SC Solutions

What SC Solutions does

SC Solutions, Inc. is a privately held engineering firm founded in 1987 (as SuperComputer Solutions) and incorporated in 1989, headquartered in San Jose, California with an engineering office in Portland, Oregon. The company specializes in physics-based model-based control (MBC) software for semiconductor and advanced materials manufacturing equipment, alongside a smaller structural and earthquake engineering practice. Its flagship technology is the proprietary SC-x™ real-time controller framework, a platform-agnostic software layer that embeds validated mathematical models of customer equipment into high-performance feedback and feedforward controllers, complemented by digital twin and virtual sensing capabilities.

The product portfolio consists of SC-x™ Model-Based Controllers (core real-time and run-to-run controllers for IC manufacturing), SC-MBT™ Model-Based Tuners (multiphysics-driven tuning for multi-zone heated plates, susceptors and electrostatic chucks), the SC-MDD™ in-line whole-wafer Macro Defect Scanner (4–8 second scans at ~1350 dpi with claimed 0% false positive rate for 10+ micron defects on 300mm wafers), and the SC-FDC™ specialized frequency detector and cantilever controller for Magnetic Resonance Force Microscopy. The firm monetizes through per-unit software licensing on customer equipment, non-recurring engineering (NRE) services for custom modeling and controller development (project durations from days to multi-year R&D programs), and specialized hardware sales typically funded on hourly NRE terms.

SC Solutions serves enterprise customers in semiconductor manufacturing (IC thermal processing, thin film deposition, wafer planarization), advanced materials manufacturing (LED, solar, MOCVD), aerospace and defense, energy and nuclear, and infrastructure/civil engineering. Named accounts and partners include Applied Materials (long-time Real-Time Profile Control partner on 200mm Mirra® CMP), Hyundai Motors (multiphysics modeling for induction hardening of gears), Varda Space Industries (Winnebago-1 re-entry capsule engineering), Sound Transit (I-90 floating light rail bridge), and TerraPower (nuclear seismic analysis). The firm employs 51–100 people, most engineers holding advanced degrees, and went 100% employee-owned via an ESOP on April 1, 2022 before being acquired by SI Solutions in January 2024 and then by MidOcean Partners in August 2024.

Name

SC Solutions

Legal name

SC Solutions, Inc.

Website

https://scsolutions.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1987

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

SC Solutions provides physics-based model-based control software and engineering services for semiconductor, advanced materials, aerospace, and infrastructure clients, licensing its proprietary SC-x™ controller framework and related products to enterprise customers globally.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Semiconductor Process Control Software

NAICS

Instruments and Related Products Manufacturing for Measuring, Displaying, and Controlling Industrial Process Variables (334513), Navigational, Measuring, Electromedical, and Control Instruments Manufacturing (33451), Computer Systems Design Services (541512)

SIC

Services-Computer Integrated Systems Design (7373), Industrial Instruments For Measurement, Display, And Control (3823), Services-Engineering Services (8711)

akta.pro primary industry

Control System Integration & Engineering Services (Design, Commissioning, Retrofits) (IMAGABAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Instrumentation, Controls & Automation (DCS/PLC/SCADA, SIS, Metering) (EUAEAFAC), Systems Engineering & Technical Program Management (BPAHAIAI)

Keywords

• Model-based control
• Semiconductor process control
• Structural engineering services
• Macro defect inspection
• Physics-based modeling

Headquarters

HQ city

Sunnyvale

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Controller Software Licensing: Per-unit license fee for controller software shipped on customer equipment. Business model based on licensing SC-x™ platform products embedded in customer equipment. Thousands of controller licenses sold, operating in fabs worldwide.
2. Non-Recurring Engineering (NRE) Services: Initial modeling and model-based controller development effort includes NRE costs. Projects range from few days to several person-weeks, with longer R&D programs spanning a year or two.
3. Specialized Hardware Products: Custom hardware solutions including macro defect scanners and frequency detectors. Typically funded on hourly NRE basis for specialized product development.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

SC Solutions develops and licenses proprietary model-based control software (SC-x™) that embeds physics-based mathematical models into real-time feedback and feedforward controllers for semiconductor manufacturing equipment. The company also sells specialized hardware such as the SC-MDD™ Macro Defect Scanner for in-line wafer inspection, and provides Non-Recurring Engineering (NRE) services for custom model development. A separate Structural Engineering division delivers seismic, bridge, and infrastructure engineering services.

Product overview

SC Solutions provides a portfolio of model-based control products centered on its proprietary SC-x™ software framework. The core offerings include SC-x™ Model-Based Controllers (real-time and run-to-run controllers for semiconductor equipment), SC-MBT™ Model-Based Tuners (for multi-zone heated plate optimization), SC-MDD™ Macro Defect Scanner (in-line wafer inspection tool), and SC-FDC™ (specialized frequency detector for MRFM). These products share a common foundation in physics-based modeling and are used in key IC manufacturing processes, equipment design, fault diagnostics, and health monitoring.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• SC-MDD™ Macro Defect Scanner: In-line whole-wafer scanner for detecting macro defects in semiconductor manufacturing.
• SC-x™
• SC-MBT™
• SC-FDC™

Products and services

• SC-x™ Model-Based Controller Custom model-based controller software platform that incorporates validated physics-based mathematical models into feedback and feedforward controllers for real-time and run-to-run control of semiconductor manufacturing equipment. Platform-agnostic with respect to computing hardware and real-time operating systems, enabling rapid development and deployment of custom controllers with easy tuning. Sold per-unit under a licensing model plus NRE for initial custom model development.
• SC-MBT™ Model-Based Tuner Model-based tuning software that integrates high-resolution thermal plate models with proprietary optimization algorithms to maximize multi-zone heated plate performance in semiconductor thermal processing equipment. Targets equipment manufacturers and IC manufacturers needing physics-based optimization rather than heuristic tuning.
• SC-MDD™ Macro Defect Scanner In-line whole-wafer macro defect detection scanner that scans semiconductor wafers (~1350 dpi in seconds) to detect defects 10 microns or larger — including particle contamination, dislocations, scratches, and cracks. Used by semiconductor wafer manufacturers and equipment makers (e.g., repeat orders from a major data storage company).
• SC-FDC™ Frequency Detector and Cantilever Controller Specialized frequency detector and cantilever controller for Magnetic Resonance Force Microscopy (MRFM) systems, developed under R&D programs for precision measurement applications requiring nanoscale cantilever control.

Quantifiable outcome

• Controllers operating in fabs worldwide for over two decades
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability7 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Princeton UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 7 June 2021DOE Phase II STTR grant awarded to SC Solutions and Princeton University to develop software toolset for quantum control and related optimization and calibration protocols. Leverages control and optimization algorithms from both organizations.
• Hyundai MotorscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 September 2020Collaborative research project on multiphysics modeling using COMSOL Multiphysics for optimizing induction hardening of gears. Mr. Si-Yup Lee spent a year as researcher in residence at SC Solutions Sunnyvale office.
• Applied MaterialscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 14 January 2020Long-time partnership with Applied Materials for real-time profile control on 200mm Mirra® CMP tools. SC Solutions and Applied Materials tackled technical issues together, with results published in Applied Materials' NANOCHIP FAB Solutions Technology Journal.
• TerraPowerminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 23 May 2019SC Solutions partnered with TerraPower and Professor Andrew Whittaker, selected by DOE for Regulatory Assistance Grant to develop software verification and validation guidance for nonlinear soil-structure interaction analysis of advanced nuclear facilities.
• State University of New York at Buffalo (UB)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 4 June 2018Collaborating partner on DOE-funded project led by SUNY Buffalo for 'Reducing Overnight Capital Cost of Advanced Reactors Using Equipment-based Seismic Protective Technologies'.
• OEchips Co. Ltd.coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorExclusive Asia sales representative for SC-MDD™ Macro Defect Scanner products. Based in New Taipei City, Taiwan, with contact Ted Chang serving as President.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Applied Materials: Largest disclosed customer of SC Solutions and the dominant semiconductor WFE OEM. Applied Materials has its own advanced process control software stack, positioning it both as an SC customer and as a potential internal substitute for SC's MBC platform.
• Emerson (AspenTech): Aspen Technology, an Emerson subsidiary, delivers model-based predictive control, digital twin, and APC software for process industries. Overlap with SC in physics-based modeling, optimization, and real-time process control is direct, though AspenTech skews to chemicals and bulk process versus SC's semi focus.
• Lam Research: Major semiconductor WFE OEM specializing in deposition, etch, and clean processes. Like Applied Materials, Lam is both a potential customer and a competitor with internal APC software that can substitute for SC's MBC layer.
• Rockwell Automation: Provider of industrial automation, motion control, and process control platforms across discrete and process industries. Rockwell competes with SC for advanced control work in semiconductor-adjacent and broader industrial customers.
• Tokyo Electron: Large Japanese semiconductor WFE OEM with growing investment in advanced process control and digital-twin capabilities. TEL is the most relevant non-US semi OEM that SC could penetrate for model-based control deployments.
• Siemens Digital Industries: Offers a broad industrial automation and digital-twin portfolio (SIMATIC, NX, MindSphere) directly overlapping with SC's expertise in physics-based modeling, real-time control, and digital twins for fab equipment.

Emerging players

• National Instruments (NI, part of Emerson): Test, measurement, and control platform provider whose data acquisition and embedded control tools serve semiconductor and advanced manufacturing test environments, overlapping with SC's instrumentation and virtual-sensing offerings.

Direct peers

• MKS Instruments: Manufacturer of instruments, sensors, and control systems for semiconductor process control. MKS competes directly with SC's MBC platform for process monitoring and feed-forward/feed-back control in wafer-fab equipment.
• MathWorks: Producer of MATLAB/Simulink, the dominant platform for control-system design and model-based control development. SC Solutions explicitly leverages MATLAB capabilities in its MBC deliverables and competes in the same model-based-control designer market.
• COMSOL: Provider of COMSOL Multiphysics modeling and simulation software. SC Solutions is a Certified COMSOL Consultant and presents regularly at COMSOL conferences, and both companies serve physics-based modeling users in semiconductor, advanced materials, and aerospace.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/60805
• Xx.com/scsolutions_inc

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about SC Solutions