across the PLM and 120M+ vendor references, in three modes: text to text, text to CAD and CAD to CAD by geometric similarity. Ideation turns a plain-language description into photorealistic concept images, 3D models and technical documents in under five seconds.
Leo runs in the browser or through a Windows desktop app with add-ins for the major CAD and PDM systems. The site claims 50,000+ engineers, names HP, NVIDIA, Bosch, Elbit, Rafael, the DoD and the IDF among its users, and reports G2 2026 rankings of #1 New Software Globally and #12 AI Tool Worldwide.
What it does
- Answer technical questions with source citations, grounded in your PLM data and over a million vetted engineering sources
- Search parts three ways - text to text, text to CAD, and CAD to CAD by geometric similarity - across your entire PDM and PLM
- Find supplier parts among 120M+ references, including from a photograph of a component you cannot name
- Run engineering calculations through a built-in code solver, from unit conversions to numerical analysis
- Build complete assemblies by locating the formulas, running the maths and reusing parts you already own
- Generate photorealistic concept images, 3D models and technical documents in under five seconds
- Index your CAD and text files as irreversible encrypted vectors while the originals stay where they are
When to use Leo AI / When not to
A quick filter to help you decide if Leo AI is the right fit.
When to use Leo AI
- Mechanical engineers who lose hours hunting for parts, formulas and technical answers
- R&D teams sitting on years of PLM, PDM and CAD history nobody can search
- Sourcing and procurement staff who need to find components across 120M+ supplier references
- Industrial and product designers who need concepts, renders and technical documents quickly
- Defence, aerospace and medical device teams with strict intellectual property requirements
When not to use Leo AI
- Anyone wanting a general-purpose assistant: the model is built for mechanical engineering, not for everyday tasks
- macOS and Linux users, and anyone expecting a mobile app - the desktop client is Windows only
- Hobbyists and individual buyers: there is no public price, no free plan, and the way in is a sales demo
- Teams waiting on a native SolidWorks add-in, CATIA or Windchill connector, all still marked Coming Soon
- Anyone under 18, since the terms restrict the site to individuals aged 18 or older
How to use Leo AI
A typical end-to-end flow, from setup to results.
- Click Start with Leo on the homepage, which opens the onboarding page and offers to schedule a short demo
- Go to the sign-up page at onboarding.getleo.ai and create your account
- Purchase the subscription that best suits your needs
- Wait for the automatic payment confirmation email
- Decide whether to work in the browser or install Leo on your machine
- Download the Windows desktop app from the Downloads page and run the .exe installer
- Restart your CAD software so the integration loads
- Install the add-in for your own tool - Creo, Inventor, Fusion, SOLIDWORKS PDM or Teamcenter, or Onshape through the Onshape App Store
- Connect your PLM, PDM or Windows directories so Leo can search your own engineering data
- Request API access through the form on the API page if you need custom workflows
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Genuine domain specialisation: a proprietary Large Mechanical Model and three claimed US patents for native CAD reading
- Every technical answer carries citations, drawn from over a million vetted engineering sources, with 96% accuracy claimed
- Works on your own PLM, PDM and Windows directories without moving or copying the original files
- Broad engineering coverage: Creo, Inventor, Fusion, Onshape, SOLIDWORKS PDM, Teamcenter, NX and SAP PLM
- Documented security posture: SOC 2 Type II with a downloadable attestation, penetration tests with no critical findings, role-based access
- Named customer case studies including HP, ZutaCore, Elbit, Rafael, the DoD and the IDF
- A dedicated academic programme with a ready-made curriculum, plus 24/7 support and a public engineering community
Cons
- No public pricing at all: the pricing page returns a 404 and the sitemap's Pricing link points back to the homepage
- No permanent free plan and no free trial is mentioned anywhere on the site
- Getting started runs through a sales demo rather than self-service sign-up
- The desktop app is Windows only, with no macOS, Linux or mobile version
- The SolidWorks add-in, CATIA and Windchill are still marked Coming Soon, although SOLIDWORKS is promoted as an integration
- The terms allow Leo AI to use Content for training while the trust centre promises the opposite and limits that promise to Business and Enterprise customers
- No DPA, no published subprocessor list, no Article 27 EU representative, and a privacy policy dated July 2023
Pricing & Plans
Leo AI publishes no price. The pricing page returns an error and the sitemap's Pricing entry redirects to the homepage, so no entry-level amount, currency or billing unit can be quoted. No permanent free plan is advertised, and no free trial is mentioned anywhere on the site. The terms of service describe paid services billed in advance or in arrears on a monthly, annual or other frequency, renewed automatically unless cancelled at least thirty days before the end of the period, with fees non-refundable except where the law requires otherwise. Academic partners are offered a reduced price.
- tier named on the trust centre
- no price published
- tier named on the trust centre
- with dedicated support for security
- compliance and procurement reviews
- no price published
- reduced-price access reserved for selected academic institutions
- granted on request through a form
- no price published
Data, GDPR & hosting
A consolidated view of how Leo AI handles your data.
GDPR overview
GDPR compliance is claimed explicitly, on the homepage and again on the trust centre, which states that personal data is handled in accordance with GDPR principles using adequate technological and organisational measures. The privacy policy names Leo AI, Inc. as data controller and lists the expected rights - withdrawal of consent, access, rectification, objection, erasure, restriction and portability - exercised by writing to office@getleo.ai, with identity verification and authorised agents accepted. There is no automated decision-making or profiling beyond marketing automation, and international transfers rely on adequacy findings or contractual transfer instruments. Three gaps are worth naming: no Article 27 EU representative, no data protection officer, no published subprocessor list and no DPA on offer. The privacy policy is dated 27 July 2023, more than two years older than the September 2025 terms.
Who owns the data?
Under the terms of service you keep every right in the Input you upload, and Leo AI assigns you its rights in the Output, so the licence it takes is limited to running the service. The same clause, however, lets Leo AI use Content to develop, improve and train its products, while the trust centre promises the opposite - it states that Leo AI does not use your CAD files or documents to train its model - and scopes that promise to Business and Enterprise customers. Metadata sits outside Content under a separate worldwide, perpetual licence. In practice the original files never leave your PLM, PDM or Windows directories: Leo stores only irreversible encrypted vectors.
Reuse rights
Yes. The terms state that you can use Content for any purpose, including commercial ones such as sale, manufacture or publication, with no prior permission required, provided you keep to the terms throughout. Two reservations matter. Some features rely on OpenAI as a language-generation model, so using them places you under OpenAI's own terms of use, and Leo AI warns that output may not be unique - OpenAI may generate the same or similar text for a third party. You also warrant that you hold the rights to whatever Input you supply. Metadata is handled separately: opting out of its collection means sending written notice within 30 days of accepting the terms, and costs you some functionality.
Data retention & training
Hosting summary
Personal data is stored with a single named provider: Google Cloud Platform, operated by Google LLC in the United States. Your engineering files are treated differently. Leo does not host your CAD models or documents at all - they remain in your PLM, PDM or Windows directories - and stores only the irreversible encrypted vectors produced by its patented indexing method, held in GCP environments. The trust centre describes encryption in transit and at rest, role-based access and no long-term storage of sensitive files. The privacy policy states that data is transferred to countries around the world, protected either by an adequacy finding for the destination country or by contractual transfer instruments. Contractual disputes fall under the courts of Boston, Massachusetts. No dedicated EU region is named, and no subprocessor list is published.
Things to keep in mind
Risks and trade-offs to weigh before adopting Leo AI.
- The contract and the marketing disagree on training: the terms let Leo AI use Content to train its products, while the trust centre promises it never trains on your data and limits that promise to Business and Enterprise customers
- The Metadata licence is worldwide and perpetual, and the only exit is written notice within thirty days of accepting the terms, paid for with reduced functionality
- What you feed Leo is often your most sensitive intellectual property - CAD files, internal standards, defence projects - and some features route through OpenAI under its own terms, so the exact boundary of Content deserves legal review
- Answers arrive confident and cited, which makes it easy to accept a calculation or a material choice without opening the source: the vendor itself claims 96% accuracy, so roughly one answer in twenty-five is wrong
- Automated part reuse and manufacturability checks can quietly erode human design review if suggestions are accepted as they come
- Personal data is hosted in the United States on Google Cloud, with no DPA, no published subprocessor list and no Article 27 EU representative - a real gap for a European controller
- Commercially you commit to automatic renewal, a thirty-day cancellation notice and non-refundable fees, without ever seeing a public price list
Setup & Integrations
Technical difficulty
Low to moderate, depending on how far you go. Browser use needs no installation. Working inside CAD means downloading a Windows executable, running it, restarting your CAD software, and installing the add-in for your specific tool. The step that involves IT is connecting the PDM or PLM vaults, which is what makes answers contextual and part search useful. API access requires a request form and manual review. Leo advertises 24/7 white-glove support, help with security reviews and procurement questionnaires. The main constraint is platform: the desktop client is Windows only.
Deployment
Integrations
Behind Leo AI
Fundraising
Social
Resources
All the official URLs gathered for verification and reference.
Alternatives
Tools that compete with or complement Leo AI.
Frequently asked questions
What does Leo AI actually do?
Which CAD and PLM systems does it work with?
How much does Leo AI cost?
Is there a free plan or a free trial?
Does Leo AI train its model on my CAD files?
Where is my data stored?
What security certifications does it hold?
Is there an API, and is there a mobile app?
Is there anything for schools and universities?
Is there a minimum age?
Should you pick Leo AI?
Leo AI is one of the rare vertical AI products where the specialisation is structural rather than cosmetic. A proprietary model trained on machine parts, three claimed US patents for native CAD reading, citations on every technical answer and a corpus of over a million vetted engineering sources add up to something a general assistant cannot imitate by prompt engineering. Connecting it to your own PLM, PDM and local directories - without moving the original files - is what turns it from a clever demo into a tool that knows what your company has already built.
The security posture is above the average for AI tooling: SOC 2 Type II with a downloadable attestation, penetration tests reported with no critical findings, role-based access, and storage limited to irreversible encrypted vectors. Named case studies at HP, ZutaCore, Elbit, Rafael and defence units give the claims something to lean on.
Three reservations remain. Pricing is entirely opaque: there is no pricing page, no free plan, no trial, and the path in is a sales demo. Deployment is narrower than the marketing suggests - Windows only, no mobile, and the SolidWorks add-in, CATIA and Windchill still marked as coming soon while SOLIDWORKS is promoted as an integration. And the legal picture is inconsistent: the terms let Leo AI use Content to train, the trust centre says it never trains on your data and quietly limits that promise to Business and Enterprise customers, and the privacy policy predates the terms by more than two years, with no DPA, no subprocessor list and no Article 27 EU representative.
For a mechanical engineering team with real PLM history and real IP constraints, Leo AI deserves a serious evaluation - starting with a procurement review of exactly what happens to your CAD files.
- Choosing a selection results in a full page refresh.
- Opens in a new window.