SoftIron
SoftIron designs and manufactures proprietary private cloud hardware and software — including the SingularIT platform, HyperCloud, and VM Squared — serving defense, government, and enterprise customers seeking sovereign, supply-chain-transparent infrastructure.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2012
- HeadquartersLondon, United Kingdom
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What SoftIron does
SoftIron is a UK-headquartered, privately held infrastructure vendor founded in 2012 that designs and manufactures proprietary server and storage hardware in-house from raw electronic components through final assembly at a San Francisco manufacturing facility. The company's product portfolio is unified by SingularIT™, a modular technology platform that combines compute, AI acceleration, storage, and networking into self-assembling, self-organizing, and self-healing resources protected by a patented proprietary Baseboard Management Controller (US Patent 11,321,203). The flagship HyperCloud platform delivers a true private cloud intended to combine hyperscaler simplicity with on-premises control, security, and sovereignty, including the first private cloud with built-in NIST-standardized post-quantum cryptography. VM Squared serves as an entry-level virtualization product, and Catalyst is a free VMware migration tool released in 2024 to capture customers displaced by post-Broadcom licensing changes.
The business model combines vertically integrated hardware sales with software licensing/subscriptions bundled into HyperCloud and VM Squared, supplemented by professional services for deployment and migration. SoftIron sells through direct enterprise field sales to defense, intelligence, and national security buyers as well as a channel partner network that earned a CRN 5-Star Partner Program Guide rating in 2024. Pricing follows a hybrid model of fixed-cost and on-demand deployment, with multi-year contracts and metering aligned to customer workloads rather than conventional stack components.
Named customers include the United States Air Force, Peraton, Sandia National Laboratories, NCI, 2degrees, THG, US Signal, and Etage, spanning defense, government research, telecommunications, and enterprise technology segments. The company has raised approximately $42M to date across funding rounds led by Earth Capital (2017 and 2020) plus a 2022 grant from the Australian Government Department of Defense, and is led by co-founders Phil Straw (CEO) and Norman Fraser PhD (Chairman) alongside CTO Kenny Van Alstyne (ex-Peraton), Chief Scientist Mark Chen (ex-Intuit), President David Dinerman, CFO Katie Wright, and VP Platform Engineering Robert Drury PhD.
SoftIron firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- SoftIron
- Legal name
- SoftIron Ltd
- Website
- https://softiron.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2012
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- SoftIron designs and manufactures proprietary private cloud hardware and software — including the SingularIT platform, HyperCloud, and VM Squared — serving defense, government, and enterprise customers seeking sovereign, supply-chain-transparent infrastructure.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
SoftIron industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Private Cloud Infrastructure
- NAICS
- Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (5182), Computer Storage Device Manufacturing (334112), Software Publishers (5132), Computer Systems Design and Related Services (5415)
- SIC
- Electronic Computers (3571), Services-Prepackaged Software (7372), Computer Storage Devices (3572), Services-Computer Integrated Systems Design (7373)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Hybrid Cloud Compute & Virtualization Stack (HCI/VMs/Kubernetes) (HDABAMAF)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Hybrid Cloud Platforms & Orchestration (HDABAMAA), Server Operating Systems & Hypervisors (Virtualization) (HDABADAE), Server Firmware, BMC & Remote Management (iDRAC/iLO/IPMI) (HDABADAL), Hyperscale/OEM & Open Compute (OCP) Server Platforms (HDACABAI)
Keywords
Where SoftIron is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- London
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices3 records
Markets served
SoftIron business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Hardware Appliances: SoftIron designs and manufactures its own server and storage appliances from component level up. The hardware is sold as part of integrated HyperCloud and VM Squared solutions, with vertically integrated production from raw components to final assembly in its Silicon Valley facility.
- Software Licensing and Subscriptions: SingularIT, HyperCloud, and VM Squared software are packaged and metered according to customer workload needs. The company offers both fixed-cost and on-demand deployment models. Software licensing is bundled with hardware as integrated solutions.
- Professional Services: SoftIron provides implementation, migration (e.g., VMware to VM Squared using Catalyst/esx2hc tools), and support services alongside its product offerings.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Hybrid | Multi-year contract | SoftIron's SingularIT platform is metered according to customer workload needs, offering a mix of fixed-cost and on-demand deployment options. |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels6 records
SoftIron product offering
Product offeringCore offering
SoftIron designs and manufactures its own server and storage appliances from component level up at its Silicon Valley facility, and packages them with proprietary SingularIT™-powered software to deliver true private cloud infrastructure for on-premises, regional, and edge deployments. Its flagship HyperCloud platform combines self-assembling, self-organizing, and self-healing modular compute, AI acceleration, storage, and networking with built-in post-quantum cryptography, single-patch upgrades, and full supply chain provenance. Supporting offerings include the VM Squared virtualization platform, Catalyst VMware migration tool, Ceph-based S3 storage, proprietary BMCs, and HyperCloud Intelligence Nodes for GPU/ASIC workloads.
Product overview
SoftIron offers a unified portfolio of private cloud and infrastructure products built around its core SingularIT™ technology platform. The flagship product is HyperCloud, a true private cloud that delivers hyperscale public-cloud capabilities for on-premises or regional deployment. VM Squared serves as the entry-level virtualization platform that can evolve into a full HyperCloud deployment. The product line includes specialized HyperCloud Intelligence Nodes for GPU and ASIC-based workloads, a proprietary Baseboard Management Controller (BMC) manufactured in-house, Ceph-based S3 object storage via the Storage Router, and post-quantum cryptography support integrated at the platform level. Catalyst is a free migration tool for transitioning from VMware environments. The portfolio is unified by SingularIT™ which provides self-assembling, self-organizing, and self-healing modular resources across compute, AI acceleration, storage, and networking.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- HyperCloud: SoftIron's true private cloud platform that delivers hyperscale public-cloud technology available for on-premises deployment.
- SingularIT
- VM Squared
- HyperCloud
Products and services
- HyperCloud SoftIron's flagship true private cloud platform delivered as integrated hardware appliances plus SingularIT™ software for on-premises, regional, or edge deployment. Provides self-healing, self-organizing infrastructure with zero-touch operations, linear performance scaling, single-patch firmware/software upgrades, complete CVE remediation, Kubernetes CSI driver, Azure and AWS EC2 bursting, S3-compatible object storage, GUI and RESTful API management, and built-in post-quantum cryptography. Targeted at enterprise IT, government, and national security buyers seeking public cloud simplicity with on-premises control.
- SingularIT™ Foundational distributed cloud technology platform powering SoftIron's products. A holographic assembly of truly modular compute, AI acceleration, storage, and networking resources that are self-assembling, self-organizing, and self-healing. Removes centralization requirements, eliminates chokepoints, and unlocks the operational economics of hyperscale for on-premises, regional, or disconnected deployments. Packaged and metered according to customer workload needs with fixed-cost and on-demand deployment options.
- VM Squared SoftIron's standalone virtualization platform positioned as the world's simplest virtualization solution. Enables organizations to deploy and manage virtual machines with ease and serves as the on-ramp to a full HyperCloud deployment. Free trial licenses are available, and the platform integrates with the Catalyst migration tool for moving workloads from VMware ESXi or vCenter.
- Catalyst Free VM migration tool delivered as an app within VM Squared and HyperCloud. Enables automatic discovery and conversion of VMware ESXi/vCenter virtual machines to VM Squared via browser-based GUI or command-line interface, with key-based SSH authentication, snapshot support, and EFI boot migration. Targeted at enterprises seeking to exit VMware/Broadcom licensing complexity.
- HyperCloud Intelligence Nodes Specialized compute nodes within HyperCloud that connect NVIDIA GPUs and ASIC-based video transcoding hardware via PCI pass-through to workloads. Enable hardware-accelerated AI and video transcoding workloads within the HyperCloud private cloud environment, with the ability to spin up Intelligence Nodes on demand.
- Ceph RGW S3 Storage Service / Storage Router Ceph's Rados Gateway (RGW) service deployed on dedicated SoftIron Storage Router nodes, providing fully-featured S3-compatible object storage with wire-speed performance from a single node, multi-tier load balancing, CRUSH data placement rules, and erasure coding for resilient distributed storage. Part of HyperCloud's software-defined storage architecture.
- Post-Quantum Cryptography Extension Post-quantum cryptography extension engineered into the core of SoftIron's SingularIT technology. Supports NIST FIPS 203/204/205 standardized algorithms (ML-KEM, ML-DSA, SLH-DSA), hybrid key exchanges (X25519+ML-KEM-768), pure PQC key exchanges (ML-KEM-1024 and ML-KEM-768), and quantum-resistant AES-XTS-512 for data at rest. Protects TLS endpoints, SSH, and S3 object storage.
- Proprietary Baseboard Management Controller (BMC) Custom-designed BMC manufactured in-house by SoftIron from component level. The first set of electronics to receive power on boot, the BMC monitors the physical state of health of the appliance, manages power cycles and reboots, and serves as the remote management interface. Differentiated from off-the-shelf BMCs through dynamic driver configuration, system provenance verification, and patent-protected technology (US Patent No. 11,321,203).
Quantifiable outcome
- Single-patch upgrade covers all software layers (firmware, OS, management stack) with zero-downtime via workload migration
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use SoftIron
Customer profileNamed customers8 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
SoftIron technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration6 records
AI capability2 records
Feature7 records
SoftIron partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- DXC TechnologycoreDXC Technology partnered with SoftIron, with DXC's Leading Edge team publishing landmark studies on technical debt in enterprise IT infrastructure. DXC and SoftIron collaborate on go-to-market initiatives, with SoftIron's HyperCloud addressing technical debt challenges identified in DXC's research.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
SoftIron competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Nutanix: Nutanix is a leading hyperconverged infrastructure and private cloud platform vendor, directly competing with SoftIron's HyperCloud and VM Squared offerings for enterprise virtualization and private cloud workloads.
- Scale Computing: Scale Computing delivers hyperconverged infrastructure and edge private cloud platforms for SMB and edge environments, overlapping directly with SoftIron's HyperCloud and VM Squared in edge and mid-market use cases.
- StorMagic: StorMagic provides edge and small-site hyperconverged infrastructure, directly competing with SoftIron's edge and disconnected-cloud positioning for customers needing simple, resilient private cloud outside centralized data centers.
- SUSE: SUSE is an open-source enterprise infrastructure vendor with which SoftIron has a technology integration partnership for Kubernetes on HyperCloud. SUSE's Rancher and Linux platforms overlap with SoftIron's private cloud and Kubernetes CSI stack.
- Maxta: Maxta delivers hyperconverged infrastructure software for private cloud and edge use cases, overlapping with SoftIron's HyperCloud positioning for customers seeking software-defined, simplified virtualization.
Broad incumbents
- VMware (Broadcom): VMware, now owned by Broadcom, is the dominant incumbent in server virtualization and private cloud. SoftIron's VM Squared and Catalyst migration tool explicitly target VMware displacement, making it the central incumbent SoftIron competes against.
- Red Hat (OpenStack and Ceph): Red Hat is the primary commercial steward of both OpenStack private cloud and Ceph storage, the latter being the foundation of SoftIron's software-defined storage. Red Hat is a comparable private cloud and storage alternative for large enterprises and telcos.
- Microsoft Azure Stack Hub: Microsoft's Azure Stack Hub is a hybrid cloud extension of Azure for on-premises deployments. HyperCloud 2.0's Azure bursting support is a direct response to Azure Stack, positioning them as competing options for hybrid cloud workloads in regulated enterprises.
- AWS Outposts: AWS Outposts delivers AWS-native infrastructure into customer data centers as a managed service. It is a broader hybrid cloud alternative to SoftIron's HyperCloud for enterprises seeking on-premises cloud parity with a hyperscaler.
Emerging players
- MinIO: MinIO provides S3-compatible object storage software that competes with SoftIron's Ceph RGW-based S3 service. Both target Kubernetes-native and software-defined storage deployments in private cloud environments.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
SoftIron social profiles
Digital presenceSoftIron compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance6 records
SoftIron financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
SoftIron leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles9 records
SoftIron funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds3 records
Investors2 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
SoftIron M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about SoftIron
What does SoftIron do?
SoftIron designs and manufactures its own server and storage appliances from component level up at its Silicon Valley facility, and packages them with proprietary SingularIT™-powered software to deliver true private cloud infrastructure for on-premises, regional, and edge deployments. Its flagship HyperCloud platform combines self-assembling, self-organizing, and self-healing modular compute, AI acceleration, storage, and networking with built-in post-quantum cryptography, single-patch upgrades, and full supply chain provenance. Supporting offerings include the VM Squared virtualization platform, Catalyst VMware migration tool, Ceph-based S3 storage, proprietary BMCs, and HyperCloud Intelligence Nodes for GPU/ASIC workloads.
Is SoftIron a public or private company?
SoftIron is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was SoftIron founded?
SoftIron was founded in 2012. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is SoftIron based?
SoftIron is headquartered in London, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does SoftIron make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Hardware Appliances are the primary driver. The others are software Licensing and Subscriptions and professional Services.
Who are SoftIron's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Nutanix, Scale Computing, StorMagic, SUSE and Maxta. Broad incumbents are VMware (Broadcom), Red Hat (OpenStack and Ceph), Microsoft Azure Stack Hub and AWS Outposts. MinIO is listed as an emerging player.
Does SoftIron have an API?
Yes. HyperCloud Native RESTful API version 2 with public OpenAPI/Swagger schema for cloud administration, provisioning, and management. Supports infrastructure-as-code automation via Terraform, Chef, Puppet, Ansible, and SaltStack. Developer documentation is at docs.softiron.cloud/latest.
What industry is SoftIron in?
SoftIron's product category is Private Cloud Infrastructure. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HDABAMAF, Hybrid Cloud Compute & Virtualization Stack (HCI/VMs/Kubernetes), with a secondary code of HDABAMAA, Hybrid Cloud Platforms & Orchestration. Its NAICS code is 5182 and its SIC code is 3571.