ACI Alloy

What ACI Alloy does

ACI Alloys, Inc. is a privately held specialty materials manufacturer founded in 1985 by Paul Albert, Sc.D., operating from a 10,000 square foot facility in San Jose, California. The company manufactures high-purity sputtering targets, evaporation materials, backing plates, and custom alloys for thin film deposition and Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD) applications. Its core technology stack includes vacuum arc melting (in inert argon for 100% density and minimal oxygen contamination), vacuum induction melting, hot pressing, sintering, and in-house precision machining, bonding, and grinding capabilities. The company stocks raw materials covering nearly all non-radioactive elements on the periodic table, enabling production of precious metal alloys (platinum, palladium, gold, iridium, rhodium, ruthenium, osmium), rare earth alloys (all lanthanides), master alloys, and one-off custom compositions for thin film research.

ACI Alloys serves a global customer base of academic and industrial research organizations, with documented applications spanning aerospace, electronics, ceramics, automotive, and medical device manufacturing (including PVD coatings for catheters, dental and surgical instruments, orthopedic implants, and pacemakers). The company operates a direct sales-led go-to-market model via phone, email, and online quote request forms, with all products manufactured to customer specifications under quote-based pricing tied to material type, purity level (99.95% to 99.999%), alloy composition, dimensions, and quantity. An eBay storefront serves as a secondary channel for overstock and surplus inventory. Revenue mechanics are primarily one-time product sales supplemented by material processing services (bonding, machining, grinding, reclamation). The company is founder-owned with no disclosed institutional investment, external funding, acquisitions, or partnerships, and remains a small, stable niche manufacturer with 11-50 employees.

Name

ACI Alloy

Legal name

ACI Alloys, Inc.

Website

https://acialloys.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1985

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

ACI Alloys, Inc. is a privately held San Jose-based manufacturer, founded in 1985, of high-purity sputtering targets, evaporation materials, and custom alloys for thin film deposition. It serves academic and industrial R&D organizations globally through custom quote-based sales, with no funding, acquisitions, or AI capabilities.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Thin Film Deposition Materials

NAICS

Semiconductor and Other Electronic Component Manufacturing (33441)

SIC

Electronic Components, Nec (3679)

akta.pro primary industry

Thin-Film Deposition Materials (PVD/CVD/ALD Targets & Precursors) (HDAHAGAH)

Keywords

• Sputtering target manufacturing
• Thin film materials
• Custom alloy fabrication
• Physical vapor deposition
• Evaporation material supply

Headquarters

HQ city

San Jose

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Custom Alloy Manufacturing: Manufacture of custom alloys, sputtering targets, evaporation materials, and specialty materials to customer specifications. Products include high-purity metals, ceramics, precious metal alloys, rare earth alloys, master alloys, and custom ring sizes. Revenue generated through one-time product sales with pricing based on material type, purity, complexity, and quantity.
2. Material Processing Services: Value-added services including bonding (indium and elastomer), machining, grinding, cutting, milling, EDM, sheet and wire forming. Also includes material reclamation services where spent targets can be melted down and recast.
3. Overstock/Surplus Sales: Discounted overstock items sold through eBay store for bargain surplus targets.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

ACI Alloys manufactures high-purity sputtering targets, evaporation materials, backing plates, and custom alloys for thin film deposition and physical vapor deposition (PVD) applications. The company uses vacuum arc melting, vacuum induction melting, hot pressing, sintering, and precision machining in-house to produce alloys and targets from nearly all non-radioactive elements, serving academic and industrial research organizations worldwide.

Product overview

ACI Alloy is a manufacturer of high-purity thin film and PVD (Physical Vapor Deposition) materials, offering sputtering targets, evaporation materials, and custom alloys. The company operates as a materials manufacturer with core products including sputtering targets (arc-cast in argon for 100% density), evaporation materials (for thermal deposition), and bonding services (indium and elastomer). Their product portfolio spans precious metals (platinum, palladium, gold, iridium), rare earth alloys (all lanthanides), and custom alloy formulations. Additional offerings include master alloys, reclamation services for precious metals, and elemental MSDS documentation. All products are manufactured in-house at their San Jose, CA facility with capabilities for alloying, pressing, machining, grinding, sheet/wire forming, and material reclamation.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Sputtering Targets High-purity elemental metal sputtering targets manufactured by arc-casting in inert argon gas to achieve 100% density and minimal oxygen content, also produced via hot-pressing, cold pressing, vacuum induction melting, or hot/cold rolling, then machined to customer-specified tolerances. Used for thin film deposition by academic and industrial research organizations.
• Evaporation Materials High-purity evaporation materials for thermal evaporation and deposition processes, supplied as sources, pellets, and wire. Materials include barium, calcium, chromium, magnesium, osmium, rhenium, ruthenium, titanium, tungsten, and custom alloys. Used in PVD and thermal evaporation applications by research and industrial customers.
• Bonding and Backing Plates Indium bonding for efficient heat extraction and thermal expansion accommodation, plus elastomer bonding for high-temperature and low-melting-point material applications up to 250°C, combined with custom backing plate specifications. Sold alongside manufactured targets to deliver ready-to-mount sputtering assemblies.
• Custom Alloys Bespoke alloy compositions produced using custom arc melters and vacuum induction melters to customer-specified compositions and stoichiometries, ranging from small batches for alloy standards to large batches of master alloys. For customers needing unusual alloy combinations across nearly every non-radioactive element on the periodic table.
• Master Alloys Pre-made alloy compositions designed for addition to base metals in manufacturing processes to control microstructure and achieve specific material properties. Used across multiple industries in production-scale metallurgy.
• Rare Earth Alloys High-purity lanthanide metals and alloys arc-cast in pure argon atmosphere into cold copper crucibles, including cerium, dysprosium, erbium, europium, gadolinium, holmium, lanthanum, lutetium, neodymium, praeseodymium, samarium, scandium, terbium, thulium, yttrium, and ytterbium alloys. For research and industrial customers needing rare earth thin film materials.
• Precious Metals and Alloys Precious metal products including platinum (99.999%, 99.99%, 99.95%), palladium (99.999%, 99.99%, 99.95%), gold (99.999%, 99.99%), iridium (99.95%), rhodium (99.95%), ruthenium (99.95%), osmium (99.95%), and various precious metal alloys for evaporation and sputtering applications across aerospace, electronics, ceramics, automotive, and medical industries.
• Reclamation Services Metal reclamation services for precious metals and refractory materials, including melt-down and recast of spent sputtering targets plus credit programs for contaminated or alloyed materials. Helps customers recover value from used targets and reduce material costs.
• Thin Film Materials Thin film materials ranging from fractions of a nanometer to several micrometers in thickness for electronic semiconductors and optical coatings, including ceramics, precious and non-precious metals. Produced using sintering and vacuum hot pressing powder metallurgy techniques covering nearly all non-radioactive periodic table elements.

Quantifiable outcome

• 30+ years in business with established reputation in thin film materials industry
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Market position

Competitive moat4 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCaVw9di4AN5tHPQN57dFeKA
• Xx.com/acialloys
• Facebookfacebook.com/acialloys
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/aci-alloys

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 ACI Alloy