PACE Anti-Piracy

Name

PACE Anti-Piracy

Legal name

PACE Anti-Piracy Inc.

Website

https://paceap.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1985

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

PACE Anti-Piracy provides software protection, licensing, and anti-piracy solutions to software publishers globally, anchored by its iLok licensing platform, hardware security tokens, and white-box cryptography products.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Software Licensing & Protection

NAICS

Software Publishers (5132), Software Publishers (513210)

SIC

Services-Computer Programming Services (7371)

akta.pro primary industry

Anti-Tamper & Application Security (Player/App Hardening, Obfuscation) (MPAHAMAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

DRM & License Enforcement (Multi-DRM, Key Management, Tokenization) (MPAHAMAB), Rights Management, Content ID & Anti-Piracy Platforms (MPACABAK), Anti-Piracy, Content Protection & Enforcement (MPADALAK)

Keywords

• Software protection
• Software licensing
• Copy protection
• License management
• Code obfuscation

Headquarters

HQ city

Boston

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Software Licensing Platform: PACE generates revenue through its iLok Licensing platform, providing software publishers with end-to-end license management solutions. Revenue comes from license activation, management, and delivery services. Supports multiple license types including perpetual, subscription, rental, and network licenses.
2. Hardware Security Products: Revenue from iLok USB hardware security tokens sold to software publishers and end users. The devices store software licenses and provide secure authentication. Optional Zero-Downtime technology available as additional purchase.
3. Software Protection Services: Revenue from code protection products including Fusion (application protection/obfuscation) and White-Box Works (cryptographic key protection). These products are integrated into software binaries to prevent piracy and reverse engineering.
4. Shopify Integration App: iLok License Delivery App for Shopify enables software publishers to sell and deliver licenses directly through Shopify stores. Supports perpetual, subscription, and rent-to-own licensing models.
5. Professional Services and Support: PACE provides technical support, engineering assistance, and customization services. The company offers virtual demos, technical help, access to engineering team, and documentation for customers.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion4 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

PACE Anti-Piracy provides software copy protection and license management solutions for software publishers. Its core offering is the iLok Licensing Platform, which supports hardware-based (iLok USB), cloud-based (iLok Cloud), and network server-based license activation, complemented by application protection technologies including Fusion (code fusion/anti-tamper), White-Box Works (white-box cryptography), Fusion AI (deployed AI model protection), and a PKI-based Code Signing Platform.

Product overview

PACE Anti-Piracy offers a comprehensive software protection and licensing platform. The core offering is the iLok Licensing Platform, which provides flexible license management supporting hardware (iLok USB), cloud-based (iLok Cloud), and network server (iLok License Server) activation methods. Application protection is delivered through Fusion (code obfuscation and anti-tamper) and White-Box Works (white-box cryptography for protecting keys and algorithms). The company recently launched Fusion AI to protect deployed AI models across industries including automotive, healthcare, media, and entertainment. Additional products include a PKI-based Code Signing Platform and the JUCE C++ audio development framework (wholly-owned subsidiary). The portfolio also includes the annual Audio Developer Conference (ADC). Integration options include Shopify for e-commerce licensing delivery, MATLAB, Simulink, Unity, and CRM systems via APIs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• iLok: Software licensing platform and hardware USB security device for license management and software protection. Trusted by over 12 million registered users with over 290 million licenses issued.
• Fusion
• Fusion AI
• White-Box Works
• JUCE
• ADC (Audio Developers Conference)

Products and services

• iLok Licensing Platform End-to-end software licensing platform for software publishers, supporting license creation, delivery, activation, and enforcement with hardware, cloud, and network activation methods and CRM integration APIs.
• iLok USB PKI-based hardware security token that stores software licenses securely using hardware/software encryption and digital signing. Supports air-gapped and offline environments.
• iLok Cloud

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 300 million licenses protected across platform
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments8 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration5 records

AI capability4 records

Feature8 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• AES (Audio Engineering Society)coreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 September 2025PACE Anti-Piracy sponsors and exhibits at AES conferences including the 2025 AES International Conference on Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning for Audio in London and the 2024 AES 5th International Conference on Automotive Audio. The company also hosts the Audio Developer Conference.
• IBC (International Broadcasting Convention)coreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 September 2025PACE Anti-Piracy exhibits and presents at IBC, the International Broadcasting Convention, showcasing Fusion AI and other protection solutions. PACE had booth presence at IBC 2024 and 2025.
• IASIG (Interactive Audio Special Interest Group)minorGTM or Marketing Partner · 18 March 2024PACE Anti-Piracy and JUCE support and sponsor the Interactive Audio Special Interest Group at the Game Developer Conference. Tom Poole, Director of JUCE, serves on the IASIG steering committee. IASIG is an organization in partnership with the IGDA and MIDI Association that shares knowledge to improve the state of the art in audio for games, websites, XR, and other interactive performances.
• NAMM (National Association of Music Merchants)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerPACE Anti-Piracy is a Silver Sponsor of the NAMM TEC Awards and exhibits at The NAMM Show, the world's largest music trade show. The company celebrated its 40th anniversary at NAMM 2025 at booth 15111.
• ShopifycoreTechnology or IntegrationPACE offers the iLok License Delivery App on the Shopify App Store, enabling software publishers to sell and deliver iLok licenses directly through their Shopify stores. The integration supports perpetual, subscription, and rent-to-own licensing models.
• Game Developers Conference (GDC)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerPACE Anti-Piracy and JUCE support the Game Developer Conference through IASIG sponsorship and participation. JUCE is widely used for game audio development, and the companies co-host events and presentations at GDC.
• IGDA (International Game Developers Association)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerIASIG, supported by PACE, is an organization in partnership with the IGDA and MIDI Association. The partnership focuses on improving the state of the art in audio for games and interactive performances.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Wibu-Systems: Wibu-Systems is the most direct peer, offering CodeMeter — a hardware/software licensing and protection platform for software publishers, with similar dongle and cloud activation models, IP protection, and anti-tamper capabilities.
• Digital.ai (formerly Arxan/Atos): Digital.ai offers application protection, code obfuscation, white-box cryptography, and runtime application self-protection (RASP), directly competing with PACE's Fusion and White-Box Works product lines.
• Reprise Software: Reprise offers commercial license management software (License Manager) for software publishers, providing entitlement, activation, and licensing enforcement — directly comparable to PACE's iLok Licensing platform.
• 10Duke: 10Duke provides a software licensing and entitlement platform with SDK-based license management for application vendors, addressing similar use cases as iLok Licensing for software publishers across multiple verticals.

Broad incumbents

• Thales (SafeNet Sentinel): Thales owns the SafeNet/Sentinel software monetization and license enforcement portfolio, offering hardware tokens (HASP/Sentinel HL), cloud licensing, and entitlement management — a much larger incumbent competing across the same software protection market.
• Flexera: Flexera provides FlexNet Code Insight, FlexNet Operations, and software monetization / entitlement management solutions for software publishers — a broader enterprise incumbent focused on licensing compliance and software asset management.
• Nagra (Kudelski Group): Nagra/Kudelski provides content protection, DRM, and anti-piracy solutions primarily for media and entertainment, overlapping with PACE's media/broadcast and content protection capabilities at a much larger scale.
• Irdeto: Irdeto offers DRM, anti-piracy, and software protection solutions for media, gaming, and connected industries — a broader incumbent with overlapping capabilities in code protection and license enforcement.

Emerging players

• Jscrambler: Jscrambler provides JavaScript and web application protection through code obfuscation and anti-tamper, addressing a similar software protection problem as PACE's Fusion but focused on the web/JS ecosystem rather than native binaries.
• Cryptomathic: Cryptomathic provides cryptographic key management and white-box cryptography solutions for protecting embedded applications and connected devices, partially overlapping with PACE's White-Box Works and IoT segment.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/paceap
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@paceantipiracy
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/147181

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 PACE Anti-Piracy