Metron
Metron is a 100% employee-owned scientific solutions company that develops AI-enabled autonomy, Bayesian inference, and signal-processing software — primarily the ANCC platform — for U.S. defense and homeland security agencies including the Navy, Army, DARPA, DIU, and Coast Guard.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1984
- HeadquartersReston, United States
- Headcount251–500
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Metron does
Metron is a privately held, 100% employee-owned scientific solutions company founded in 1982 and headquartered in Reston, Virginia, that applies applied mathematics, probabilistic modeling, Bayesian inference, and machine learning to defense and homeland security problems. The firm's core product is ANCC (Autonomy, Navigation, Command & Control), a platform-agnostic, UMAA- and OpenAUV-compatible autonomy software suite underpinned by its registered Resilient Mission Autonomy™ framework that fuses fault detection, diagnosis, prognosis, and mitigation with mission planning. Around ANCC, Metron offers a portfolio of add-on modules (AutoMATE for mission planning, Periscope for vehicle monitoring, Volans for mission coordination, Blacktip for tracking, Dynamo for analytics, MDANM for maritime domain awareness, Glimpse for visualization, AirCue for air traffic control) plus the SAROPS search-and-rescue planning system used operationally by the U.S. Coast Guard.
Metron generates revenue primarily through U.S. federal government R&D contracts — including cost-plus-fixed-fee and IDIQ vehicles with DARPA, the Defense Innovation Unit, the Office of Naval Research, the U.S. Navy, and the U.S. Army — supplemented by scientific consulting and selective licensing/royalty arrangements for its software products. Recent major contract wins include a $48.6M Army AI mission planning award, a $29.8M ONR UUV autonomy contract, and a $33.4M Navy Analytic Office IDIQ. Distribution occurs through direct enterprise field sales to government agencies and through OEM/embedded partnerships (Dive Technologies DIVE-LD, Cellula Robotics Guardian), with growing positioning inside the Oracle Defense Ecosystem and the DIU Combat Autonomous Maritime Platform consortium. The company maintains offices in Reston, Portland, San Diego, Denver, and Honolulu and divested its ORCA division in 2022 to focus on autonomy and scientific R&D.
Metron firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Metron
- Legal name
- Metron, Inc.
- Website
- https://metsci.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1984
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 251–500 employees
- Short description
- Metron is a 100% employee-owned scientific solutions company that develops AI-enabled autonomy, Bayesian inference, and signal-processing software — primarily the ANCC platform — for U.S. defense and homeland security agencies including the Navy, Army, DARPA, DIU, and Coast Guard.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Where Metron is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Reston
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices6 records
Markets served
Metron business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Government R&D Contracts: Metron generates revenue primarily through research and development contracts with U.S. government agencies including DARPA, Office of Naval Research, Defense Innovation Unit, U.S. Navy, and Army. These are typically cost-plus-fixed-fee contracts for advanced technology development.
- Scientific Consulting: The company provides specialized scientific consulting services applying advanced mathematics to solve complex problems for government and commercial clients
- Software Products: Metron develops and delivers proprietary software products including autonomy software (ANCC), decision support tools, and analytics platforms for defense applications
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Multi-year contract | Defense Innovation Unit Prototype Agreement |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels5 records
Metron product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Metron develops and delivers scientific software solutions and applied mathematics-based research services primarily for the U.S. Department of Defense. Its flagship offering is ANCC (Autonomy, Navigation, Command & Control), a platform-agnostic autonomy software for unmanned systems, complemented by decision support tools, advanced analytics, sensor processing, and tracking/fusion capabilities delivered through government R&D contracts and prototype agreements.
Product overview
Metron delivers innovative scientific solutions for defense and commercial markets through five key areas: advanced data analytics, Resilient Mission Autonomy, decision support tools, sensing and signal processing, and experimental capabilities. The core product is the ANCC (Autonomy, Navigation, Command & Control) platform providing platform-agnostic autonomy for unmanned systems with UMAA & OpenAUV compatibility. This is complemented by modules including AutoMATE for automated mission planning, Periscope for undersea vehicle control, Volans for mission planning, and ANCC+SOLUS for enhanced mission execution. The analytics suite includes Glimpse for data visualization, Dynamo for analytics processing, Blacktip for tracking, and MDANM for maritime domain awareness. Metron also offers AirCue for air traffic control and Red Sky, a NOAA-funded crowdsourced weather app for mariners.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Autonomy, Navigation, Command & Control (ANCC)
Quantifiable outcome
- Found wreckage of Air France Flight 447 that had been missing for two years using probability map technology
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Metron
Customer profileNamed customers10 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Metron technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration2 records
AI capability10 records
Feature5 records
Metron partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core, supporting, ecosystem and program.
- Integer TechnologiescoreExpanded partnership formalized through memorandum of understanding to advance reliable, scalable UUV operations for the U.S. Navy. Currently collaborating on DIU's Combat Autonomous Maritime Platform (CAMP) project, combining Metron's vehicle autonomy with Integer's mission assurance software.
- Cellula Robotics USAcore10-year agreement to deliver next-generation undersea capability for the US defense market. Partnership led by Metron for the CAMP DIU project. Metron's ANCC software controls Cellula's Guardian fuel cell-powered AUV for long-endurance autonomous operations.
- General Dynamics Applied Physical SciencessupportingCollaborating partner on the Combat Autonomous Maritime Platform (CAMP) DIU project, working with Metron's autonomy software for long-endurance AUV solutions.
- Schilling Robotics (TechnipFMC)supportingPartner in the CAMP project through Cellula's growing US operations, providing technical specialists and engineering expertise for AUV development.
- OracleecosystemMetron is an initial member of the Oracle Defense Ecosystem, a global initiative providing defense innovators access to cloud and AI capabilities through Oracle Cloud Infrastructure. The ecosystem addresses procurement challenges in the Defense Industrial Base.
- Duke UniversitysupportingAcademic collaboration on DARPA BLiP (Beyond Linear Processing) program for nonlinear radar signal processing methods.
- Azure Summit TechnologysupportingTechnology partner on DARPA BLiP program providing algorithms, theoretical analysis, and software testbed for end-to-end radar system performance.
- Voyager (with Serco and Wartsila)programPartnership under DARPA NOMARS program to develop the X-ship unmanned surface vessel. Metron developing SAHM-IAMM tool for self-adaptive health monitoring using digital twin technology.
- Dive TechnologiescoreCommercial partnership to integrate Metron's ANCC software suite on Dive Technologies' DIVE-LD large displacement autonomous underwater vehicle. Initial sea testing completed December 2020.
- DARPA PROTEUS ProgramprogramCollaboration under the Prototype Resilient Operations Testbed for Expeditionary Urban Scenarios program. Metron developed Logistics Wizard and EMSO Wizard decision aids for Marine Corps Warfighting Lab.
Scale indicators10 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Metron competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Booz Allen Hamilton: Booz Allen Hamilton is a major defense consulting firm with significant AI/analytics practice serving DoD. Comparable to Metron in defense analytics, decision support, and digital engineering capabilities, but operating at much larger scale.
- Palantir Technologies: Palantir provides AI/data analytics platforms for defense and intelligence communities. Comparable to Metron's analytics and decision support tools; both are members of Oracle Defense Ecosystem, though Palantir operates at much larger scale.
- CACI International: CACI provides defense IT and engineering services with significant DoD presence. Comparable to Metron's defense R&D and systems integration work, but operating as a much larger prime contractor with broader service offerings.
- Leidos Holdings: Leidos is a major defense contractor with extensive scientific research and engineering services for DoD. Comparable to Metron in defense R&D and analytics, but at much larger scale with broader portfolio across multiple agencies.
- SAIC: SAIC is a major defense IT and engineering services contractor with significant DoD work. Comparable to Metron's defense R&D and systems integration work, but with broader portfolio across multiple agencies and programs.
- L3Harris Technologies: L3Harris is a major defense technology prime contractor with autonomous systems and undersea warfare capabilities. Comparable to Metron in autonomous undersea vehicle work, but operating at much larger scale as a tier-one prime contractor.
Direct peers
- Anduril Industries: Anduril develops AI-enabled autonomous defense systems including maritime autonomous platforms. Comparable to Metron's ANCC autonomy software and maritime UUV work, though operating at much larger scale with venture capital backing.
- Shield AI: Shield AI develops AI-powered autonomous systems for defense including unmanned aircraft. Directly comparable to Metron's work on platform-agnostic ANCC autonomy software for unmanned systems in defense applications.
Others
- Systems Planning & Analysis: SPA acquired Metron's ORCA division in 2022, making it a former parent unit and now direct competitor in defense operations research and analytics. SPA is a private-equity-backed defense services firm with similar DoD customer base.
- Battelle Memorial Institute: Battelle is a nonprofit scientific R&D organization with significant defense and national security work. Comparable to Metron in applied scientific research and engineering for government clients, though operating at much larger scale with broader portfolio.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Metron social profiles
Digital presenceMetron financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Metron leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles6 records
Metron funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Metron 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 Metron
What does Metron do?
Metron develops and delivers scientific software solutions and applied mathematics-based research services primarily for the U.S. Department of Defense. Its flagship offering is ANCC (Autonomy, Navigation, Command & Control), a platform-agnostic autonomy software for unmanned systems, complemented by decision support tools, advanced analytics, sensor processing, and tracking/fusion capabilities delivered through government R&D contracts and prototype agreements.
Is Metron a public or private company?
Metron is a private company. It is classified as management employee owned and is currently operating.
When was Metron founded?
Metron was founded in 1984. It employs 251 to 500 people.
Where is Metron based?
Metron is headquartered in Reston, United States, in the North America region.
How does Metron make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Government R&D Contracts are the primary driver. The others are scientific Consulting and software Products.
Who are Metron's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Booz Allen Hamilton, Palantir Technologies, CACI International, Leidos Holdings, SAIC and L3Harris Technologies. Direct peers are Anduril Industries and Shield AI. Others are Systems Planning & Analysis and Battelle Memorial Institute.
Does Metron have an API?
No public API is recorded for Metron.