Dr. Masha Petrova is CEO and co-founder of Nullspace Inc., a venture-backed company developing next-generation electromagnetic simulation software for RF and quantum computing applications. She brings 25 years of engineering software experience from executive roles at MSC Software, Altium, and Ansys, and several computational software start-ups. Dr. Petrova holds a Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering from UC San Diego and a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Delaware.
What is Nullspace?
Nullspace is rebuilding electromagnetic simulation from the ground up to handle the scale and complexity of modern RF systems. Nullspace makes software that helps engineers design and validate these systems, from satellite constellations and advanced platforms to 5G infrastructure and quantum computing hardware.
The core challenge Nullspace is addressing is that the simulation tools engineers have relied on for decades are 40+ years old and were created before parallel computing architecture even existed. These legacy tools were not built for modern computing.
As RF systems have grown exponentially more complex with dozens of antennas, phased array systems, or massive MIMO configurations, these legacy tools often crash or take weeks, or even months, to run when used on real-world applications that require highly-accurate physics simulations.
Nullspace has built a solver architecture to take full advantage of parallel computing, along with both CPU and GPU acceleration combined with a proprietary compression algorithm, delivering up to 25x faster performance for simulations that typically overwhelm traditional tools.
Nullspace was incubated inside a U.S. defense contractor for over a decade, where the technology was validated on mission-critical DoD products. The company spun out three years ago to bring this defense-grade reliability to commercial markets. The Python API architecture also uniquely positions Nullspace for AI-driven optimization workflows, not AI replacing physics, but AI automating the iterative design process.
What problems is Nullspace solving?
The fundamental problem is that legacy electromagnetic solvers can’t handle the scale and complexity of modern RF systems. Engineers consistently tell Nullspace their simulations run for two weeks, then crash before delivering results. When facing a satellite launch deadline or program milestone, these failures create significant bottlenecks that put entire projects at risk.
Legacy tools force engineers to oversimplify their designs just to get something that runs. For example, simulating entire RF systems like a complex network of antennas on a spacecraft, or a phased array installed on a platform, is beyond the capability of these tools. Engineers have to break up these problems into pieces, simulate each separately, and then integrate the results, which creates loss of accuracy and increases design risk.
Nullspace solves this by enabling engineers to simulate full RF system designs accurately and significantly faster. Nullspace employs a full-fidelity 3D physics solver based on the Method of Moments that combines CPU and GPU acceleration with a proprietary compression algorithm to deliver fast results without loss of accuracy. This means faster iteration, fewer prototype spins, and the ability to validate designs that were previously impossible to simulate.
Where does Nullspace excel?
Nullspace excels in three key areas that share a common thread: complex electromagnetic and electrostatic challenges in advanced, next-generation systems that push the boundaries of traditional simulation.
Defense, aerospace, and communications industries: This is Nullspace’s area of expertise, including antenna placement and co-site analysis, radar cross-section analysis, and complex phased-array design. Nullspace software can handle electrically large problems that overwhelm legacy tools, simulating entire RF systems of a spacecraft or aircraft with all antennas interacting, a capability that sets the company apart.
Wireless infrastructure: 5G systems, phased array antennas, and next-generation communication networks. As companies pack more antennas into smaller spaces with more frequency bands, electromagnetic interference becomes critical. While legacy tools take weeks for these simulations, Nullspace can deliver results in hours or days.
Quantum computing hardware: Nullspace also develops the world’s only commercial electrostatic solver for extremely large-scale, rapid, and accurate design and analysis of structures that support modern quantum computers and particle accelerators. Leading quantum computing companies rely on Nullspace because it’s the only commercial solver capable of handling large-scale ion traps. Nullspace technology has powered multiple quantum computing world records.
What challenges were engineers facing before Nullspace?
Three challenges consistently come up in conversations with customers.
First is simulation reliability on tight deadlines. When tools fail after extended runtime with a critical deliverable approaching, teams face serious project risks and need dependable, fast solutions they can count on.
Second is the growing complexity of modern RF systems. Today’s satellites carry dozens of antennas, creating electromagnetic challenges that legacy tools simply cannot model effectively, if at all. The problems are scaling faster than the tools, and RF engineering talent is scarce enough that valuable engineers shouldn’t spend weeks waiting for simulations to complete. When design iterations take days or weeks, innovation slows dramatically.
Third is the productivity constraint this creates. Engineers need tools that can keep pace with the complexity of the systems they’re designing, not tools that force them to compromise or wait.
What makes Nullspace unique?
Nullspace’s differentiation is architectural. While others modify decades-old code, Nullspace rebuilt from scratch for modern parallel computing, representing a fundamental advancement in electromagnetic simulation capability.
Performance leads the differentiation: over 25x faster, Nullspace software can solve problems that crash competitor tools entirely. Beyond speed, the Python API foundation enables AI-guided optimization and automation, allowing engineers to set up iterative design loops that run automatically, a capability that’s difficult or impossible with legacy tools.
Nullspace runs efficiently on both CPUs and GPUs, while many other solutions require one or the other, or force costly per GPU or CPU pricing on customers.
Finally, Nullspace’s decade-plus validation on real products that were designed and delivered to DoD provides proven reliability. When organizations need mission-critical accuracy, that track record speaks volumes.
How do customers normally engage with Nullspace?
Engagement typically starts when traditional tools fail. An engineering team hits a wall, whether it’s a simulation that won’t converge, a model too large to run, or deadlines that current tools can’t meet. They reach out, often through word-of-mouth in the RF engineering community.
Nullspace runs a technology transfer process where the team takes the customer’s actual problem, sets it up in Nullspace, and demonstrates the performance gain. When they see their two-week simulation complete in ten hours with equal or better accuracy, the value becomes clear.
For defense and aerospace customers, security and compliance are critical. Nullspace’s defense background means the company understands ITAR requirements, can operate in air-gapped environments, and has experience with the procurement process. Nullspace provides extensive hands-on support during onboarding, working closely with customers to ensure they can tackle problems no other tool can handle.
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