Materials Design
Materials Design develops the MedeA computational materials simulation environment, integrating VASP (DFT), LAMMPS, and other engines into a single platform with curated structural and polymer databases, sold via enterprise subscriptions to 800+ industrial and research customers worldwide.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1998
- HeadquartersSan Diego, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Materials Design does
Materials Design, Inc. is a privately held computational materials science software company founded in 1998 in San Diego, California, that develops and sells the MedeA simulation environment. MedeA integrates multiple physics- and chemistry-based engines, including VASP (for density functional theory, of which Materials Design is the exclusive worldwide commercial distributor), LAMMPS, GIBBS, GAUSSIAN, MOPAC, PhaseField, and SunPhase, behind a single graphical user interface supported by curated structural databases of more than 1.2 million entries and the PEARL polymer repeat-unit library of over 3 million units.
The company's customer base spans 800+ companies and research institutions across at least six industrial segments, including named users such as TotalEnergies, Texas Instruments, UKAEA, Lockheed Martin, Toyota, and Roche. Revenue is generated through enterprise subscription licensing, project-based scientific services, and the exclusive commercial channel for VASP, sold via a quote-based field sales model. Recent product direction emphasizes machine-learning interatomic potentials, generative-AI-assisted workflow automation, and partnerships with ACEworks (GRACE MLIPs), Intellegens (Alchemite), QuesTek (ICME/multiscale), and DCS Computing (LIGGGHTS-DEM).
The company is led by CEO Dr. Clive Freeman and founder/CSO Erich Wimmer, a co-author of early VASP developments. Operating with 11-50 employees and no recent disclosed funding events, Materials Design functions as a mature, profitable niche enterprise-software vendor whose competitive position rests on its VASP distribution rights and its multi-engine integration stack rather than on broad horizontal scale.
Materials Design firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Materials Design
- Legal name
- Materials Design, Inc.
- Website
- https://materialsdesign.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1998
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Materials Design develops the MedeA computational materials simulation environment, integrating VASP (DFT), LAMMPS, and other engines into a single platform with curated structural and polymer databases, sold via enterprise subscriptions to 800+ industrial and research customers worldwide.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Materials Design industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Computational Materials Science Software
- NAICS
- Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Nanotechnology and Biotechnology) (541715), Scientific Research and Development Services (5417), Software Publishers (5132)
- SIC
- Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731), Services-Computer Integrated Systems Design (7373)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Cheminformatics & Molecular Modeling / CADD (HLAGAJAE)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- EDA Cloud/SaaS, Design Data Management & Collaboration (HDAHAFAJ)
Keywords
Where Materials Design is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- San Diego
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Materials Design business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations
Revenue model
- Software Licensing (MedeA Environment): Enterprise software licensing for the MedeA computational materials simulation environment. Includes access to VASP, LAMMPS, GIBBS, PhaseField and other simulation engines along with workflow tools, builders, and analysis modules. Typically involves annual or multi-year subscription contracts.
- Contract Research Services: Custom research projects tailored to client challenges where in-house resources are unavailable. Materials scientists conduct specialized simulations from exploratory screening to detailed mechanistic analysis. Delivers physics-based insights for confidential and time-critical R&D projects.
- Scientific Services and Training: Technical team provides hands-on training, consulting for complex challenges, and scientific/technical support to maximize software investment. Builds team capability and ensures optimal use of computational results.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | Enterprise licensing with annual or multi-year subscription |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels6 records
Materials Design product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Materials Design develops and licenses the MedeA computational materials simulation environment, a multiscale platform integrating VASP for DFT, LAMMPS for molecular dynamics, GIBBS for Monte Carlo, and PhaseField for microstructure evolution, along with machine-learned potential tooling. The company is the exclusive commercial distributor of VASP and complements its software with expert scientific services and contract research engagements for enterprise R&D teams.
Product overview
Materials Design offers the MedeA computational materials simulation environment as its core product, a unified platform that integrates multiple simulation engines and modeling tools. The platform centers on MedeA Environment, which provides seamless integration of VASP (for DFT calculations), LAMMPS (for molecular dynamics), GIBBS (for Monte Carlo simulations), PhaseField (for microstructure evolution), and specialized modules including MLPG (machine-learned potential generator), UNCLE (cluster expansion), and P3C (polymer property calculator). The product portfolio includes software licenses with scientific services and contract research offerings, serving 800+ institutions worldwide across aerospace, automotive, electronics, energy, and healthcare sectors.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- MedeA: Computational materials simulation environment integrating DFT, molecular dynamics, Monte Carlo, and phase-field methods for materials research and design.
Products and services
- MedeA Environment Comprehensive multiscale computational materials simulation environment that integrates world-leading engines (VASP, LAMMPS, GIBBS, GAUSSIAN, MOPAC, PhaseField) with structural databases, building and editing tools, workflow automation, and analysis capabilities for materials discovery and design.
- MedeA VASP MedeA-integrated commercial distribution of VASP (Vienna Ab initio Simulation Package), the world's most widely used DFT code, providing first-principles electronic structure calculations with workflow automation.
- MedeA LAMMPS Molecular dynamics simulation engine within MedeA supporting classical forcefields, machine-learned potentials, ACE potentials, and GRACE potentials for large-scale atomistic simulations.
- MedeA GIBBS
Quantifiable outcome
- Trusted by 800+ companies and institutions worldwide
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Materials Design
Customer profileNamed customers6 records
Segments6 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Materials Design technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration8 records
AI capability5 records
Feature8 records
Materials Design partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Six partnerships are on record, tiered core, strategic and supporting.
- IntellegenscoreCollaboration enabling materials research organizations to combine Alchemite machine learning from Intellegens with full range of materials simulation methods in MedeA, delivering insights that speed up development of new and improved materials and processes.
- ACEworkscoreFull integration of ACEworks' GRACEmaker code (based on Graph Atomic Cluster Expansion - GRACE) in the MedeA computational environment. MedeA 3.12 provides comprehensive support of GRACE 1L and 2L potentials in MedeA LAMMPS for machine-learned potential development.
- DCS Computing GmbHstrategicCollaboration between DCS Computing (LIGGGHTS-DEM engine provider) and Materials Design to advance multiscale materials modeling capabilities.
- QuesTekstrategicPartnership connects MedeA Environment outputs to QuesTek's ICMD models to provide common clients with most accurate predictive multiscale materials modeling capabilities.
- National Supercomputing Facilities (NERSC, ARCHER2, etc.)supportingVASP (distributed exclusively through MedeA) is broadly deployed across national supercomputing facilities, accounting for significant portions of HPC workloads at centers dedicated to physical sciences and materials research.
- VASP (Vienna Ab initio Simulation Package)coreExclusive commercial distributor of the world-leading DFT code VASP. MedeA uniquely integrates VASP with workflow automation, job management, and analysis capabilities for productive, reproducible, and scalable materials discovery.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Materials Design competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- ANSYS (now part of Synopsys): Broad engineering simulation platform with materials and structural modules serving aerospace, automotive, and electronics OEMs. Overlaps with MedeA PhaseField and multiscale capabilities at the engineering/manufacturing customer interface, though ANSYS focuses on macroscale engineering rather than atomistic DFT.
- Altair Engineering: Simulation, HPC, and AI software platform with materials informatics and multiscale modeling offerings (e.g., Altair Inspire, Material Data Center). Adjacent competitor in serving industrial customers who need to integrate materials property data into design and manufacturing workflows.
- Dassault Systèmes BIOVIA: Materials and life sciences simulation suite within Dassault Systèmes' 3DEXPERIENCE platform, offering BIOVIA Materials Studio, DFT, MD, and mesoscale tools to enterprise customers. Overlaps with MedeA in industrial materials simulation but sits inside a much broader PLM/engineering portfolio.
Direct peers
- Gaussian, Inc. Developer and licensor of the Gaussian quantum chemistry software package, a long-standing reference tool for electronic structure calculations. Competes directly with VASP/MedeA in DFT and ab initio workflows for academic and industrial chemistry customers.
- SCM (Software for Chemistry & Materials): Niche scientific software vendor offering the Amsterdam Modeling Suite (DFT via BAND/ADF, molecular dynamics via ReaxFF, COSMO-RS for thermochemistry). Direct peer to Materials Design in selling integrated computational chemistry toolkits to industrial and academic customers.
- Schrödinger: Public computational chemistry and materials software company offering enterprise platforms for molecular simulation, including DFT and ML-driven property prediction. Most direct commercial peer to Materials Design in selling physics-based simulation software to industrial R&D customers in pharma and materials.
- OpenEye Scientific (Cadence): Computational chemistry and molecular simulation software (Orion, OMEGA, SZYBKI) now part of Cadence's Molecular Sciences business. Comparable to Materials Design in selling physics-based simulation toolkits to pharma and materials customers, with overlap in molecular dynamics and property prediction.
Emerging players
- Kebotix: AI-for-materials startup combining robotics, ML, and high-throughput experimentation to accelerate materials discovery. Emerges as a competing paradigm to traditional simulation platforms like MedeA, particularly for industrial customers exploring AI-first discovery.
- Citrine Informatics: AI-native materials informatics platform that combines curated materials data, ML, and workflow tools for industrial R&D. Competes with Materials Design's ML/MLP roadmap from a data-and-AI angle rather than first-principles simulation.
- Quantum ESPRESSO Foundation: Open-source DFT and materials simulation code widely used in academia and increasingly by industrial users via HPC centers. Represents the open-source competitive threat to VASP/MedeA's commercial value proposition in density functional theory.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Materials Design social profiles
Digital presenceMaterials Design financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Materials Design leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles11 records
Materials Design funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Materials Design 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 Materials Design
What does Materials Design do?
Materials Design develops and licenses the MedeA computational materials simulation environment, a multiscale platform integrating VASP for DFT, LAMMPS for molecular dynamics, GIBBS for Monte Carlo, and PhaseField for microstructure evolution, along with machine-learned potential tooling. The company is the exclusive commercial distributor of VASP and complements its software with expert scientific services and contract research engagements for enterprise R&D teams.
Is Materials Design a public or private company?
Materials Design is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Materials Design founded?
Materials Design was founded in 1998. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Materials Design based?
Materials Design is headquartered in San Diego, United States, in the North America region.
How does Materials Design make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Software Licensing (MedeA Environment) is the primary driver. The others are contract Research Services and scientific Services and Training.
Who are Materials Design's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are ANSYS (now part of Synopsys), Altair Engineering and Dassault Systèmes BIOVIA. Direct peers are Gaussian, Inc., SCM (Software for Chemistry & Materials), Schrödinger and OpenEye Scientific (Cadence). Emerging players are Kebotix, Citrine Informatics and Quantum ESPRESSO Foundation.
Does Materials Design have an API?
No public API is recorded for Materials Design.
What industry is Materials Design in?
Materials Design's product category is Computational Materials Science Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HLAGAJAE, Cheminformatics & Molecular Modeling / CADD, with a secondary code of HDAHAFAJ, EDA Cloud/SaaS, Design Data Management & Collaboration. Its NAICS code is 541715 and its SIC code is 8731.