Description of Business	12 Months Ended
Jan. 31, 2014
Accounting Policies [Abstract]
Description of Business	1. Description of Business Exa Corporation (the “Company” or “Exa”), a Delaware corporation, develops, sells and supports simulation software and services that vehicle manufacturers use to enhance the performance of their products, reduce product development costs and improve the efficiency of their design and engineering processes. The Company’s solutions enable engineers and designers to augment or replace conventional methods of evaluating designs that rely on expensive and inefficient physical prototypes and test facilities with accurate digital simulations that are more useful, cost effective and timely. The Company’s simulation solutions enable customers to gain crucial insights about design performance early in the design cycle, reducing the likelihood of expensive redesigns and late-stage engineering changes, which result in cost savings and fundamental improvements in the development process. The Company is primarily focused on the ground transportation market, but is also beginning to explore the application of its capabilities in the aerospace, oil and gas production, chemical processing, architecture, engineering and construction, power generation, biomedical and electronics industries. Exa has offices and sells directly in the United States and through subsidiaries in France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Korea, China, and the United Kingdom. The Company also conducts business in Sweden, India, Brazil, Russia, Canada, Finland, Spain and Australia. The Company is subject to a number of risks common to companies in similar stages of development, including dependence on a small number of significant customers for a substantial portion of its revenues, the ability to attract and retain key personnel, competition from substitute products and services from larger companies, the need to continually develop commercially viable products, and risks associated with changes in information technology. Initial Public Offering On July 3, 2012, the Company completed its initial public offering in which it issued and sold 4,166,667 shares of common stock at a public offering price of $10.00 per share. The Company received net proceeds of $34,576 after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions of $2,917 and other offering expenses of approximately $4,174. Upon the closing of the initial public offering, each share of the Company’s preferred stock was converted into two thirteenths of a share of the Company’s common stock.

1. Description of Business

Exa Corporation (the “Company” or “Exa”), a Delaware corporation, develops, sells and supports simulation software and services that vehicle manufacturers use to enhance the performance of their products, reduce product development costs and improve the efficiency of their design and engineering processes. The Company’s solutions enable engineers and designers to augment or replace conventional methods of evaluating designs that rely on expensive and inefficient physical prototypes and test facilities with accurate digital simulations that are more useful, cost effective and timely. The Company’s simulation solutions enable customers to gain crucial insights about design performance early in the design cycle, reducing the likelihood of expensive redesigns and late-stage engineering changes, which result in cost savings and fundamental improvements in the development process. The Company is primarily focused on the ground transportation market, but is also beginning to explore the application of its capabilities in the aerospace, oil and gas production, chemical processing, architecture, engineering and construction, power generation, biomedical and electronics industries.

Exa has offices and sells directly in the United States and through subsidiaries in France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Korea, China, and the United Kingdom. The Company also conducts business in Sweden, India, Brazil, Russia, Canada, Finland, Spain and Australia.

The Company is subject to a number of risks common to companies in similar stages of development, including dependence on a small number of significant customers for a substantial portion of its revenues, the ability to attract and retain key personnel, competition from substitute products and services from larger companies, the need to continually develop commercially viable products, and risks associated with changes in information technology.

Initial Public Offering

On July 3, 2012, the Company completed its initial public offering in which it issued and sold 4,166,667 shares of common stock at a public offering price of $10.00 per share. The Company received net proceeds of $34,576 after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions of $2,917 and other offering expenses of approximately $4,174. Upon the closing of the initial public offering, each share of the Company’s preferred stock was converted into two thirteenths of a share of the Company’s common stock.