SAIC International Holdings

About SAIC International Holdings

At its core, Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) is a technology integrator, tackling complex engineering and IT challenges for the U.S. government. It plays a crucial role in national security, providing the technical know-how for defense, space, and intelligence missions. The company’s story begins in 1969 with a nuclear physicist, Dr. J. Robert Beyster. Frustrated by the bureaucratic shifts at his previous job, Beyster started SAIC in La Jolla, California, with a simple premise: create a company owned by its employees that would provide outstanding technical advice to the government. He launched the firm with his own savings and a couple of small government contracts. This model of employee ownership became the company's bedrock, designed to attract and retain top scientific and engineering talent. For decades, SAIC grew steadily by winning defense and intelligence contracts, expanding its expertise from nuclear energy to a wide array of government needs. A major turning point came in 2006 when the largely employee-owned company went public with an IPO. Perhaps the most defining event in its recent history was the 2013 split. To resolve organizational conflicts of interest and pursue more diverse contracts, the original company was divided. The parent was renamed Leidos, while a spin-off retained the SAIC name and a focus on government services and IT. This "new" SAIC, headquartered in Virginia, then embarked on a series of major acquisitions to bolster its market position, including purchasing Scitor in 2015, Engility for $2.5 billion in 2019, and the federal arm of Unisys in 2020. Today, under CEO Jim Reagan, SAIC continues to evolve. The company is sharpening its focus on high-growth areas like digital engineering and mission IT, aiming to provide the critical technology that underpins national defense and intelligence operations.