Apple agreed to acquire PlasmaSolve s.r.o., a materials science software company based in Brno, Czech Republic, according to a notice published on the European Commission's Digital Markets Act website on 3 August 2026. The notice said Apple, acting through a subsidiary, would take the entire issued share capital of PlasmaSolve and offer jobs to some of its employees.
Neither company announced the deal, and no price was disclosed. Apple has to inform the Commission of acquisitions under the Digital Markets Act, which is how the transaction became public. Reports differed on its timing: iClarified wrote that Apple had completed the purchase in April, while MacTech, 9to5Mac and the Czech government trade agency CzechTrade described it as an agreed deal without giving a closing date.
Apple did not say what it plans to do with PlasmaSolve's software or how many of its staff it would hire. 9to5Mac reported that the MatSight website had been taken down after the deal became known.
What PlasmaSolve built
PlasmaSolve was founded in 2016 and worked on plasma-based manufacturing technology, digital twin modelling and simulation. According to the EU notice, its products include plasma simulation software used to design and tune manufacturing processes that rely on plasma.
Its main product, MatSight, was added in 2023, according to 9to5Mac. The software models physical vapour deposition (PVD) and plasma-enhanced chemical vapour deposition (PECVD), two processes that put very thin layers of material onto a surface. iClarified said the software combined physics, chemistry and machine-learning models to build digital replicas of coating systems, and named Kolzer, Von Ardenne and the Danish Technological Institute among its early users.
One practical use, as described by 9to5Mac, is checking that a coating spreads evenly across a three-dimensional object, including curved edges and buttons, before a manufacturer commits to a production run.
CzechTrade described PlasmaSolve's market more broadly as surface treatment and specialised material coatings. Before the deal, the company sold its tools to industrial users and research institutes rather than to a single device maker, judging by the early customers iClarified named.
Why Apple is buying
Apple has used vapour deposition for years to put thin, durable films on the casings of products including iPhone models, which reduces scratching and other surface wear, MacTech reported, citing MacRumors. A simulation tool for those processes could help Apple design and test coatings without as many physical trials.
Apple has not confirmed this reasoning. CzechTrade wrote that Apple had not disclosed its specific plans, and that industry reports linked the expertise to more durable enclosures and surface finishes on future devices. 9to5Mac suggested the software could also support new materials and form factors, but presented this as speculation.
A small team in Brno
PlasmaSolve was a small company. iClarified reported that it employed between two and ten people and was founded by Adam Obrusnik. 9to5Mac described the founders as specialists in plasma technology and materials science. None of the reports gave figures for outside funding, and none of the sources named venture investors.
MacTech noted that PlasmaSolve's company website listed research and grant funding for its materials science work, but did not give amounts. The EU notice said Apple would hire certain PlasmaSolve employees, without saying how many or whether the founder would join.
How Apple's deals come to light
Apple buys small technology companies regularly and rarely announces them, iClarified noted. Under the Digital Markets Act, companies designated as gatekeepers must tell the European Commission about planned acquisitions in the digital sector, and the Commission publishes short summaries of those notices. That process has made more of Apple's smaller European deals visible than in the past.
PlasmaSolve is an unusual target in that it sells to manufacturers rather than consumers or app developers. Its software sits close to Apple's hardware supply chain, where coatings, materials and finishes are developed with suppliers before products reach the market. Neither company has commented on the deal publicly.
