Virtual Lab

Virtual Lab Inc. (VirtualLab) is a South Korean software company founded in 2016 that builds cloud platforms for materials research and development. Its mission is to lower the complexity of research and lift the value of data by connecting researchers with digital methods — simulation, data, and AI — inside the workflows they already use. The company is headquartered in Seongdong-gu, Seoul, and operates as a certified corporate R&D centre and venture business. It has participated in multiple national R&D projects funded by South Korean government bodies including MSIT, KEIT, KIST, and KIER. VirtualLab's flagship product is Materials Square, a browser-based platform that lets researchers run density functional theory (DFT), molecular dynamics (MD), and CALPHAD calculations without input cards, Linux know-how, or local compute setup. The company also offers D3Square, an AI-ready data platform that unifies scattered experimental and computational records and supports inverse design for the next experiment, and MAXFlops, a managed cloud HPC service tuned per solver that provides burst capacity when in-house resources run short. Together these products address three core needs: simulation, data management, and high-performance computing. The company targets materials R&D across batteries and energy materials, catalysts and surface science, semiconductors and devices, and polymers and composites. Its platforms are designed for industrial labs, academic researchers, and enterprise teams, with use cases including electrode screening, ion transport, electrolyte reactions, adsorption energy, NEB pathways, active-site discovery, defect energetics, band structure, doping effects, and MD/DPD workflows for formulation screening. VirtualLab was founded in 2016 and launched Materials Square v1.0 in 2017, followed by v2.0 in 2018. It has since expanded into data-driven materials design with D3Square (launched 2024) and HPC services with MAXFlops. The company remains privately held and venture-backed, with CEO Minho Lee leading the organisation. Its platforms are accessible globally via the cloud, and the company engages with customers through demos, proof-of-concept consultations, custom projects, and enterprise training.

Virtual Lab Inc. was founded in 2016 in South Korea as a venture business and certified corporate R&D centre. From the outset, the company focused on solving practical problems in materials R&D using simulation, data, and AI platforms. Its early work included participation in national R&D projects funded by South Korean government bodies such as MSIT, KEIT, KIST, and KIER. In 2017, VirtualLab launched Materials Square v1.0, a web-based simulation platform initially focused on lithium-ion battery simulation (iBat). That same year, the company was granted a patent for its core computational platform. In 2018, Materials Square v2.0 was released, adding a thermoelectric materials database developed with KRICT, and the company began a research behaviour-based R&D big-data framework project. In 2019, VirtualLab launched the SimPL simulation platform framework project and a machine-learning alloy design platform project. In 2020, it delivered a cloud-based interactive materials education environment. These projects expanded the company's capabilities from pure simulation toward data-driven and educational applications. By 2024, VirtualLab had launched D3Square v1.0, a platform for data-driven materials design that unifies scattered experimental and computational records and supports inverse design. The company also introduced MAXFlops, a managed cloud HPC service tuned per solver, completing its trio of simulation, data, and HPC offerings. As of the latest available information, VirtualLab remains a private venture company headquartered in Seoul, led by CEO Minho Lee, and continues to serve materials research teams globally through its cloud platforms.

• 2024

  D3Square v1.0 launched for data-driven materials design; MAXFlops HPC managed cloud service introduced.

• 2020

  Cloud-based interactive materials education environment delivered.

• 2019

  SimPL simulation platform framework project launched; machine-learning alloy design platform project launched.

• 2018

  Materials Square v2.0 released; thermoelectric materials database with KRICT; research behaviour-based R&D big-data framework project started.

• 2017

  Materials Square v1.0 launched; web-based lithium-ion battery simulation platform (iBat) introduced; core computational platform patent granted.

• 2016

  Virtual Lab Inc. founded; certified corporate R&D centre and venture business status.

Cloud-based, browser-accessible materials simulation, data, and HPC platforms that remove entry barriers for researchers, built by domain experts in materials science.

• Materials Square

  Flagship cloud platform for DFT, MD, and CALPHAD simulations accessible from a browser, with templates and workflows proven across industrial labs.

• D3Square

  AI-ready data platform that unifies scattered experimental and computational records and supports inverse design for the next experiment.

• MAXFlops

  Managed cloud HPC service tuned per solver, providing burst capacity when in-house resources run short.

• iBat

  Web-based lithium-ion battery simulation platform launched in 2017.

• SimPL

  Simulation platform framework project launched in 2019.

1. 1Virtual Lab Inc. – Scientific Research on the Cloudvirtuallab.co.kr
2. 2About – Virtual Lab Inc.virtuallab.co.kr
3. 3Contact – Virtual Lab Inc.virtuallab.co.kr
4. 4Wikidata – Virtual Labwikidata.org