Glue

What Glue does

Glue Inc. is a Seattle-based, privately held software company founded in 2024 that builds Glue Studio, an AI-powered SaaS platform for hardware validation and test automation. The platform ingests complex design specifications and engineering documents, recommends appropriate test instruments from a customer's existing pool, and generates structured test plans plus executable Python scripts in a single connected workflow. Glue maintains a living traceability thread between design requirements, instrument selections, and test results, positioning the product for industries where audit trails and compliance — including ITAR, NIST, ISO, SOC2, CMMC, and FedRAMP on AWS GovCloud — are mandatory.

The company was incubated as a joint studio venture between Tektronix, Pioneer Square Labs, and Fortive's Innovation Studio, and is led by Founder/CEO David Sulpy (former Tektronix automation and software executive) and Founder/CTO Will Blaschko (ex-Amazon Alexa). In January 2025, Glue raised a $2 million pre-seed round led by Fortive Corp. (NYSE:FTV), with participation from Pioneer Square Ventures and the AIStudio Fund. The team sits at 11–50 employees, supported by Head of Product David Rohacek (ex-NI/Emerson) and Head of Design Alana Healy (ex-Amazon).

Glue monetizes through a three-tier subscription model: a free 30-day evaluation, a Team tier priced at $1,500 per seat per month with a five-seat minimum, and a custom Enterprise tier with unlimited seats, SSO, custom integrations, and an ITAR GovCloud option. Distribution is primarily direct via a demo-driven enterprise sales motion, supplemented by a self-serve free trial and a dedicated Trust Center for regulated-buyer security reviews. Product development has progressed from an October 2024 beta launch through Multi-Doc support (December 2025), Glue Learning pattern management (February 2026), and the Glue Intelligence release (April 2026), with no acquisitions, channel partnerships, or geographic expansion disclosed.

Name

Glue

Legal name

Glue Inc.

Website

https://gluestudio.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2024

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Glue is a Seattle-based AI-native SaaS platform that automates hardware validation by converting design specifications into traceable test plans and Python automation scripts, sold to enterprise and mid-market test engineering teams via per-seat subscriptions.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Hardware Test Automation Software

NAICS

Computer Systems Design and Related Services (54151)

SIC

Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)

akta.pro primary industry

Foundry Platform & Design Enablement Services (PDK/DFM/Process Qualification) (HDAHACAJ)

akta.pro secondary industry

Wafer-Level Packaging (WLP) & Redistribution (RDL) (HDAHADAC)

Keywords

• Test automation software
• Hardware validation platform
• AI test planning
• Test instrument selection
• Requirement traceability software

Headquarters

HQ city

Seattle

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Operations

Revenue model

1. Glue Studio SaaS Subscriptions: Glue Studio is a cloud-based SaaS product delivered on a subscription basis. Three tiers are offered: a free 30-day trial (1 project, 1 revision), a Team tier at $1,500/seat/month with a minimum of 5 seats, and an Enterprise tier with custom pricing including unlimited seats and advanced compliance options such as ITAR GovCloud. The subscription model provides recurring revenue with land-and-expand potential as teams grow seat counts or upgrade to Enterprise.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Glue Studio is an AI-powered SaaS platform that automates hardware validation and test workflows. It ingests complex design specifications, recommends suitable test instruments, and generates traceable test plans along with executable Python scripts in a single connected workflow. The platform maintains a living thread between design requirements, instrument selection, and test results to deliver full traceability from concept through measurement.

Product overview

Glue offers a single unified SaaS platform called Glue Studio, which serves as the company's flagship AI-powered product for hardware test automation and validation. The platform connects design intent to physical builds through intelligent test planning, automated script generation, and instrument management. Glue Studio is available in three tiers: a free 30-day trial, a Team tier at $1,500/seat/month (minimum 5 seats), and an Enterprise tier with unlimited seats, ITAR GovCloud option, SSO, and custom integrations. The platform is built on AWS GovCloud (FedRAMP-approved infrastructure) and is continuously validated for compliance.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Glue Studio™: AI-powered SaaS platform for test planning, automation, and validation testing that helps engineers accelerate product realization by reducing setup times by up to 50%
• Glue Engine
• Glue Intelligence
• Glue Studio™

Products and services

• Glue Studio AI-powered SaaS platform for hardware validation and test automation that transforms complex design specifications into traceable test plans and executable Python scripts. Built on AWS GovCloud with FedRAMP-approved infrastructure, it targets enterprise and mid-market validation engineering teams in industrial, semiconductor, aerospace, and defense sectors.

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability9 records

Feature8 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Pioneer Square Labs (PSL)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 21 January 2025Pioneer Square Labs is a Seattle-based startup studio that co-created Glue through a joint studio venture with Fortive. PSL provides startup-building expertise, operational support, and the AIStudio Fund (a PSL and Mayfield collaboration) participated in the pre-seed round. PSL's incubator model was instrumental in founding Glue Inc. and launching Glue Studio.
• TektronixcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTektronix, a global leader in test and measurement solutions, collaborated with Pioneer Square Labs and Fortive to incubate Glue Studio. Glue's founding team includes former Tektronix executives (CEO David Sulpy previously led automation and software initiatives at Tektronix), and the platform was born from real-world challenges observed in the test and measurement industry. Tektronix's domain expertise shaped Glue Studio's design and positioning.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Emerging players

• Jama Software: Jama offers requirements management and traceability for complex product development, overlapping Glue's requirement-to-test traceability feature. It is an emerging player in the same workflow Glue modernizes but lacks Glue's generative AI for test plan and Python script generation.
• TestRail: TestRail is a SaaS test case management platform used by software QA teams, with growing traction in hardware-adjacent test teams. It is an emerging player addressing overlapping test management pain points but without Glue's spec-to-code generative AI.
• Instrumental: Instrumental applies AI and computer vision to electronics manufacturing defect detection and test data. It is an emerging player because it shares Glue's AI-for-hardware-validation thesis but focuses on the post-build inspection phase rather than pre-test planning.

Broad incumbents

• Rohde & Schwarz: Rohde & Schwarz is a global T&M equipment vendor with proprietary test software for wireless, aerospace, and defense. It is a broad incumbent whose instrument ecosystem Glue integrates with and could help standardize test automation around.
• Siemens EDA (Polarion / Teamcenter): Siemens offers ALM/PLM platforms (Polarion, Teamcenter) with requirements traceability that overlap Glue's traceability value proposition. It is a broad incumbent because it sells across the full engineering lifecycle rather than specializing in AI-driven test plan generation.
• Synopsys: Synopsys is a leading EDA vendor with verification tools (VCS, Verdi) and is increasingly embedding generative AI for design and verification. It is a broad incumbent that competes for the same semiconductor and hardware engineering budgets Glue targets but at much broader scope.
• Cadence Design Systems: Cadence provides EDA and verification tools (Palladium, JasperGold) and is shipping AI-assisted design flows. It is a broad incumbent because it competes for hardware engineering wallets with a full EDA stack rather than Glue's narrow validation focus.
• IBM Engineering (DOORS): IBM DOORS is the long-standing enterprise standard for requirements management in aerospace, defense, and automotive programs. It is a broad incumbent whose installed base Glue's traceability feature must integrate with or displace.

Direct peers

• Keysight Technologies: Keysight is a global test and measurement leader with software platforms (PathWave, Eggplant) for hardware validation and automated test. It directly overlaps Glue's customer base of validation engineers in industrial, semiconductor, and aerospace markets and is the most logical incumbent competitor for AI-augmented test workflows.
• National Instruments (Emerson): NI (now part of Emerson) provides LabVIEW and TestStand software plus modular hardware for automated test and measurement. It is a direct peer because Glue's founder (David Sulpy) and Head of Product (David Rohacek) both came from this ecosystem, and NI tools anchor the workflows Glue seeks to automate.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors3 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Glue