ParTec was founded in 1999 as a spin-off from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT). Since then, the company has become a trusted partner to governments, supercomputing centers, industrial enterprises, energy and infrastructure providers, quantum technology companies, and numerous European and national research initiatives.
From the beginning, our work has been guided by a simple conviction:
At a time when the industry pursued ever larger monolithic machines, ParTec pioneered modular supercomputing architectures that allow systems to evolve as technologies change. This vision led to the development of the dynamic Modular System Architecture (dMSA) and the ParaStation Modulo software suite, forming the foundation for scalable and energy-efficient supercomputing systems.
Today, modular architectures and orchestration technologies are becoming essential for building scalable, energy-efficient, and sovereign compute infrastructure for the era of AI and advanced computing.
Over more than two decades, ParTec technologies have powered some of Europe’s most advanced supercomputing systems.
Highlights include:
Today, two of the currently (November 2025, TOP500) world’s ten most powerful supercomputers are officially based on ParTec technology, demonstrating the scalability and robustness of modular architectures.
ParTec has also successfully integrated quantum computers into existing HPC environments, enabling hybrid computing infrastructures that combine classical supercomputing with emerging quantum technologies.
These systems support scientific discovery, industrial innovation, and sovereign digital infrastructure across Europe.
A central principle of ParTec’s work is co-design and deep customization.
Architectures, software, and system configurations are developed in close collaboration with partners and customers, aligning compute infrastructure precisely with workload requirements, energy constraints, and long-term technological strategies.
Beyond system design and delivery, ParTec also provides strategic advisory across the HPC ecosystem, supporting governments, research institutions, and industry.
This collaborative approach ensures that computing systems are not only powerful, but aligned with real-world operational needs and long-term infrastructure goals.
Research and development is a core pillar of ParTec’s work.
Over the past 15+ years, ParTec has participated in more than 18 European and national research and innovation projects spanning:
ParTec works with over 100 partners across the HPC ecosystem. This strong research foundation ensures that ParTec technologies remain at the forefront of advanced computing innovation.
ParTec’s technological leadership is supported by more than 150 patents across key HPC markets.
In 2023, ParTec became a publicly listed company, marking a new phase of growth while continuing to build on the technological foundation established over more than two decades.
Continuity remains a defining characteristic of the company. Both co-founders remain actively involved — one continuing to serve as CEO and the other as Co-Chairman of the Supervisory Board.
Many members of the ParTec team have been with the company for more than a decade, reflecting the deep expertise and long-term commitment that underpin ParTec’s work.
ParTec is deeply integrated into the European advanced computing ecosystem.
Several ParTec employees contribute their expertise in a personal capacity to European HPC policy and strategy discussions through bodies such as:
Through these activities, ParTec expertise helps inform discussions on the future direction of advanced computing technologies and infrastructure in Europe.
As advanced computing becomes critical infrastructure for economies, science, and artificial intelligence, scalable and energy-efficient compute capacity is becoming a strategic resource.
Building on this foundation, ParTec is also developing next-generation AI data centers, several of which are currently in planning and development.
These infrastructures combine high-performance computing capabilities with integrated renewable energy solutions, including:
ParTec’s leadership team combines decades of experience in advanced computing, technology innovation, and international organizations, guiding the company’s strategic direction and the development of next-generation compute infrastructure.
Bernhard Frohwitter co-founded ParTec in 1999 and has served as CEO since 2004. Trained as both an engineer and a lawyer, he began his career at Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm (MBB), working on satellite solar deployment systems. After founding two successful high-tech intellectual property law firms, he co-founded ParTec. From the outset, he pursued a strong conviction in modular system architectures at a time when the industry largely focused on building ever-larger monolithic machines. Under his leadership, ParTec has become a key contributor to Europe’s high-performance computing ecosystem, enabling some of the continent’s most powerful supercomputing systems and strengthening Europe’s technological sovereignty.
Hans Kilger has served as CFO of ParTec AG since August 2023 and additionally as COO since June 2025. He brings decades of entrepreneurial and financial leadership experience. In this role, he supports the company’s sovereign AI data center initiatives and oversees operational coordination across ParTec’s international partner ecosystem.
Thomas Moschny joined ParTec in 2007 and serves as Chief HPC Solution Officer and CTO since 2013. He leads the development of ParTec’s core technologies, including the ParaStation Modulo Software Suite and the dynamic Modular System Architecture (dMSA), which power some of Europe’s most powerful and energy-efficient supercomputers.
Ina Schmitz, CPO at ParTec , applies for and monitors the implementation of R&D projects and provides strategic guidance for supercomputing, AI and quantum computing initiatives. With more than 15 years at ParTec, her leadership drives success in advanced computing projects and collaborations.
Frank Westermann serves as Chief Human Resources & Corporate Development Officer at ParTec since October 2022. With decades of leadership experience in international organizations, he leads the company’s human resources strategy and corporate development initiatives, strengthening organizational capabilities and supporting ParTec’s continued growth in advanced computing infrastructures.
Copyright: Bernhard Huber
Prof. Dr. Reimund Neugebauer, Chairman of the Supervisory Board at ParTec, is a proven expert in mechanical engineering and forming technology and was President of Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft for more than a decade until 2023, leading one of the most renowned application-oriented scientific organisations in Europe. Prior to this, Professor Neugebauer headed the Fraunhofer Institute for Machine Tools and Forming Technology IWU in Chemnitz for 21 years, turning it into an international leading partner for the automotive and mechanical engineering industry. Prof. Neugebauer has been a member of the German Chancellor’s Future Council and the renowned Innovation Dialogue of Chancellor Merkel. He is a fellow of the International Academy for Production Engineering (CIRP), an international Advisor of Fukushima Research, Innovation and Education Institute (F-REI) in Japan as well as a member of acatech – National Academy of Science and Engineering in Germany.
Hugo Falter co-founded ParTec in 1999. He served as Co-CEO and COO from 2016 to 2024 and now acts as Co-Chairman of the Supervisory Board. Falter has contributed to shaping Europe’s high-performance computing ecosystem from early cluster architectures to today’s Exascale systems through his expertise and long-standing collaborations across the European HPC community.
Copyright: Jülich Supercomputing Centre
Prof. Dr. Thomas Schulthess, Professor of Computational Physics at ETH Zurich and Director of the Swiss National Supercomputing Center (CSCS) since 2008, is a prominent leader in high-performance computing. A two-time recipient of the ACM Gordon Bell Prize, he pioneered groundbreaking petascale simulations at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Under his leadership, CSCS developed Europe’s first GPU-accelerated supercomputing system and co-designed MeteoSwiss’ advanced weather forecasting model for GPU architectures, earning the prestigious Swiss ICT Award in 2016.
Find out more about ParTec and its technologies by downloading our company overview as well as our Modular Supercomputing Flyer.
