Nominal
Nominal provides a unified software platform (Nominal Core cloud data product and Nominal Connect edge compute product) for hardware engineering teams to capture, stream, and analyze test and operational data. It serves defense primes, aerospace manufacturers, government agencies, and adjacent hardware-intensive industries on a subscription SaaS and IDIQ contract basis.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2022
- HeadquartersAustin, United States
- Headcount251–500
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Nominal does
Nominal is a private software company founded in 2022 that builds a unified industrial data stack for hardware engineering teams. Its platform consists of two products: Nominal Core, a cloud-based data platform that ingests multimodal engineering data (telemetry, video, logs, simulation results), provides real-time mission control with sub-500ms latency, and enables collaborative post-test analysis and trend reporting; and Nominal Connect, an edge compute product that lets engineers deploy Python-based test apps at the bench or in air-gapped environments and stream results back to Core.
The company sells primarily through enterprise field sales to defense primes, aerospace manufacturers, autonomous-systems developers, and government agencies, with four of the five largest global defense contractors among its customer base. Revenue is generated via annual subscription SaaS contracts plus government procurement vehicles including a $53M Air Force Test Center IDIQ, SBIR Phase III awards, and Navy program work. Pricing is quote-based and undisclosed publicly.
Nominal has raised approximately $155M across seed, Series B, and a March 2026 Series B-2 that valued it at $1B, with Founders Fund, Sequoia, General Catalyst, Lux Capital, Lightspeed, and Red Glass as investors. As of early 2026 the company employs 135 people across Austin, New York, Los Angeles, Washington D.C., and London, serves 60+ organizations including Anduril, Shield AI, GA-ASI, HII, Forterra, Hermeus, Pratt Miller, the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy, and DARPA, and reports 7x year-over-year revenue growth over the ten months following its Series B.
Nominal firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Nominal
- Legal name
- Nominal, Inc.
- Website
- https://www.nominal.io
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2022
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 251–500 employees
- Short description
- Nominal provides a unified software platform (Nominal Core cloud data product and Nominal Connect edge compute product) for hardware engineering teams to capture, stream, and analyze test and operational data. It serves defense primes, aerospace manufacturers, government agencies, and adjacent hardware-intensive industries on a subscription SaaS and IDIQ contract basis.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Nominal industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Industrial Data Platform / Hardware Test Software
- NAICS
- Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (51821), Computer Systems Design and Related Services (54151)
- SIC
- Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370), Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Data Quality, Profiling & Validation (within Integration) (HDAEACAI)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Data App Builders (Forms, Portals & Internal Tools) (HDAEAKAK), On-Device Inference Runtimes & SDKs (mobile/embedded) (HDAAAJAB)
Keywords
Where Nominal is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Austin
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices5 records
Markets served
Nominal business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Operations
Revenue model
- Software Platform Subscription (SaaS): Nominal Core (cloud data platform) and Nominal Connect (edge compute) sold as subscription-based software. Enterprise contracts include government agencies (AFTC IDIQ at $53M ceiling) and defense primes. Deployment options include secure clouds, private environments, and on-premises.
- Government and Defense Contracts: IDIQ (Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity) contracts with U.S. Air Force Test Center ($53M ceiling) and other DoD programs. Also SBIR Phase III transitions and Navy program support (MQ-25 Stingray).
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | Enterprise / Government SaaS platform |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels7 records
Nominal product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Nominal provides a unified industrial data stack consisting of two core software products: Nominal Core, a cloud-based data platform that ingests multimodal telemetry, video, logs, and simulation data and provides real-time mission control, post-test analysis, and trend reporting; and Nominal Connect, an edge compute platform that lets engineers deploy Python-based test apps at the bench, in remote ranges, or on production lines to read/write instruments and orchestrate repeatable tests. Together they replace fragmented legacy tooling (Excel, MATLAB, bespoke ETL) for hardware engineering teams in aerospace, defense, automotive, energy, and robotics.
Product overview
Nominal provides a unified software platform consisting of two core products: Nominal Core (the all-in-one data platform for hardware engineering) and Nominal Connect (the edge compute platform for hardware test apps). Together, these products form a connected software suite that enables engineering teams to execute tests, analyze results in real time, collaborate across disciplines, and deliver resilient hardware. Nominal Core serves as the central data and analysis workspace while Nominal Connect operates at the edge for local test execution, with data flowing between them for comprehensive hardware lifecycle management.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Nominal Core: The all-in-one data platform for hardware engineering that brings all engineering data and decisions together in one collaborative workspace. Captures and monitors telemetry, logs, video, and simulation results; executes trend analysis over time; analyzes performance and automates reporting.
- Nominal Connect
Products and services
- Nominal Core The all-in-one cloud data platform for hardware engineering that brings all engineering data and decisions together in one collaborative workspace. Captures and monitors telemetry, logs, video, and simulation results; executes trend analysis over time; analyzes performance; and automates reporting to accelerate development, production, and operations. Used by engineering teams at defense primes, aerospace companies, and government test programs.
- Nominal Connect The edge compute platform for hardware test that deploys test stands in minutes rather than months. Reads from and writes to instruments in real time at the edge; engineers build Python-based test apps that capture data, control hardware, and sequence repeatable tests. Supports offline operation with automatic sync when reconnected, and air-gapped deployment for classified environments. Designed for hardware engineering teams running tests at lab benches, remote test ranges, and on production lines.
Quantifiable outcome
- 40x faster telemetry ingest vs vendor-provided ETL solutions (Anduril case study)
- +9 more outcomes
Companies that use Nominal
Customer profileNamed customers13 records
Segments7 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Nominal technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration1 record
AI capability7 records
Feature6 records
Nominal partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
14 partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.
- DARPA (CyPhER Forge Program)flagshipNominal serves as the foundational data architecture for DARPA's CyPhER Forge program, executed through Air Force Test Center IDIQ. The program aims to use real-time digital twins and AI test agents to reduce required test points by an order of magnitude. Nominal provides the managed data layer and tooling ecosystem for performers building digital twins and autonomous agents to modernize combat system testing, with the goal of replacing live flight tests with high-confidence simulation.
- Fid Labs (Acquired)coreNominal acquired Fid Labs, a startup that built AI agents for robotics and hardware workflows. Fid Labs founder Adam Wolnikowski joined as AI Product Lead. This is Nominal's first strategic acquisition since the $80M Series B-2, combining Fid Labs' AI agents directly into Nominal's platform to enable automated analysis of complex hardware data at senior engineer-level quality.
- Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII)coreHII partnered with Nominal to modernize data processes and move from prototyping to higher-rate manufacturing for the ROMULUS 151 autonomous surface vessel program. Nominal supports HII's High-Yield Production Robotics initiative by providing data infrastructure for scalable production through robotics and digital quality systems.
- U.S. Navy (MQ-25 Stingray Program)corePhase III SBIR contract supporting the MQ-25 Stingray program, demonstrating Nominal's ability to bridge Air Force and Navy test requirements and expand across DoD services.
- ForterracoreNominal selected by Forterra to provide data infrastructure for testing, validation, and mission operations of Forterra's AutoDrive autonomous driving system. The partnership unifies data from simulation labs, hardware-in-the-loop testing, and distributed test ranges, enabling faster validation and real-time field visibility as vehicle deployments scale for ROGUE-Fires and Army ground autonomy initiatives.
- Naval Air Systems Command (PMA-281 and PMA-208)corePartnership with Naval Air Systems Command programs PMA-281 and PMA-208 for the Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) efforts, supporting flight test demonstrations with Shield AI and Kratos for AI-enabled autonomy and manned-unmanned teaming concepts.
- KratosminorKratos flew BQM-177A subsonic aerial targets powered by Shield AI's Hivemind autonomy software as part of Navy CCA flight test demonstrations, with Nominal Core used for test planning, data collection, and post-flight analysis.
- Anduril IndustriesflagshipAnduril adopted Nominal as the analysis platform underpinning test and evaluation workflows across multiple programs. Nominal unified test analysis across autonomous vehicle programs, cutting review time from 5+ hours to near real-time across 300+ engineers. Data ETL pathways were 40x faster than existing vendor systems. 6 programs supported across air, sea, land, and space with 300+ active users.
- Shield AIcoreShield AI partnered with Nominal for the U.S. Navy's Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) flight test demonstration. Shield AI's Hivemind autonomy software powered BQM-177A subsonic aerial targets, with Nominal Core used for test planning, data collection, and post-flight analysis enabling Navy and industry teams to assess autonomy performance and mission execution.
- Pratt Miller MotorsportsminorNominal became the data backbone for Pratt Miller's racing operations (formerly GM's Corvette Racing program), covering instrumentation management, wind tunnel testing, driver simulation, and race day telemetry. Thousands of sensor channels and terabytes of data flowing through one connected platform for the 2026 IMSA racing season.
- General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI)coreGA-ASI partnered with Nominal for flight telemetry data acquisition, processing, and centralized data management as part of their new approach to data operations.
- U.S. Air Force Test Center (AFTC)flagship$53M IDIQ contract ceiling for data infrastructure modernization across Edwards, Eglin, and Arnold test facilities. SBIR Phase III transition following successful Phase II with U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School. AFTC Commander Maj. Gen. Scott Cain described the initiative as 'connective tissue' between test facilities providing a standardized software layer for interoperable and actionable data.
- AWS (Amazon Web Services)coreAWS cloud integration for Nominal's platform. Nominal supports AWS GovCloud deployment for government customers requiring secure cloud infrastructure.
- Microsoft AzurecoreMicrosoft Azure cloud integration for Nominal's platform. Supports government deployments requiring Azure Government Cloud.
Scale indicators8 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Nominal competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Palantir Technologies: Palantir's Foundry and Gotham platforms provide data integration, analytics, and operational workflows for defense, aerospace, and industrial customers — the same core use cases Nominal serves, but at a much larger enterprise scale and across broader domains.
- SparkCognition: SparkCognition delivers AI solutions for industrial, defense, and aerospace use cases including anomaly detection, predictive maintenance, and autonomous systems — closely aligned with Nominal's hardware engineering and operations focus.
- Rebellion Defense: Rebellion Defense builds AI-driven software products for defense and national security missions, competing for similar DoD software budgets and customers while addressing overlapping mission-critical data and analytics workflows.
Broad incumbents
- Anduril Industries: Although Anduril is a major Nominal customer, it is also a broader defense tech incumbent building its own data and autonomy stack (Lattice), competing for similar defense-tech talent and program dollars in the autonomous systems space.
- C3.ai: C3.ai provides an enterprise AI application platform with deep defense and industrial customer penetration, addressing similar predictive analytics, anomaly detection, and operational data use cases at a more mature, public-company scale.
- Hexagon AB: Hexagon's Manufacturing Intelligence and Geosystems divisions provide industrial data, measurement, and engineering software — overlapping with Nominal's hardware testing and operational data positioning across aerospace, automotive, and energy.
- Siemens Digital Industries (Xcelerator / Teamcenter): Siemens Xcelerator and Teamcenter provide PLM, engineering data, and industrial software suites used by many of the same aerospace, automotive, and manufacturing customers Nominal targets — representing both competition and potential partnership.
- Ansys: Ansys provides engineering simulation software widely used in aerospace, defense, and automotive hardware development — adjacent to Nominal's test and validation workflows and a likely integration or competitive overlap point.
- Databricks: Databricks provides the underlying data lakehouse and ML platform many industrial and aerospace customers standardize on; Nominal must continually differentiate its vertical workflow and edge stack to avoid being displaced by a horizontal data platform layer.
Others
- Shield AI: Shield AI is a Nominal customer and partner on CCA flight test demonstrations, but as a defense autonomy company it increasingly builds its own data and mission-ops tooling — a strategic partner and a potential long-term competitor.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Nominal social profiles
Digital presenceNominal financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Nominal leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles15 records
Nominal subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries1 record
Nominal funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds6 records
Investors14 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Nominal M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A1 record
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Nominal
What does Nominal do?
Nominal provides a unified industrial data stack consisting of two core software products: Nominal Core, a cloud-based data platform that ingests multimodal telemetry, video, logs, and simulation data and provides real-time mission control, post-test analysis, and trend reporting; and Nominal Connect, an edge compute platform that lets engineers deploy Python-based test apps at the bench, in remote ranges, or on production lines to read/write instruments and orchestrate repeatable tests. Together they replace fragmented legacy tooling (Excel, MATLAB, bespoke ETL) for hardware engineering teams in aerospace, defense, automotive, energy, and robotics.
Is Nominal a public or private company?
Nominal is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Nominal founded?
Nominal was founded in 2022. It employs 251 to 500 people.
Where is Nominal based?
Nominal is headquartered in Austin, United States, in the North America region.
How does Nominal make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Software Platform Subscription (SaaS) is the primary driver. The others are government and Defense Contracts.
Who are Nominal's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Palantir Technologies, SparkCognition and Rebellion Defense. Broad incumbents are Anduril Industries, C3.ai, Hexagon AB, Siemens Digital Industries (Xcelerator / Teamcenter), Ansys and Databricks. Shield AI is listed as an others.
Does Nominal have an API?
Yes. Nominal offers an open API and SDKs that allow developers to build integrations unique to their programs. The platform supports data ingestion and egress through open architecture, enabling users to extend their current test stack. Documentation is available at docs.nominal.io. Developer documentation is at docs.nominal.io.
What industry is Nominal in?
Nominal's product category is Industrial Data Platform / Hardware Test Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HDAEACAI, Data Quality, Profiling & Validation (within Integration), with a secondary code of HDAEAKAK, Data App Builders (Forms, Portals & Internal Tools). Its NAICS code is 51821 and its SIC code is 7370.