Surface Design Solutions
Surface Design Solutions provides a physics-informed AI platform and expert-led surface analysis services that help manufacturers optimize surface quality of parts and tooling, reducing scrap, rework, and downtime across automotive, aerospace, medical devices, semiconductor, tooling, and consumer electronics.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2023
- HeadquartersPittsburgh, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Surface Design Solutions does
Surface Design Solutions is a privately-held manufacturing technology company headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, founded in 2023 as a spin-out from more than two decades of surface science research conducted by its co-founders at the University of Pittsburgh. The company develops and sells "Surface Designer," a physics-informed AI software platform that helps manufacturers identify which surface features control the performance of parts and tooling, and translates those findings into actionable surface specifications. The platform uses patented algorithms that combine machine learning with fundamental surface physics to analyze surface topography across multiple length scales, enabling customers to replace conventional roughness metrics such as R_a with purpose-built specifications that predict friction, adhesion, wear, leakage, and failure modes. The underlying research base is supported by more than $9 million in academic funding and has been cited over 10,000 times in peer-reviewed literature.
Surface Design Solutions serves manufacturers across six primary verticals: automotive and heavy industry, aerospace and defense, medical devices, semiconductor and electronics, tooling/molds/additive manufacturing, and consumer electronics. The company addresses surface-related quality issues that it estimates are responsible for approximately 35% of scrap, rework, and unplanned downtime in manufacturing, citing a customer case study showing a 37% increase in revenue potential and a 66% reduction in capacity loss after deployment. Its go-to-market is sales-led and consultative, directing prospects to "Schedule a Consult" and combining self-service software with expert-led surface analysis services, with marketing concentrated on thought leadership, trade publications, podcasts, and industry conferences.
The company generates revenue through a combination of Surface Designer software subscriptions (recurring) and expert-led surface analysis services (professional services), with quote-based pricing and disclosed multi-year contract terms. To date, Surface Design Solutions has raised approximately $465,000 in non-dilutive funding — $365,000 from the Richard King Mellon Foundation's Social Impact Investment program in August 2025 and $100,000 as the top prize at the AI Horizons Forge AI pitch competition in September 2025 — and is actively seeking its first priced seed round. The company is led by three co-founders with deep domain expertise: Tevis Jacobs (President and CEO, on entrepreneurial leave from the University of Pittsburgh), Lars Pastewka (Director of Data Science and CTO), and Luke Thimons (Director of Customer Success and COO).
Surface Design Solutions firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Surface Design Solutions
- Legal name
- Surface Design Solutions
- Website
- https://surface.design
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2023
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Surface Design Solutions provides a physics-informed AI platform and expert-led surface analysis services that help manufacturers optimize surface quality of parts and tooling, reducing scrap, rework, and downtime across automotive, aerospace, medical devices, semiconductor, tooling, and consumer electronics.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Surface Design Solutions industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Manufacturing Surface Optimization Software
- NAICS
- Industrial Design Services (541420)
- SIC
- Coating, Engraving & Allied Services (3470), Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Industrial/Product & Furniture Design (BPAHAKAM)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Aircraft Painting & Surface Treatment (IMABALAI), Automotive Surface Materials & Coatings for Interiors/Exteriors Manufacturing (Upholstery Materials/Decor Films/Paints for Trim) (IMACAKAL)
Keywords
Where Surface Design Solutions is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Pittsburgh
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Surface Design Solutions business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Surface Designer Software Subscription: The company generates revenue through software licensing via its Surface Designer platform. The platform enables manufacturers to optimize surfaces through physics-informed AI software. Engagement model combines self-service software with expert-led surface analysis services.
- Expert-led Surface Analysis Services: Surface Design Solutions provides expert-guided surface analysis and support, working directly with customer engineers to interpret data and implement actionable changes. These professional services are modular and flexible, offered alongside or independent of the software platform.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Multi-year contract | Quote-based / Custom pricing |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels5 records
Surface Design Solutions product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Surface Design Solutions sells the Surface Designer platform, a physics-informed AI software that helps manufacturers identify which surface features actually control product and tooling performance and translates them into actionable specifications. The company complements the software with expert-led surface analysis services in which its specialists work directly with customer engineers to interpret data and implement corrective actions across parts, tooling, and production lines.
Product overview
Surface Design Solutions offers the Surface Designer platform as its core product, a physics-informed AI software for optimizing surfaces in manufacturing. The platform is complemented by expert-led surface analysis services where specialists work directly with customer engineering teams. The company helps manufacturers transition from trial-and-error finishing and manual inspection to data-driven surface optimization across industries including medical devices, semiconductor equipment, automotive, aerospace, and consumer electronics.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Surface Designer: A physics-informed AI software platform for optimizing surfaces in manufacturing, enabling manufacturers to identify surface features that control performance and generate actionable specifications.
Products and services
- Surface Designer Physics-informed AI software platform for manufacturers that identifies which surface features control product and tooling performance, replacing conventional roughness metrics with purpose-built, physics-based multi-scale surface metrics and delivering actionable surface specifications in seconds from the customer's existing manufacturing data.
- Expert-led Surface Analysis Services Professional services in which Surface Design Solutions' specialists work directly with customer engineers to interpret surface data, design the right surface for an application, and implement actionable changes that improve quality, consistency, and throughput.
Quantifiable outcome
- 37% increase in revenue potential driven by 66% reduction in capacity loss
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Surface Design Solutions
Customer profileSegments6 records
Ideal customer profiles6 records
Surface Design Solutions technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability5 records
Feature4 records
Surface Design Solutions partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators4 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Surface Design Solutions competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Instrumental: AI-powered defect detection and manufacturing analytics platform that uses customer production data to identify failures, similar to SDS's data-driven approach to optimizing surface-related yield and quality issues.
- Sight Machine: Manufacturing analytics and AI platform that turns factory data into real-time quality and yield improvements; shares SDS's mission of using data and AI to address hidden drivers of scrap, downtime, and production variability.
- Fero Labs: Physics-informed AI platform for manufacturing process optimization, particularly in metals and chemicals; comparable to SDS in using physics-grounded models that work with limited industrial data.
- Tulip Interfaces: Frontline operations and quality platform for manufacturers combining connected operator workflows with analytics; overlaps with SDS in delivering actionable, real-time guidance to shop-floor teams.
Emerging players
- Elementary Robotics: AI-driven visual inspection and quality assurance for manufacturing; addresses similar surface and part-level defect problems using customer-trained models on the factory floor.
Broad incumbents
- Bruker: Major surface metrology and nano-measurement instrument maker whose equipment generates the surface data SDS analyzes; represents both a complementary partner and a potential competitor if it expands into software analytics.
- ZEISS Industrial Metrology: Global leader in industrial measurement and surface metrology solutions with deep installed base in automotive, aerospace, and medical device manufacturing; could compete or partner with SDS depending on its software strategy.
- Keyence: Factory automation and measurement sensor provider with broad product lines across industrial QA; relevant incumbent for surface and dimensional inspection where SDS sells its software overlay.
- Cognex: Machine vision and industrial barcode reading leader whose surface and defect inspection systems are widely deployed in electronics and automotive manufacturing; adjacent AI-for-QA incumbent.
- Mitutoyo: Precision measurement instruments and surface roughness testers used across global manufacturing; directly comparable in the surface metrology category SDS's physics-informed metrics aim to disrupt.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks3 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Surface Design Solutions social profiles
Digital presenceSurface Design Solutions financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Surface Design Solutions leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles3 records
Surface Design Solutions funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds3 records
Investors3 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Surface Design Solutions M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Surface Design Solutions
What does Surface Design Solutions do?
Surface Design Solutions sells the Surface Designer platform, a physics-informed AI software that helps manufacturers identify which surface features actually control product and tooling performance and translates them into actionable specifications. The company complements the software with expert-led surface analysis services in which its specialists work directly with customer engineers to interpret data and implement corrective actions across parts, tooling, and production lines.
Is Surface Design Solutions a public or private company?
Surface Design Solutions is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Surface Design Solutions founded?
Surface Design Solutions was founded in 2023. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Surface Design Solutions based?
Surface Design Solutions is headquartered in Pittsburgh, United States, in the North America region.
How does Surface Design Solutions make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Surface Designer Software Subscription is the primary driver. The others are expert-led Surface Analysis Services.
Who are Surface Design Solutions's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Instrumental, Sight Machine, Fero Labs and Tulip Interfaces. Elementary Robotics is listed as an emerging player. Broad incumbents are Bruker, ZEISS Industrial Metrology, Keyence, Cognex and Mitutoyo.
Does Surface Design Solutions have an API?
No public API is recorded for Surface Design Solutions.
What industry is Surface Design Solutions in?
Surface Design Solutions's product category is Manufacturing Surface Optimization Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAHAKAM, Industrial/Product & Furniture Design, with a secondary code of IMABALAI, Aircraft Painting & Surface Treatment. Its NAICS code is 541420 and its SIC code is 3470.