What Highlight Technologies does

Highlight Technologies, Inc. is a privately held, 100% employee-owned federal IT services contractor founded in 2008 and headquartered in Fairfax, Virginia. The company delivers DevSecOps, cloud migration, cybersecurity, AI/ML, data management, grants and financial management, and mission operations services to U.S. federal Civilian, Department of Defense, Homeland Security, and Intelligence Community agencies through prime positions on Best-in-Class GWACs and IDIQs including OASIS+, GSA MAS, CIO-SP3, Seaport-NxG, and DHS PACTS II. Its customer base spans more than 20 federal entities including the Department of the Air Force, U.S. Army, DHS, NIH, USAID, HHS, SBA, and FCC.

The company combines professional services with a portfolio of proprietary solution accelerators: AIDE/HALO (AI data integration and orchestration), NOVA (enterprise data pipeline), ECHO (federal chatbot), ATLAS (software license management), HI-WAY™ (delivery methodology), BYOD (secure mobile access at the CUI level), PRISM (microservices refactoring), and Stratus. Several of these (AIDE, BYOD, PRISM, Stratus) have been assessed "Awardable" on the DoD CDAO Tradewinds Solutions Marketplace, providing a direct procurement channel alongside traditional IDIQ task orders. Highlight maintains CMMI-DEV and CMMI-SVC Level 3, ISO 9001/20000-1/27001/44001/56002, and CMMC Level 2 certifications.

Highlight generates revenue primarily through cost-type and fixed-price federal contract task orders, supplemented by SBIR grant funding (e.g., a $1M+ AFWERX Direct-to-Phase II award in February 2024) and licensing of proprietary accelerators. Pricing is not publicly disclosed and is negotiated at the task-order level under federal procurement vehicles. The company is led by CEO Aarish Gokaldas (joined 2023, Board seat January 2026) and CFO William Maxwell (joined August 2025), with Rebecca Andino as founder and recent past Chairperson. Operations remain exclusively U.S.-based and U.S.-government focused.

Name

Highlight Technologies

Legal name

Highlight Technologies, Inc.

Website

https://highlighttech.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Highlight Technologies is a 100% employee-owned federal IT services contractor that delivers DevSecOps, cloud, AI/ML, cybersecurity, and mission operations to U.S. Civilian, DoD, DHS, and Intelligence Community agencies through prime GWACs and proprietary solution accelerators.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Federal IT Services and Government Technology Contracting

NAICS

Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (51821)

SIC

Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370), Services-Computer Programming Services (7371)

akta.pro primary industry

Enterprise Architecture & Technology Roadmapping (BPAEAAAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

Technical Enablement & Adoption Services (Change Management, Adoption, Champions) (BPAEANAC)

Keywords

• Federal IT services
• DevSecOps solutions
• Cloud migration services
• Data analytics platforms
• Government technology contracting

Headquarters

HQ city

Fairfax

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Federal Government IT Services Contracts: Highlight generates the majority of its revenue through professional services and IT services contracts with U.S. federal government agencies. Services include Application Development, Business & Mission Operations, Data & Analytics, Hybrid Cloud & Automation, Cybersecurity, and IT Services. Contracts are primarily delivered through government-wide acquisition contracts (GWACs), agency-specific IDIQ vehicles, and task orders spanning 22 CLINs across Management/Advisory and Technical/Engineering domains.
2. SBIR Grants: Highlight has been selected by AFWERX for SBIR Direct-to-Phase II contracts (e.g., over $1 million for mobile device access at CUI level for the Department of the Air Force), providing non-dilutive grant funding for technology development.
3. Software Accelerators and Platforms: Highlight commercializes proprietary solution accelerators (ATLAS, NOVA, ECHO, AIDE) as licensed or deployable tools to federal agencies, often through existing contract vehicles or the Tradewinds Solutions Marketplace.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels7 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Highlight Technologies is a 100% employee-owned federal government IT services contractor that delivers application development and modernization, DevSecOps, hybrid cloud and automation, data and analytics, cybersecurity, and business and mission operations services to U.S. federal civilian, homeland security, defense, and intelligence agencies. The company also develops and licenses proprietary solution accelerators including AIDE, HALO, NOVA, ATLAS, ECHO, and HI-WAY, which are deployable through federal contract vehicles such as OASIS+, GSA MAS, and the DoD Tradewinds Solutions Marketplace.

Product overview

Highlight Technologies operates as a federal government contractor offering a portfolio of solution accelerators and professional services. Their core AI/data platform suite includes AIDE (AI Data Integration & Orchestration Engine), HALO (AI-powered data integration and orchestration), and NOVA (enterprise data pipeline), complemented by ATLAS (software license management) and ECHO (federal chatbot). These are supported by the HI-WAY™ best practices framework. Service offerings span Business & Mission Operations, Application Services (including Software Factories and DevSecOps), Data & Analytics, IT Services, and Hybrid Cloud & Automation. The company also provides a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) mobile security solution. The overall architecture combines ready-to-deploy solution accelerators with long-standing service excellence across Civilian, Homeland Security, and Defense agencies.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• HI-WAY™: A certified best practices framework to deliver effective, efficient, and sustainable solutions, tailored to each project leveraging applicable best practices for the customer's goals, objectives, stakeholders, technology environment, and delivery requirements.
• ATLAS
• AIDE (AI Data Integration & Orchestration Engine)
• NOVA
• ECHO
• EdgeWerx

Products and services

• AIDE (AI Data Integration & Orchestration Engine) AI-powered platform that integrates, orchestrates, and analyzes data from any source to enable real-time decision support for Department of Defense and public sector agencies.
• HALO AI-powered platform that integrates, orchestrates, and analyzes data from any source to enable real-time decision support and provide access to data from across ecosystems and external sources.
• NOVA Enterprise data pipeline platform that simplifies transforming, filtering, validating, and routing data across any source, type, and scale with centralized creation, management, and monitoring.
• ATLAS Low-code, automated software license and procurement management tool providing federal leaders a complete view of their software portfolio and streamlining procurement processes to maximize cost reductions.
• ECHO AI-powered chatbot tailored for federal agencies to assist constituents in navigating government services, reducing contact center burden while extending capability.
• HI-WAY Certified best practices framework for delivering effective, efficient, and sustainable solutions to fulfill customers' critical missions, tailored to each project's goals, objectives, and technology environment.
• BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) Solution Secure mobile device management solution enabling secure mission access on personal mobile devices for Department of Defense agencies at the Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) level.
• PRISM (Platform for Refactoring Infrastructure & Services through Microservices) Platform for refactoring infrastructure and services through microservices, assessed 'Awardable' for Department of Defense work.
• Highlight Stratus Highlight Stratus cloud solution assessed 'Awardable' for Department of Defense work in the P1 Solutions Marketplace.
• Business & Mission Operations Services Optimizes day-to-day federal operations including Grants & Financial Services, Policy & Planning, Strategic Communication, and Rapid Surge Response for federal civilian, homeland security, and defense agencies.
• Application Services Mission-critical application development services including Software Factories, DevSecOps, and Human Centered Design for federal agencies.
• Data & Analytics Services Data transformation and analytics services including Decision Intelligence, Data Governance, and Data Operations to improve decision-making and outcomes for federal customers.
• IT Services Full range of federal IT support including Help Desk/Contact Center, Web Services, and Asset Management.
• Hybrid Cloud & Automation Services Secure and flexible hybrid cloud approach with automated services including Cloud Services and Automation Services for federal IT modernization.

Quantifiable outcome

• $5 million in annual cost savings achieved for a DHS customer by migrating from legacy on-premises infrastructure to AWS EKS cloud environment
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

AI capability9 records

Feature8 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Katmai Professional ServicescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 15 May 2024Katmai Professional Services and Highlight Technologies formed the Katmai-Highlight Government Services JV (KHGS), an Alaskan Native 8(a) joint venture under an SBA-approved Mentor-Protégé relationship. KHGS combines Katmai's Alaskan Native Corporation status and public health/professional services capabilities with Highlight's technology and IT services expertise. The JV is managed under Katmai Government Services and enables both organizations to serve federal government clients across defense, national security, international development, and health sectors with optimized end-to-end digital and professional services.
• HyporicoreTechnology or Integration · 28 February 2024Hypori is a technology partner referenced in Highlight's SBIR Direct-to-Phase II work with the U.S. Air Force. Highlight partnered with Hypori to develop BYOD solutions that provide warfighters easier access to networks, data, and applications on personal mobile devices, extending lessons learned from successful Air Force BYOD pilots.
• Amazon Web Services (AWS)coreTechnology or IntegrationAWS is listed as a technology partner on Highlight's partner page. Highlight leverages AWS cloud services for customer solutions including EKS-based cloud migrations, data analytics environments, and microservices architectures. Highlight's case studies show significant AWS deployments for DHS and other federal customers achieving cloud modernization outcomes.
• U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) / AFWERXcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAFWERX and the Air Force Research Laboratory partnered with Highlight through a SBIR Direct-to-Phase II contract to develop mobile device access solutions at the Controlled Unclassified Information level. AFWERX accelerates small business innovation by providing faster proposal-to-award timelines and implementing process improvements in contract execution.
• U.S. Department of Defense (via Tradewinds Solutions Marketplace)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorHighlight's AIDE and BYOD solutions are listed on the DoD Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office's (CDAO) Tradewinds Solutions Marketplace, enabling government customers to discover and directly procure Highlight's awardable solutions through this DoD procurement platform.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• SAIC: Large federal IT services integrator with comparable DevSecOps, cloud, AI/ML, and digital modernization offerings and overlapping federal civilian and defense customer base.
• ManTech International: Federal IT and mission solutions prime focused on defense, intelligence, and homeland security; direct competitor for DoD/Homeland engineering and cybersecurity work, now part of CGI Federal.
• Parsons Corporation: Federal IT, defense, and critical infrastructure integrator; CEO Aarish Gokaldas previously led Parsons' Space and Geospatial Solutions Market, making it a relevant comparable for federal IT and security work.
• ICF International: Larger public federal IT, energy, and digital services firm with overlapping federal civilian and health missions; a comparable public-market analog for Highlight's federal civilian services portfolio.
• Booz Allen Hamilton: Largest federal IT and management consulting prime with deep civilian, defense, and intelligence footprint; broad incumbent competing for the same DevSecOps, cloud, and digital modernization task orders.

Direct peers

• ECS Group (ASGN Federal): Mid-size federal IT, cloud, and cybersecurity services firm competing in the same Defense, Civilian, and Intelligence task orders; comparable size and capability profile to Highlight.
• Katmai Professional Services: Alaskan Native Corporation 8(a) federal IT and professional services firm, joint-venture partner with Highlight in KHGS; comparable in federal civilian health, defense, and citizen-services focus.
• Applied Information Sciences (AIS): Mid-tier Microsoft-focused federal cloud, data, and DevSecOps services firm; directly comparable in size and federal-civilian footprint. CEO Aarish Gokaldas was previously Chief Growth Officer at AIS.
• CALIBRE Systems: Mid-size federal IT and management consulting firm serving defense, homeland security, and civilian agencies; directly comparable to Highlight in size, ESOP status, and federal mission-services mix. Highlight's CFO William Maxwell previously led finance at CALIBRE.

Emerging players

• Slalom Government Services: Federal-focused arm of Slalom with overlapping cloud, data, and digital modernization capabilities; an emerging private-sector entrant scaling into the same federal civilian and defense IT services market.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/HighlightTechnologies
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/highlight-technologies
• Xx.com/highlighttech

Compliance8 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 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 Highlight Technologies