Z-zero
Z-zero develops PCB stackup planning and material-selection software for hardware engineering teams designing high-speed digital electronics, using the HyperLynx field solver and a 150+ material dielectric library integrated with Mentor, ANSYS, and Altium EDA tools.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2017
- HeadquartersSeattle, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Z-zero does
Z-zero is a Redmond, Washington-based software company that develops PCB stackup planning and material-selection tools for hardware engineering teams designing high-speed digital electronics. Its core product suite centers on Z-planner (Enterprise and Designer editions) and Z-solver, which use the Mentor Graphics HyperLynx 2D field solver to compute impedance, differential impedance, propagation delay, and insertion loss as a function of stackup geometry, dielectric material properties (frequency-dependent Dk and Df), copper roughness, and glass-weave effects. The software is differentiated by an industry-leading library of 150+ laminate materials from major manufacturers (including AGC-Nelco, Panasonic, Ventec, TUC, EMC, ITEQ, Nanya, Doosan, and Shengyi), patent-pending automated material matching utilities, and bidirectional interfaces to Mentor HyperLynx, ANSYS SIwave, HFSS 3D Layout, IPC-2581, ODB++Design, and Altium Designer. Z-zero has also extended into hardware via the Z-field stripline resonator, co-developed with CCN Labs, which performs IPC TM-650 2.5.5.5.1 dielectric characterization up to 20 GHz.
The company operates a lean, primarily founder-led model under Bill Hargin. Revenue is generated through perpetual software licenses (priced $3,000-$9,500 depending on tier: node-locked, USB, floating, or global WAN) plus recurring annual support at approximately 15% of license cost. Distribution is hybrid: direct e-commerce via z-zero.com, enterprise field sales, and a strategic reseller agreement with Mentor (a Siemens business) that leverages Siemens' 63,000+ ODB++Design user base. Marketing is content-led (blog, webinars, industry events such as DesignCon and PCB West) and product-led through free software evaluations. The company is privately held, bootstrapped, with no disclosed external funding rounds. Public customer references include Cisco and a leading wireless base station manufacturer, signaling enterprise traction in networking and telecommunications verticals.
Z-zero firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Z-zero
- Legal name
- Z-zero, LLC
- Website
- https://z-zero.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2017
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Z-zero develops PCB stackup planning and material-selection software for hardware engineering teams designing high-speed digital electronics, using the HyperLynx field solver and a 150+ material dielectric library integrated with Mentor, ANSYS, and Altium EDA tools.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Z-zero industry classification
Industry- Product category
- PCB Design Software
- NAICS
- Bare Printed Circuit Board Manufacturing (334412), Printed Circuit Assembly (Electronic Assembly) Manufacturing (334418)
- SIC
- Printed Circuit Boards (3672)
- akta.pro primary industry
- System-Level, Multi-Physics & Package/PCB Co-Design (EDA) (HDAHAFAD)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- PCB Materials & Laminates (Copper Clad, Prepreg, Cores) (HDAHAOAJ), PCB Fabrication (Rigid PCBs) (HDAHAOAG), Physical Design, DFM & Manufacturing/Mask Data Prep (HDAHAFAC)
Keywords
Where Z-zero is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Seattle
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Z-zero business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations
Revenue model
- Software Licenses: Perpetual software licenses for Z-solver and Z-planner products with various licensing types: node-locked (single user/PC), USB dongle, floating license (network), and global WAN enterprise license. Prices range from $3,000 to $9,500 depending on license type.
- Support and Maintenance: Annual support contracts provide technical support, software updates, and re-hosting protection. Support prices are approximately 15% of license cost annually, with multi-user support for floating and WAN licenses (up to 5 users included).
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| One time/ perpetual license | Annual | Node-Locked License (ZS-LIC-103) |
| One time/ perpetual license | Annual | USB License (ZS-LIC-105) |
| One time/ perpetual license | Annual | Floating License (ZS-LIC-104) |
| One time/ perpetual license | Annual | Global WAN License (ZS-LIC-106) |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels5 records
Z-zero product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Z-zero develops and sells PCB stackup planning and material-selection software for electronic-system design. Its products let hardware engineers solve for characteristic impedance (Zo), differential impedance (Zdiff), insertion loss, and propagation delay using an integrated 2D field solver combined with the industry's largest dielectric materials library (150+ laminates). The suite spans standalone impedance/loss analysis (Z-solver), a designer-tier stackup planner (Z-planner Designer), an enterprise field-solver-based stackup planner (Z-planner Enterprise), and a hardware/software dielectric characterization system (Z-field).
Product overview
Z-zero offers a suite of PCB stackup planning and material-selection software products for electronic-system design. The portfolio includes Z-planner Enterprise (full-featured stackup planning and management), Z-planner Designer (impedance planning and loss budgeting for stackups up to 20 layers), and Z-solver (quick impedance and loss analysis). Z-planner products include Z-solver functionality and the HyperLynx field solver. Additionally, Z-field Stripline Resonator is a hardware/software system for PCB material characterization that measures Dk and Df from 1-20 GHz. The products integrate with Mentor HyperLynx, IPC-2581, ODB++Design, Altium Designer, ANSYS SIwave, and HFSS 3D Layout.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Z-planner Enterprise: Field-solver based PCB stackup planning and materials selection software optimized for both the design of PCB stackups and the management of stackup design as part of the PCB design flow.
- Z-planner Designer
- Z-solver
- Z-field
Products and services
- Z-planner Enterprise Field-solver-based PCB stackup planning and materials selection software optimized for both the design of PCB stackups and the management of stackup design as part of the PCB design flow. Includes unlimited stackup-layer support, HyperLynx field solver, automated impedance goal seeking, glass-weave skew mitigation, DFM and DFSI rules, and interfaces to most PCB layout and signal-integrity design flows (HyperLynx, IPC-2581, ODB++Design).
- Z-planner Designer PCB stackup planning and materials selection software optimized for impedance planning and loss budgeting for PCB stackups up to 20 layers. Bundles Z-solver functionality, the HyperLynx field solver, DFM rules management, and the dielectric materials library, with import/export for Altium Designer and IPC-2581 stackup files.
- Z-solver Quick, accurate impedance and insertion loss analysis tool for tradeoffs between Dk, Df, trace topologies, and spacing. Delivers impedance, differential impedance, propagation delay, and loss vs. frequency, with HyperLynx field solver and cross-section analysis for microstrips, buried microstrips, coplanar waveguides, and striplines.
- Z-field Stripline Resonator Industry's first commercial hardware/software system optimized for PCB material characterization and manufacturing. Performs the IPC TM-650 2.5.5.5.1 dielectric constant and loss tangent test, extends measurement from 1-14 to 20 GHz, and removes the requirement for an external Vector Network Analyzer (VNA).
Quantifiable outcome
- Evaluate three different stackups in an hour, rather than a day
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Z-zero
Customer profileNamed customers2 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles1 record
Z-zero technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration9 records
Feature10 records
Z-zero partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- Mentor, a Siemens businesscoreZ-zero collaborated with Mentor to develop the electronics manufacturing industry's first comprehensive, bidirectional software solution for exchange of material-based stackups between designers and fabricators. Based on Siemens' ODB++Design open data structure, the new solution helps transfer PCB designs into fabrication phases. Z-planner Enterprise is sold through Mentor, leveraging their global distribution channels and 63,000+ ODB++Design users worldwide.
- CCN LabscorePartnership with CCN Labs (Dr. Don DeGroot) for Z-field stripline resonator system. Combined expertise to develop 'apples-to-apples' dielectric characterization methodology. CCN provides system support for Z-field hardware and collaborates on PCB material characterization standards.
- Mentor Graphics (HyperLynx)coreIntegration with Mentor Graphic's HyperLynx signal-integrity software. Z-planner includes import/export interfaces for HyperLynx, allowing users to bring legacy stackups and leverage HyperLynx field solver capabilities.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Z-zero competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Zuken: Zuken's CR-8000 and related PCB design tools serve the same high-speed PCB engineering persona and include stackup and SI capabilities, making it a comparable PCB-focused EDA competitor.
- Altium: Altium Designer is a leading PCB CAD platform with import/export compatibility with Z-planner and an increasingly broad SI/stackup feature set that targets the same mid-market hardware engineering teams.
- Polar Instruments: Polar Instruments is the most direct peer: it sells impedance calculators and stackup-planning tools (Polar Si9000, Speedstack) used by PCB designers and fabricators — the same buyer and workflow that Z-planner and Z-solver target.
- Siemens EDA (formerly Mentor Graphics): Z-zero's distribution partner but also a direct competitor through HyperLynx and its broader PCB SI flow. Comparable because it provides field-solver-based signal-integrity and stackup capabilities used by the same enterprise PCB engineering teams.
Emerging players
- Simberian: Simberian offers Simbeor, a focused electromagnetic signal-integrity simulator for PCB and packaging. Comparable as a niche SI tool vendor serving the same high-speed PCB design use case.
- Saturn PCB Toolkit: Saturn PCB Toolkit provides free/affordable PCB stackup and impedance calculation utilities aimed at the same hardware engineering audience, representing the lower-cost, lower-feature alternative to Z-planner.
Broad incumbents
- Cadence Design Systems: Cadence competes via Sigrity, Clarity, and Allegro/OrCAD PCB suites that include signal-integrity and stackup planning as part of a much broader EDA platform. Overlaps with Z-zero on the SI/stackup workflow for high-speed PCB design.
- Keysight Technologies: Keysight's Advanced Design System (ADS) and EMPro tools address high-speed signal-integrity and PCB material characterization — the same physics Z-zero models — and compete for SI engineering budgets.
- Ansys: Ansys offers SIwave and HFSS 3D Layout for PCB signal and power integrity — directly integrated with Z-planner — and competes with Z-zero where customers choose full-platform electromagnetic simulation over a focused stackup tool.
Others
- EMA Design Automation: EMA Design Automation is a Cadence/Altium reseller and PCB design services firm that influences stackup tooling choices within its customer base, putting it in the broader EDA ecosystem around Z-zero's market.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Z-zero social profiles
Digital presenceZ-zero financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Z-zero leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Z-zero funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Z-zero 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 Z-zero
What does Z-zero do?
Z-zero develops and sells PCB stackup planning and material-selection software for electronic-system design. Its products let hardware engineers solve for characteristic impedance (Zo), differential impedance (Zdiff), insertion loss, and propagation delay using an integrated 2D field solver combined with the industry's largest dielectric materials library (150+ laminates). The suite spans standalone impedance/loss analysis (Z-solver), a designer-tier stackup planner (Z-planner Designer), an enterprise field-solver-based stackup planner (Z-planner Enterprise), and a hardware/software dielectric characterization system (Z-field).
Is Z-zero a public or private company?
Z-zero is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Z-zero founded?
Z-zero was founded in 2017. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Z-zero based?
Z-zero is headquartered in Seattle, United States, in the North America region.
How does Z-zero make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Software Licenses are the primary driver. The others are support and Maintenance.
Who are Z-zero's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Zuken, Altium, Polar Instruments and Siemens EDA (formerly Mentor Graphics). Emerging players are Simberian and Saturn PCB Toolkit. Broad incumbents are Cadence Design Systems, Keysight Technologies and Ansys. EMA Design Automation is listed as an others.
Does Z-zero have an API?
No public API is recorded for Z-zero.
What industry is Z-zero in?
Z-zero's product category is PCB Design Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HDAHAFAD, System-Level, Multi-Physics & Package/PCB Co-Design (EDA), with a secondary code of HDAHAOAJ, PCB Materials & Laminates (Copper Clad, Prepreg, Cores). Its NAICS code is 334412 and its SIC code is 3672.