San Francisco-based engineering software startup Rescale has secured $115 million in fresh funding, led by Applied Materials and Nvidia. This capital infusion positions Rescale at the forefront of AI-driven cloud computing for complex engineering simulations and system designs.
By merging high-performance computing (HPC), artificial intelligence (AI), and cloud-native infrastructure, Rescale has redefined how industries—from aerospace to semiconductors—design and validate their most advanced products. The latest investment underscores the growing need for accelerated digital transformation across scientific computing and industrial R&D.
A Strategic Move by Industry Giants
Applied Materials and Nvidia both bring immense strategic value to Rescale’s platform. Applied Materials, a leading semiconductor manufacturing equipment provider, continues to expand its AI and simulation capabilities. Nvidia, a global powerhouse in GPUs and AI computing, deepens its collaboration with Rescale by fueling next-gen simulation workloads with its powerful hardware and software ecosystem.
Both companies view Rescale as a critical link in modernizing the simulation stack. By investing directly, they aim to drive industry-wide efficiency, reduce time-to-market for complex designs, and enable engineers to solve physics-level problems faster than ever before.
Rescale’s Core Mission: Modernizing Simulation Infrastructure
Founded in 2011 by Joris Poort and Adam McKenzie, Rescale aims to make simulation-driven engineering faster, smarter, and more accessible. The company has developed a cloud platform that runs thousands of engineering applications, allowing researchers, engineers, and scientists to tap into high-powered computing without building costly internal data centers.
Rescale provides a secure, scalable, and AI-optimized environment that enables simulations across a wide range of domains, including:
- Aerospace and defense design validation
- Semiconductor chip layout optimization
- Automotive crash testing and aerodynamic modeling
- Materials science and drug discovery
Instead of limiting engineers to fixed on-premise computing stacks, Rescale enables them to run applications across multiple cloud providers—AWS, Azure, Google Cloud—while optimizing cost, speed, and computational performance.
Why This Funding Round Matters
This $115 million raise marks a major milestone for Rescale. It follows a trend where enterprise software startups in the cloud-HPC space attract increasing attention due to their relevance in AI model training, complex simulations, and real-time data modeling.
Joris Poort, Rescale’s CEO, emphasized the strategic alignment of this round. “By bringing together advanced materials design and AI workloads on the cloud, we are enabling engineers to innovate at unprecedented speed,” Poort said. “With partners like Nvidia and Applied, we are reshaping what’s possible in science and engineering.”
With this new capital, Rescale will double down on AI integration into simulation workflows, enhance its multi-cloud orchestration engine, and grow its global R&D footprint. The company also plans to expand its presence across Europe and Asia-Pacific, where demand for digital twins and simulation-as-a-service continues to grow.
AI in Engineering: The New Frontier
Traditional engineering simulations rely on deterministic modeling—step-by-step analysis using mathematical equations. While accurate, these methods often take days or weeks to deliver results. AI now offers a solution by accelerating prediction models, filling data gaps, and reducing overall compute time.
Rescale integrates AI into every layer of the simulation process. Engineers can now run hybrid simulations that combine classical physics with neural network approximations. This approach allows faster iterations, lower costs, and deeper insights into system behavior.
For example, an aerospace firm can simulate wing deformation under turbulent airflow using AI-generated surrogate models—reducing a 48-hour run time to under 2 hours. A semiconductor company can predict thermal profiles across a chip using trained models without running every time-consuming Finite Element Analysis (FEA).
This convergence of AI and HPC unlocks a new era of intelligent design and innovation. Rescale sits at the center of this shift, providing the tools and compute infrastructure that enable seamless experimentation.
How Rescale Supports Major Industry Verticals
Rescale serves over 200 enterprise customers, including several Fortune 500 companies. Its clients operate in high-stakes sectors where precision, safety, and speed determine competitive edge. Some key verticals include:
1. Aerospace & Defense
Companies like Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and NASA use Rescale to simulate structural integrity, thermal dynamics, and flight performance. Rescale’s platform helps these companies meet stringent safety standards while cutting prototype cycles in half.
2. Automotive
EV startups and global auto manufacturers use Rescale to model crash safety, battery degradation, and aerodynamic flow. The platform supports high-fidelity tools like ANSYS, Altair, and Siemens Star-CCM+ with minimal setup time.
3. Semiconductors
With the complexity of chip design soaring, semiconductor firms need to simulate electrical, thermal, and mechanical characteristics before fabrication. Rescale’s cloud-native environment allows chip engineers to scale workloads dynamically—accelerating design verification.
4. Life Sciences
In the pharmaceutical and biotech industries, companies use Rescale to simulate protein folding, molecule interactions, and even lab-scale bioreactor environments. The result: faster drug discovery and lower experimental costs.
The Role of Nvidia and Applied Materials
Both Nvidia and Applied Materials stand to benefit from deeper integration with Rescale.
- Nvidia will continue optimizing GPU-accelerated workloads within Rescale’s platform. The startup already offers support for Nvidia’s CUDA libraries, AI toolkits, and physics simulation engines. This partnership will ensure Rescale clients access the best-in-class AI training infrastructure.
- Applied Materials can leverage Rescale to simulate materials at the atomic level using quantum and AI-assisted models. These insights directly inform equipment design, wafer processing, and defect analysis in chip manufacturing.
Together, these tech giants are not just funding a promising platform—they are actively shaping how the next generation of hardware and scientific breakthroughs will come to life.
Competitive Landscape and Market Timing
Rescale operates in a growing market segment—AI-enhanced simulation-as-a-service. Its main competitors include Ansys Cloud, SimScale, and Altair One. However, Rescale differentiates itself with unmatched flexibility, software compatibility, and AI-native tooling.
According to Grand View Research, the global CAE (Computer-Aided Engineering) market will surpass $18 billion by 2030, driven by cloud migration and AI. Enterprises are moving away from rigid, on-premise compute environments toward agile platforms like Rescale that reduce CapEx and increase R&D velocity.
The timing for this investment aligns with heightened global focus on digital engineering, supply chain resilience, and sustainable innovation. As companies seek to optimize everything from EV motors to sustainable construction materials, Rescale offers the computational backbone to make those ambitions real.
Looking Ahead: Rescale’s Roadmap
With its fresh capital, Rescale will:
- Scale global infrastructure to support cross-border compliance
- Expand AI libraries for physics-informed neural networks
- Support new simulation domains including quantum mechanics and fusion energy
- Grow its partner ecosystem with ISVs (Independent Software Vendors) and cloud providers
- Introduce tiered pricing models for startups, SMBs, and academic research
The company also plans to host its inaugural “Intelligent Simulation Summit” later this year—bringing together researchers, engineers, and enterprise leaders to share breakthroughs and use cases.
Conclusion
Rescale’s $115 million funding round marks a pivotal moment in the evolution of digital engineering. By fusing AI, cloud, and simulation at scale, Rescale empowers companies to design the future—faster, smarter, and more efficiently.
With Nvidia and Applied Materials now in its corner, Rescale doesn’t just promise innovation. It delivers the infrastructure to build it.