Xamarin
Xamarin was a cross-platform mobile and desktop development framework that let C# and .NET developers build native iOS, Android, macOS, and Windows apps from one shared codebase. Microsoft acquired it in 2016 and sunset support on May 1, 2024 in favor of .NET MAUI.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2011
- HeadquartersSan Francisco, United States
- Headcount251–500
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Xamarin does
Xamarin was a cross-platform mobile and desktop application development framework that enabled developers to build native iOS, Android, macOS, and Windows applications from a single shared C# and .NET codebase. Founded in 2011 in San Francisco, the company served enterprise development teams and independent .NET developers seeking to reduce duplication of business logic across mobile platforms, with paid offerings such as Xamarin Test Cloud and Xamarin Insights layered on top of the core framework. The company raised approximately $82.75M across three venture rounds between 2012 and 2014, led by CRV and backed by Floodgate, Ignition Partners, Insight Venture Management, and Lead Edge Capital, and it made two acquisitions (LessPainful in 2013 and RoboVM AB in 2015) to extend its testing and runtime capabilities. Microsoft acquired Xamarin in 2016 and integrated it into the .NET ecosystem, subsequently launching .NET MAUI in 2021 as the explicit evolution of Xamarin.Forms. As of May 1, 2024 Microsoft officially ended Xamarin support and directed all developers to migrate to .NET MAUI, leaving Xamarin itself as a sunset, non-revenue-generating product line.
Xamarin firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Xamarin
- Legal name
- Xamarin
- Website
- https://xamarin.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2011
- Operating status
- Closed
- Headcount range
- 251–500 employees
- Short description
- Xamarin was a cross-platform mobile and desktop development framework that let C# and .NET developers build native iOS, Android, macOS, and Windows apps from one shared codebase. Microsoft acquired it in 2016 and sunset support on May 1, 2024 in favor of .NET MAUI.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Xamarin industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Cross-Platform Mobile Development Software
- NAICS
- Computer Systems Design and Related Services (54151), Other Computer Related Services (541519)
- SIC
- Services-Computer Programming Services (7371), Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Custom Application Development (Web/Mobile/Desktop) (BPAEAFAA)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- App Testing, QA & Beta Distribution Platforms (BPAMADAK)
Keywords
Where Xamarin is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- San Francisco
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Markets served
Xamarin business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Operations
Xamarin product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Xamarin provided a cross-platform mobile and desktop application development framework that enabled developers to build native iOS, Android, macOS, and Windows applications from a single shared C# codebase using the .NET platform. The product portfolio included the Xamarin Platform, Xamarin Test Cloud (automated testing across a cloud-hosted device lab), Xamarin Insights (app monitoring and crash analytics), and Xamarin.Forms (a shared UI toolkit). Microsoft officially ended Xamarin support on May 1, 2024 and now directs customers to migrate to .NET MAUI, the evolution of Xamarin.Forms.
Product overview
Xamarin was a cross-platform mobile and desktop application development framework that enabled developers to build native Android, iOS, macOS, and Windows apps from a single C# codebase using the .NET platform. As of May 1, 2024, Xamarin support has ended and Microsoft has transitioned its cross-platform mobile development capabilities to .NET Multi-platform App UI (.NET MAUI), which is the evolution of Xamarin.Forms. Developers are directed to migrate Xamarin apps to .NET MAUI to continue receiving updates and support.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Xamarin.Forms: The original cross-platform UI toolkit that allowed developers to build native iOS, Android, and Windows apps from a single shared C# codebase. It has since evolved into .NET MAUI.
Products and services
- Xamarin Platform Cross-platform mobile and desktop application development framework that enabled developers to build native Android, iOS, macOS, and Windows apps from a single shared C# codebase using .NET. Targeted at professional mobile developers and enterprise dev teams. Support officially ended May 1, 2024.
- Xamarin Test Cloud Cloud-based automated testing service for mobile applications, enabling developers and QA teams to run UI and functional tests across a large library of physical iOS and Android devices in the cloud.
- Xamarin Insights Mobile app monitoring, crash reporting, and diagnostics product for Android and iOS apps built with Xamarin, providing real-time visibility into app stability and performance for development teams.
- Xamarin.Forms A cross-platform UI toolkit that enabled developers to build native user interfaces for iOS, Android, and Windows apps from a single shared XAML/C# codebase, with platform-specific rendering for native look-and-feel.
Companies that use Xamarin
Customer profileIdeal customer profiles1 record
Xamarin technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Xamarin partnerships and signals
Strategic signalRecent moves6 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Xamarin competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Flutter: Google's UI toolkit for building natively compiled applications for mobile, web, and desktop from a single Dart codebase. Direct competitor to Xamarin in the cross-platform mobile development space, with strong momentum among enterprise and startup developers.
- Sencha Ext JS: Enterprise-grade JavaScript framework for building data-intensive cross-platform web and mobile applications. Comparable to Xamarin as an enterprise-focused cross-platform development framework with strong tooling for building complex business applications.
- NativeScript: Open-source framework for building truly native mobile applications using JavaScript, TypeScript, Angular, or Vue.js. Directly overlaps with Xamarin in enabling cross-platform native mobile development from a non-platform-specific language.
- Apache Cordova: Apache's mobile application development framework that uses HTML5, CSS3, and JavaScript to build cross-platform apps. Closely comparable to Xamarin in purpose (enabling cross-platform mobile development) but differs in technology stack (web standards vs. C#/.NET).
- Appcelerator Titanium: Platform for building native mobile applications using web technologies (JavaScript, HTML, CSS). A direct historical competitor to Xamarin in the cross-platform mobile development space, with significant overlap in target developer audience and use cases.
- Ionic: Open-source mobile UI toolkit that builds high-quality cross-platform mobile and desktop apps using web technologies (HTML, CSS, JavaScript) combined with frameworks like Angular, React, or Vue. Comparable to Xamarin as a cross-platform mobile development solution targeting enterprise developers.
- React Native: Facebook/Meta's open-source framework for building native mobile applications using React and JavaScript. Directly competes with Xamarin as the leading cross-platform mobile development framework, offering developers an alternative path to building iOS, Android, and Windows apps from a shared codebase.
Broad incumbents
- Unity: Broader cross-platform development platform primarily focused on game development but expanding into industrial, automotive, and mobile app use cases. While not a direct mobile-app competitor, it represents a broader cross-platform development paradigm that overlaps with Xamarin's value proposition of building once for many targets.
Emerging players
- Kotlin Multiplatform: JetBrains' technology for sharing Kotlin code across iOS, Android, desktop, and web platforms. An emerging cross-platform alternative to Xamarin, particularly attractive to developers already in the JVM/Android ecosystem.
Market position
Strengths3 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks3 records
Key highlights4 records
Customer concentration
Xamarin social profiles
Digital presenceXamarin financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Xamarin leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Xamarin funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds4 records
Investors5 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Xamarin M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A2 records
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Xamarin
What does Xamarin do?
Xamarin provided a cross-platform mobile and desktop application development framework that enabled developers to build native iOS, Android, macOS, and Windows applications from a single shared C# codebase using the .NET platform. The product portfolio included the Xamarin Platform, Xamarin Test Cloud (automated testing across a cloud-hosted device lab), Xamarin Insights (app monitoring and crash analytics), and Xamarin.Forms (a shared UI toolkit). Microsoft officially ended Xamarin support on May 1, 2024 and now directs customers to migrate to .NET MAUI, the evolution of Xamarin.Forms.
Is Xamarin a public or private company?
Xamarin is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently closed.
When was Xamarin founded?
Xamarin was founded in 2011. It employs 251 to 500 people.
Where is Xamarin based?
Xamarin is headquartered in San Francisco, United States, in the North America region.
Who are Xamarin's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Flutter, Sencha Ext JS, NativeScript, Apache Cordova, Appcelerator Titanium, Ionic and React Native. Unity is listed as a broad incumbent. Kotlin Multiplatform is listed as an emerging player.
Does Xamarin have an API?
No public API is recorded for Xamarin.
What industry is Xamarin in?
Xamarin's product category is Cross-Platform Mobile Development Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAEAFAA, Custom Application Development (Web/Mobile/Desktop), with a secondary code of BPAMADAK, App Testing, QA & Beta Distribution Platforms. Its NAICS code is 54151 and its SIC code is 7371.