In May 2007, Dr. Mahalingam made a presentation at the Midwest Association of Angel and Venture Capital Conference in Fargo, North Dakota. In the presentation Dr. Mahalingam outlined plans for a software company called Digital Design Solutions to be started in North Dakota. This was the beginning of economic development activities by Dr. Mahalingam in the state of North Dakota.

In the subsequent two years, Digital Design Solutions was entered as a contestant in the Innovate North Dakota competition. In the 2007-2008 and 2008-2009 Innovate North Dakota competitions, Digital Design Solutions was judged a finalist.

Started by a team of entrepreneurs that included Dr. Rajiv Kalra and Ms. Gayatri Ganapathy, Digital Design Solutions LLC was registered as a North Dakota company in 2009.

Digital Design Solutions LLC is a limited liability company (LLC) registered in North Dakota, created to provide digital design solutions to a wide range of design professionals. The business will develop high quality, special purpose digital solutions for design professionals such as architects, interior designers, landscape architects and urban planners, using a wide range of digital technologies. These solutions range from freestanding software modules, modules for existing software, turnkey services, and training in the use of digital technologies. Our initial customers are architects, who will be targeted with the launch product, the Auditorium Design System. The product was launched successfully on July 4, 2017. The day-to-day operations of the business will be conducted in Fargo, North Dakota.