Solving Control of Matter at the Atomic Scale
Nature is an unrivaled software architect. We intend to exceed her.
The Tale of Two Sciences
For decades, the "wet" sciences — biology, chemistry, molecular engineering — and the "dry" sciences — electronics, mechanical engineering, nanotechnology — have developed in parallel, separated by culture, language, and institutional boundaries. Biologists do not think in terms of impedance matching; electrical engineers do not think in terms of Gibbs free energy.
Yet at the atomic scale, the distinction dissolves entirely. A carbon nanotube and a protein alpha-helix are both just arrangements of atoms obeying the same fundamental forces. A plasmonic nanoantenna and a photosynthetic reaction center both transduce electromagnetic energy — one was designed by an engineer, the other by four billion years of evolution.
Can the tools of one be of use to the other? We believe so. At the atomic scale, both are the same.
The Programmable Matter pillar exists at this convergence. We do not do "nanotech" in the narrow sense. We do not do "biotech" in the narrow sense. We work at the level where the distinction is meaningless — where the only question is: what arrangement of atoms achieves the desired function?
The Atumics Programming Framework
APF
APF is an integrated software environment for designing functional structures at the atomic and molecular scale. Users specify desired physical behavior — frequency response, mechanical properties, chemical reactivity — and APF compiles a realizable atomic structure along with manufacturing instructions.
Think of it as a compiler, but instead of translating high-level code into machine instructions, it translates functional specifications into atomic arrangements and fabrication processes.
APF Capabilities
- • AI "fast simulation" surrogates trained on multi-physics datasets
- • Molecular dynamics, electromagnetic, and quantum chemistry solvers in a unified interface
- • Growing standard library of validated atomic-scale components
- • Export to fabrication: DNA synthesis protocols, e-beam lithography masks, CVD recipes
Available as licensed SaaS platform for academic and industrial R&D partners. Currently ~140 institutional licenses active.
Gluino
Autonomous Manufacturing Interface
Named after the hypothetical supersymmetric partner of the gluon, Gluino is the bridge between Atumics' design tools and the physical world. It is a software-hardware integration layer that connects APF designs to manufacturing systems — turning atomic-scale blueprints into real objects.
Gluino interfaces with commercial additive manufacturing, PCB fabrication, and chemical synthesis platforms via standardized APIs. It generates complete manufacturing packages — bill of materials, CAM files, assembly instructions — from APF designs. It operates automated laboratory equipment for experiments designed by our AI scientist systems. And it retrofits existing factory equipment with AI-driven process control.
Deployed at Atumics production facilities and 12 partner manufacturers worldwide.
Atum Engineer
Generative Design System
The applied design intelligence of Atumics. Given a mission or product requirement expressed in natural language, Atum Engineer searches the patent literature and materials science databases, synthesizes candidate designs through AI-driven concept generation, validates them through simulation, and produces complete manufacturing specifications via Gluino.
Deployed internally and available to partners for next-generation sensor and radar component design.
Atomic Component Catalog
The APF standard library contains a growing catalog of validated atomic-scale components. Each has been simulated, fabricated, and characterized. They are the building blocks from which arbitrarily complex functional structures are assembled.
Plasmonic Nanoantennas
Sub-wavelength electromagnetic transducers operating from RF through optical.
Molecular Oscillators
Precision frequency references at molecular scale for timing and signal processing.
DNA Origami Scaffolds
Programmable three-dimensional frameworks for positioning functional elements with nanometer accuracy.
Protein Actuators
Biological machines repurposed and enhanced for mechanical work at the molecular scale.
Quantum Dot Arrays
Semiconductor nanocrystals arranged for optical computing and sensing.
Metamaterial Cells
Engineered unit cells exhibiting electromagnetic properties not found in nature.
Molecular Waveguides
Channeling electromagnetic and acoustic energy along molecular pathways.
Self-Replicating Assemblers
Molecular systems capable of copying their own structure using environmental feedstock.
From Toys to Products
Programmable matter research programme launched. APF v0.1 internal release.
First plasmonic nanoantenna array fabricated and characterized at 300 GHz.
DNA origami scaffold demonstrated as positioning template for quantum dot arrays.
APF neural surrogate achieves 1000x speedup over direct multi-physics simulation.
APF v2.0 released to external partners. 80 institutional licenses. Gluino pilot launched.
Standard component library exceeds 200 validated elements. Self-replicating assembler demonstrated in laboratory conditions.