Semichem

What Semichem does

Semichem, Inc. is a privately held US software company founded in 1992 and headquartered in Shawnee, Kansas, that develops and licenses computational chemistry software for academic, commercial, and government customers. The company's flagship product, AMPAC, is a complete semiempirical quantum mechanical program implementing NDDO methods (PM6, AM1, PM3, RM1, MNDO/d, MINDO3, SAM1, MNDOC) for molecular modeling, geometry optimization, transition state location, reaction pathway analysis, configuration interaction, solvation modeling (COSMO, AMSOL/SM5 series), and sparse matrix calculations for large systems. AMPAC ships with AGUI, a 3D graphical user interface described as a superset of GaussView that integrates with Gaussian workflows. CODESSA, the second flagship product, is an advanced QSAR program calculating 600+ molecular descriptors (constitutional, topological, electrostatic, quantum-chemical, thermodynamic) and is developed in collaboration with Professors Alan Katritzky (University of Florida) and Mati Karelson (University of Tartu).

The company monetizes its software through annual renewable licenses sold directly via its website in three tiers — Desktop, Site (one OS), and Site (all OS) — with separate Academic, Commercial, and US Government pricing. Commercial desktop licenses start at $5,000 initial plus $1,700/year maintenance, and commercial site licenses range from $10,000 to $27,000 initial plus $3,300-$9,000 annual maintenance. Bundle pricing is available for AMPAC + CODESSA, and cluster/server licenses are offered for HPC installations exceeding eight cores. Perpetual licenses are also available. Software is delivered exclusively via electronic download with keyfile-based activation. Semichem maintains active university licenses in over 30 countries and is supported by an 11-50 person organization with no disclosed external funding, M&A activity, or leadership changes on record.

Name

Semichem

Legal name

Semichem, Inc.

Website

https://semichem.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1992

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Semichem, Inc. is a privately held US software company founded in 1992 that develops and licenses AMPAC (semiempirical quantum mechanics) and CODESSA (QSAR) computational chemistry software to academic institutions, commercial research firms, and US government agencies in over 30 countries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Shawnee

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Software Licenses: Annual renewable licenses for AMPAC and CODESSA software sold as Desktop, Site (one OS), and Site (all OS) license tiers for Academic, Commercial, and Government sectors. Includes node-locked and cluster/server license options with perpetual license alternatives.
2. Annual Maintenance: Annual maintenance required for site and server/cluster licenses (included in initial year). Optional for desktop licenses. Provides free product updates and full customer support for one year.
3. Bundle Pricing: Combined AMPAC and CODESSA bundle licenses offered at discounted rates compared to individual product purchases.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Semichem develops and licenses proprietary computational chemistry software for academic, commercial, and government research customers. Its flagship offering is AMPAC, a complete semiempirical quantum mechanical program with an integrated AGUI graphical interface for molecular modeling, geometry optimization, transition state location, vibrational analysis, and solvation modeling. The company also offers CODESSA, an advanced QSAR program that calculates 600+ molecular descriptors and ties outputs from AMPAC, Gaussian, and AIMALL to experimental data for predicting chemical, physical, and biological properties.

Product overview

Semichem offers a portfolio of two flagship computational chemistry software products: AMPAC (a complete semiempirical quantum mechanical program) and CODESSA (a Quantitative Structure/Activity Relationship program). AMPAC includes the AGUI graphical user interface for 3D molecular visualization. PM6 is a specific semiempirical method available within AMPAC. The products are offered as standalone desktop licenses or site licenses, with academic pricing available. CODESSA integrates data from AMPAC, Gaussian, and AIMALL computational chemistry programs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• AMPAC: Semichem's flagship product - a complete semiempirical quantum mechanical program with state-of-the-art graphics and graphical user interface (GUI) for building and visualization. AMPAC 10 represents their seventh major update since 1992.
• CODESSA
• AGUI

Products and services

• AMPAC 10 Complete semiempirical quantum mechanical program used by academic, commercial, and government researchers for computational chemistry calculations, including molecular modeling, geometry optimization, transition state location, vibrational analysis, and solvation modeling. Includes the AGUI graphical interface and supports methods such as PM6, AM1, PM3, MNDO, MNDO/d, MNDOC, MINDO3, SAM1, SAM1D, and RM1.
• CODESSA 3 Advanced Quantitative Structure/Activity Relationship (QSAR) program developed with Professors Alan Katritzky (University of Florida) and Mati Karelson (University of Tartu). Calculates more than 600 molecular descriptors (constitutional, topological, electrostatic, quantum-chemical, and thermodynamically weighted) and applies multilinear regression to tie results from AMPAC, Gaussian, and AIMALL to experimental data for property and biological activity prediction.
• AGUI (AMPAC Graphical User Interface) Graphical user interface for AMPAC supporting point-and-click molecular building, editing, saving, and 3D visualization of molecular structures and computational results. Functions as an integrated front-end for AMPAC and Gaussian through a superset of GaussView capabilities, aimed at students and researchers who need visualization for publications and teaching.
• PM6 Semi-empirical Method General-purpose semiempirical NDDO method developed by Dr. James J.P. Stewart offering improved performance over AM1, PM3, and RM1 for traditional systems, with support for transition metals through Bismuth and special correction terms for carbon triple bonds, secondary/tertiary amines, and H2. Available as a method within AMPAC for geometry optimization, transition state location, and related calculations.

Quantifiable outcome

• 2x-10x time savings over competing packages
• +3 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

Integration3 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Gaussian, Inc.coreTechnology or IntegrationSemichem and Gaussian, Inc. partnered to produce GaussView, the industry standard visualization program. Because AGUI (AMPAC's GUI) is a superset of GaussView, users can enjoy the power of AMPAC and Gaussian from a common interface.
• Professor Alan Katritzky (University of Florida)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration between Semichem and Professor Alan Katritzky of the University of Florida in developing CODESSA QSAR software. Katritzky's research group contributed to the theoretical foundation and validation of CODESSA methods.
• Professor Mati Karelson (University of Tartu, Estonia)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration between Semichem and Professor Mati Karelson of the University of Tartu in developing CODESSA QSAR software. Karelson contributed expertise in computational chemistry and QSAR methodology.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Q-Chem: Q-Chem develops quantum chemistry software for academic and commercial researchers. It competes with AMPAC in semiempirical and ab initio molecular modeling for the same computational chemistry buyer.
• OpenEye Scientific (Cadence Molecular Sciences): OpenEye develops molecular modeling and cheminformatics software (e.g., OMEGA, FRED, ROCS) for pharmaceutical and computational chemistry users. It overlaps with Semichem on molecular visualization, structure handling, and QSAR-related workflows.
• Schrödinger, Inc. Schrödinger provides computational chemistry and materials science software for pharmaceutical and industrial R&D. It overlaps with Semichem's commercial-research customer base and competes in molecular modeling, property prediction, and QSAR workflows.
• Chemical Computing Group (CCDC / MOE): CCDC's Molecular Operating Environment (MOE) is a drug-discovery and molecular modeling platform used in both academic and pharmaceutical settings. It competes with CODESSA in QSAR and structure-activity modeling workflows.
• Gaussian, Inc. Gaussian develops the widely-used Gaussian quantum chemistry program. It is both a direct competitor in computational chemistry software and a partner (Semichem and Gaussian co-developed GaussView), with overlapping customers in academic and commercial research labs.

Regional players

• Turbomole: Turbomole is a quantum chemistry program with strong adoption in European academic and industrial labs. It competes with AMPAC for computational chemistry customers, particularly across European research institutions.

Emerging players

• Molpro: Molpro is a specialist ab initio quantum chemistry package with strong adoption in academic computational chemistry groups. It is a narrower competitor than Gaussian but targets the same semiempirical and correlated-wavefunction buyers as AMPAC.
• Psi4 (open source): Psi4 is an open-source quantum chemistry program widely used in academic and educational settings. As a free alternative, it competes with AMPAC on price-sensitive academic site licenses and teaching labs.

Others

• AIMAll (AIMALL Inc.): AIMAll provides quantum chemical topology analysis software that CODESSA directly integrates with. It is a tightly-coupled ecosystem partner rather than a direct competitor, relevant for understanding Semichem's data ingestion pipeline.

Broad incumbents

• Dassault Systèmes BIOVIA: BIOVIA offers a broad suite of materials and chemistry simulation tools (including Gaussian integration). It competes with Semichem across enterprise R&D customers and provides a wider portfolio spanning discovery, materials science, and regulatory.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/semichem-inc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 Semichem