Atomistix

Atomistix A/S was a Copenhagen-based scientific-software company focused on computational modelling at atomic and nanoscale levels. Founded in October 2003 by researchers Kurt Stokbro, Jeremy Taylor, and Thomas Magnussen, the company commercialized software derived from academic work in quantum transport and density-functional theory. Its products were intended for researchers and engineers studying molecular electronics, nanotechnology, semiconductor materials, and related problems in computational materials science. The company’s technical foundations were closely connected to the Nano-Science Center at the Niels Bohr Institute of the University of Copenhagen. Atomistix also worked with nanotechnology centres, individual researchers, and private companies internationally. Its early development drew on TranSIESTA, a research program based on the SIESTA electronic-structure method. Atomistix re-engineered and extended this research code into commercial software, initially producing TranSIESTA-C and later developing the Atomistix ToolKit. Atomistix’s principal commercial products were Atomistix ToolKit, commonly abbreviated ATK, and Atomistix Virtual NanoLab, or VNL. ATK supplied computational engines and scientific methods, while VNL offered a graphical environment for setting up, running, and interpreting simulations. The software combined a user-oriented interface with advanced methods based primarily on density functional theory and non-equilibrium Green’s function techniques. ATK also included a Python-based scripting interface called NanoLanguage and a text-file interface, allowing users to automate simulations and construct more complex workflows. The company operated internationally, with an Asia-Pacific subsidiary in Singapore and an Americas subsidiary in California. Its management included Børge Witthøft as president and chief executive officer, Jeremy Taylor as chief technology officer, Klaus Melchior in combined operating and financial roles, and Niels Nielsen as vice president for sales and marketing. Atomistix entered bankruptcy in September 2008. In December of that year, the newly established company QuantumWise announced that it had acquired the assets of the Atomistix estate and intended to continue development and marketing of ATK and VNL. The Atomistix corporate entity therefore did not continue as an independent operating company, although its software technology and product lineage survived through QuantumWise. Synopsys acquired QuantumWise in 2017, further extending the technology’s corporate succession beyond the Atomistix name.

Atomistix A/S was established in Copenhagen in October 2003 by Kurt Stokbro, Jeremy Taylor, and Thomas Magnussen. The founders came from a research environment concerned with electronic structure, quantum transport, and nanoscale systems. Their commercial project grew out of academic methods associated with TranSIESTA, a transport program built on the SIESTA electronic-structure framework. Taylor and Stokbro were among the authors associated with foundational work on electron-transport calculations, and that research provided an important technical starting point for the company’s products. From its beginning, Atomistix maintained a close relationship with the Nano-Science Center at the Niels Bohr Institute of the University of Copenhagen. The company also established collaborations with nanotechnology centres, experts, and private companies in different parts of the world. This combination of university-linked research and commercial software development shaped Atomistix’s role: it translated advanced computational methods into tools intended to be usable by researchers beyond the original academic development teams. The company initially developed TranSIESTA-C, a C-language redevelopment of the earlier TranSIESTA research code. It subsequently evolved this technology into the Atomistix ToolKit, a more extensive commercial computational platform. Atomistix paired the calculation engine with Atomistix Virtual NanoLab, a graphical environment designed to make the preparation of simulations resemble work in a laboratory. Users could define structures and calculation settings, execute simulations, and inspect results through the visual environment, while more advanced users could work through NanoLanguage, a Python-based interface, or text-based input. The software addressed problems in quantum chemistry, computational materials science, molecular electronics, semiconductor research, and nanotechnology. Its principal theoretical methods included density functional theory and non-equilibrium Green’s function techniques, together with the quantum-mechanical methods required to model electronic structures and transport. The product family was therefore positioned between specialist academic codes and more accessible engineering software, offering both sophisticated scientific capabilities and workflow tools. Atomistix expanded its commercial reach outside Denmark through an Asia-Pacific subsidiary in Singapore and an Americas subsidiary in California. Its listed management team included chief executive Børge Witthøft, co-founder and chief technology officer Jeremy Taylor, chief operating and financial officer Klaus Melchior, and sales and marketing vice president Niels Nielsen. The company’s independent existence ended when Atomistix A/S entered bankruptcy in September 2008. In December 2008, QuantumWise announced that it had acquired all assets from the Atomistix estate. QuantumWise stated that it would continue development and marketing of Atomistix ToolKit and Atomistix Virtual NanoLab. This transaction preserved the principal software line even though the original Atomistix company became defunct. QuantumWise was later acquired by Synopsys in 2017, placing the Atomistix-derived technology within a larger electronic-design and scientific-computing organisation.

• 2017

  QuantumWise is acquired by Synopsys

  [1]Atomistixen.wikipedia.org

  Synopsys acquired QuantumWise, the successor company responsible for continuing Atomistix’s principal software products.

• 2008

  Atomistix enters bankruptcy

  [1]Atomistixen.wikipedia.org

  Atomistix A/S went bankrupt in September, ending its independent corporate operations.

• 2008

  QuantumWise takes over the software assets

  [1]Atomistixen.wikipedia.org

  QuantumWise announced in December that it had acquired the Atomistix estate’s assets and would continue the ATK and VNL product lines.

• 2003

  Atomistix is founded

  [1]Atomistixen.wikipedia.org

  Kurt Stokbro, Jeremy Taylor, and Thomas Magnussen founded Atomistix A/S in Copenhagen in October 2003.

Specialist scientific software for quantum-mechanical modelling of materials, molecules, nanoscale structures, and electronic transport, combining advanced research methods with a graphical laboratory-style workflow and programmable interfaces.

• Quantum-mechanical and nanoscale simulation software

  Atomistix ToolKit (ATK)

  Atomistix ToolKit was the company’s primary computational engine for modelling atomic, molecular, materials, and nanoscale electronic systems. Its methods were based principally on density functional theory and non-equilibrium Green’s function techniques. ATK developed from the earlier TranSIESTA-C code and supported both graphical workflows through Virtual NanoLab and programmable or text-based workflows through NanoLanguage and other interfaces.

• Graphical scientific workflow environment

  Atomistix Virtual NanoLab (VNL)

  Virtual NanoLab provided a graphical environment for constructing nanoscale simulation models, configuring calculations, launching computational jobs, and examining results. Its laboratory metaphor was intended to make complex quantum-mechanical workflows more approachable while retaining access to the underlying scientific models. VNL worked with the Atomistix ToolKit and formed the user-facing part of the company’s main software offering.

• Electronic-transport simulation software

  TranSIESTA-C

  TranSIESTA-C was an early Atomistix product derived from the TranSIESTA research program. The C designation distinguished the commercial redevelopment from the earlier Fortran implementation. It provided the technical foundation for later Atomistix products and represented the company’s initial effort to turn academic quantum-transport methods into a commercial software package.

• Scientific visualization software

  IView

  IView was listed among Atomistix’s legacy products. It belonged to the company’s earlier generation of tools supporting the visualization or inspection of scientific modelling work, before the product family became centred on the integrated Atomistix ToolKit and Virtual NanoLab environment.

• 2008

  Atomistix files for bankruptcyOther

  Background

  Atomistix A/S entered bankruptcy in September 2008, bringing its period as an independent scientific-software company to an end.

  Action taken

  The company’s estate proceeded through bankruptcy, with its assets later acquired by QuantumWise.

  Aftermath

  The Atomistix corporate entity became defunct, but its principal software products continued under QuantumWise.

  Source

• 2008

  QuantumWise acquires the Atomistix estate’s assetsM&A

  Background

  Following Atomistix’s bankruptcy, QuantumWise was newly established and announced that it had acquired all assets from the Atomistix estate.

  Action taken

  QuantumWise assumed the development and marketing of Atomistix ToolKit and Atomistix Virtual NanoLab.

  Aftermath

  The product technology survived the failure of Atomistix as an independent company and subsequently became part of QuantumWise’s business.

  Source

• 2017

  Synopsys acquires QuantumWise[1]Atomistixen.wikipedia.org

  M&A

  QuantumWise, the successor company that had acquired Atomistix’s assets, was acquired by Synopsys.

• 2008

  Atomistix enters bankruptcy[1]Atomistixen.wikipedia.org

  Bankruptcy

  Atomistix A/S went bankrupt in September 2008, ending its operation as an independent company.

• 2008

  QuantumWise acquires Atomistix assets[1]Atomistixen.wikipedia.org

  M&A

  QuantumWise announced in December 2008 that it had acquired the assets of the Atomistix estate and would continue developing and marketing ATK and VNL.

1. 1Atomistixen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Density-functional method for nonequilibrium electron transportdoi.org
3. 3The SIESTA method for ab initio order-N materials simulationdoi.org