Aquia
Aquia is a private, SDVOSB-certified federal IT services firm delivering cloud-native development, DevSecOps, cybersecurity, AI/ML, and compliance automation to U.S. civilian and defense agencies via GSA Schedule and IDIQ vehicles, with a flagship Federal AI Guardrail Framework.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2021
- HeadquartersMillsboro, United States
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Aquia does
Aquia Inc. is a privately held U.S. federal government IT services firm founded in 2021 that delivers cloud-native software development, DevSecOps, cybersecurity, AI/ML integration, data engineering, and governance/risk/compliance (GRC) services to civilian agencies, the Department of Defense, and state governments. Its technology base centers on AWS and GCP cloud platforms with deep Zero Trust and FedRAMP expertise; the firm holds AWS Security Competency across all eight categories and is an Advanced Tier Services Partner. Core proprietary offerings include the Federal AI Guardrail Framework (a compliance playbook grounded in NIST AI RMF 1.0, ISO/IEC 42001:2023, and ISO/IEC 27001:2022), the cATO+ continuous authorization solution, a FedRAMP Accelerator Program, and a SOC 2 Type II Acceleration offering, supplemented by open-source tools (KEV Bot, GuardDuty Runbook Generator, SCPkit, AWS CDK Semgrep rules). The company is a verified Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB), named 2024 SDVOSB of the Year by HHS.
Aquia generates revenue exclusively through federal professional services delivered via GSA Schedule (47QTCA23D000H), agency-specific IDIQ/BPA contract vehicles, and as both a prime and subcontractor. A joint venture, Aquia Nava II LLC — formed with strategic partner Nava — expands the firm's reach to larger federal vehicles including the $2.4 billion VA SPRUCE IDIQ and the $250 million SEC Digital Services BPA. Named customers span the VA, CMS, CDC, USPTO, USDA, SEC, HHS Office of Inspector General, U.S. Air Force/Platform One, and the State of Maryland, with delivered outcomes including a reported 74% reduction in authorization timelines and millions in cloud cost savings. The firm is remote-first across the United States, employs 51-100 people, and is led by returning co-founder and CEO David Maskeroni. Aquia offers no external funding rounds, instead reinvesting contract revenue and operating profit to scale delivery capacity.
Aquia firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Aquia
- Legal name
- Aquia Inc.
- Website
- https://aquia.us
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2021
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- Aquia is a private, SDVOSB-certified federal IT services firm delivering cloud-native development, DevSecOps, cybersecurity, AI/ML, and compliance automation to U.S. civilian and defense agencies via GSA Schedule and IDIQ vehicles, with a flagship Federal AI Guardrail Framework.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Aquia industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Federal IT and Cloud Security Services
- NAICS
- Computer Systems Design and Related Services (54151), Computer Systems Design Services (541512), Custom Computer Programming Services (541511)
- SIC
- Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370), Services-Computer Integrated Systems Design (7373), Services-Management Services (8741)
- akta.pro primary industry
- IT Asset Lifecycle Services (Procure-to-Retire) (BPAEAOAF)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Managed Application Platforms (App PaaS & Runtime Services) (HDABAAAD), iPaaS (Cloud Integration Platforms) (HDAEAIAB)
Keywords
Where Aquia is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Millsboro
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Aquia business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations
Revenue model
- Federal Professional Services: Time and materials or fixed-price contracts for professional services including cloud modernization, DevSecOps, cybersecurity, data engineering, and software development for federal government clients. Revenue generated through GSA Schedule and other IDIQ contract vehicles.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Multi-year contract | Federal government services procured through GSA Schedule |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels5 records
Aquia product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Aquia provides cloud and cybersecurity professional services to U.S. federal government agencies, organized around nine practice areas: AI/ML, Cybersecurity, Data Engineering, Design, DevSecOps, Enterprise Cloud Services, Governance/Risk/Compliance, Product Management, and Software Engineering. The firm sells proprietary productized offerings including the Federal AI Guardrail Framework, cATO+ continuous authorization solution, FedRAMP Accelerator Program, and SOC 2 Type II Acceleration Offering, delivered under GSA Schedule, IDIQ, and BPA contract vehicles as a Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business.
Product overview
Aquia is a cloud and cybersecurity services provider for federal government clients, offering a portfolio of services organized around nine core practice areas: AI and Machine Learning, Cybersecurity, Data Engineering, Design, DevSecOps, Enterprise Cloud Services, Governance Risk and Compliance (GRC), Product Management, and Software Engineering. The company's flagship proprietary offering is the Federal AI Guardrail Framework, a comprehensive playbook for federal agencies adopting AI responsibly. Aquia also provides specialized programs including the FedRAMP Accelerator Program for cloud authorization, the SOC 2 Type II Acceleration Offering, and the Aquia Accelerator Apprenticeship Program for workforce development. Technical resources include the Tributary Technical Blog and published white papers. Open source tools include KEV Bot, Amazon GuardDuty Runbook Generator, and SCPkit.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- AI and Machine Learning Services Comprehensive AI/ML professional services for federal agencies covering AI strategy, machine learning development, generative AI platform development, intelligent document processing, AI governance, AI-assisted process automation, and AI security analytics.
- Cybersecurity Services Full-spectrum federal cybersecurity services including zero trust strategy and implementation, vulnerability management, software supply chain security, enterprise security operations, penetration testing, purple teaming, threat modeling, and software security.
- DevSecOps Services DevSecOps services for federal customers spanning CI/CD pipeline implementation, Infrastructure as Code, security automation and orchestration, container security, monitoring and observability, threat modeling, agile/lean practices, and release management.
- Enterprise Cloud Services Enterprise cloud services covering multi-cloud and hybrid cloud management, platform engineering, containerization and orchestration, identity and access management, site reliability engineering, and cloud migration and optimization.
- Data Engineering Services Federal data engineering services including data pipeline design and operations, data readiness for AI/ML, health care data management, data analytics and BI, data integration, information architecture, data governance, and geospatial analytics.
- Governance, Risk, and Compliance Services GRC services for federal customers covering continuous authorization to operate (cATO), compliance and assessment automation, SaaS governance, risk assessment, policy development, security control implementation and testing, data privacy, and cybersecurity maturity assessments.
- Software Engineering Services Federal software engineering services delivering cloud-native full-stack development, legacy system modernization, form digitization and benefits modernization, and custom tool development.
- Design Services
Quantifiable outcome
- Reduced authorization timelines by 74% through modernized security processes
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Aquia
Customer profileNamed customers9 records
Segments1 record
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Aquia technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability11 records
Feature9 records
Aquia partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship, major and minor.
- AWS (Amazon Web Services)coreAWS Advanced Tier Services Partner, AWS Public Sector Partner, AWS Global Security and Compliance Acceleration program (ATO on AWS), AWS Security Partner. Aquia has achieved AWS Security Competency across all eight categories and hosts annual Cloud Compliance Summit with AWS.
- GCP (Google Cloud Platform)coreGCP Partner status, enabling multi-cloud service delivery for federal clients.
- Platform OneflagshipAquia selected to support Platform One's Iron Bank (DoD application hardening), CNAP team (cybersecurity modernization), Big Bang development team, and Party Bus team. Strategic partner for DoD DevSecOps platform modernization.
- NavaflagshipAquia chosen as exclusive partner on $250M SEC Digital Services BPA. Joint venture entity Aquia Nava II LLC formed to pursue larger federal IDIQs including VA SPRUCE ($2.4B potential).
- Omni FederalmajorAquia supports DoD Platform One as subcontractor to Omni Federal, working on Big Bang development team and Party Bus team projects.
- NoblismajorAquia awarded subcontract from Noblis on CMS SaaS Governance Initiative and multiple other federal contracts including cybersecurity objectives and ReportStream optimization.
- CoformamajorAquia won subcontract from Coforma to develop CMS Complaint Submission Portal.
- OddballmajorAquia awarded subcontract from Oddball to support Department of Veterans Affairs modernization initiatives.
- Digital Services CoalitionminorMember of Digital Services Coalition, a group of companies driving government digital transformation.
- National Veteran Small Business Coalition (NVSBC)minorMember of NVSBC, supporting veteran small business participation in government contracting.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Aquia competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Coforma: Coforma is a federal digital services firm that designs, builds, and ships user-centered technology for government. Aquia works with Coforma as a sub on the CMS Complaint Submission Portal, and both compete in the same niche of small, developer-centric federal IT services firms.
- Fearless: Fearless is a digital services firm building custom software, DevSecOps, and data platforms for federal health and civilian agencies. Comparable in size, mission focus, and service mix to Aquia, with similar emphasis on developer-centric delivery and federal set-aside contracting.
- Omni Federal: Omni Federal is a federal IT integrator focused on cloud, DevSecOps, and digital transformation for DoD and intelligence customers. Aquia supports DoD Platform One as a subcontractor to Omni Federal, and both compete on Platform One-adjacent federal cloud work.
- Nava: Nava is a digital services firm focused on federal government modernization. Aquia and Nava co-own the Aquia Nava II LLC joint venture and are co-exclusive partners on the $250M SEC Digital Services BPA, making Nava the closest direct peer in size, mission, and customer set.
- Ad Hoc LLC: Ad Hoc is a federal digital services firm building custom software for agencies including CMS, VA, and USDA. Comparable to Aquia in size, mission focus, and developer-centric service model, both serving as small-business set-aside alternatives to large federal integrators.
- Oddball: Oddball is a digital services firm building custom software for federal health agencies. Aquia partners with Oddball on VA modernization contracts and both compete for similar civilian-agency digital transformation work at similar scale.
Broad incumbents
- Noblis: Noblis is a nonprofit science and technology organization providing federal IT, engineering, and analytics services. Aquia works with Noblis as a sub on CMS SaaS Governance, and Noblis competes with Aquia on similar federal civilian digital transformation opportunities at larger scale.
- Booz Allen Hamilton: Booz Allen Hamilton is one of the largest federal IT and consulting firms, with extensive federal cloud, cybersecurity, and digital transformation practices. Aquia competes with Booz Allen for many of the same civilian and DoD cloud and cybersecurity contracts, though Booz Allen operates at far greater scale.
- Leidos: Leidos is a large federal IT and engineering services provider across DoD, intelligence, and civilian agencies. Aquia competes with Leidos on federal cloud modernization, cybersecurity, and digital transformation opportunities including VA-adjacent contracts.
Emerging players
- RegScale: RegScale provides a continuous compliance and GRC automation platform purpose-built for federal frameworks including FedRAMP, NIST, and CMMC. Aquia and RegScale partner on federal compliance initiatives, and RegScale's tooling overlaps with Aquia's cATO+ and FedRAMP Accelerator offerings.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Aquia social profiles
Digital presenceAquia compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
Aquia financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Aquia leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles9 records
Aquia subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries1 record
Aquia funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Aquia 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 Aquia
What does Aquia do?
Aquia provides cloud and cybersecurity professional services to U.S. federal government agencies, organized around nine practice areas: AI/ML, Cybersecurity, Data Engineering, Design, DevSecOps, Enterprise Cloud Services, Governance/Risk/Compliance, Product Management, and Software Engineering. The firm sells proprietary productized offerings including the Federal AI Guardrail Framework, cATO+ continuous authorization solution, FedRAMP Accelerator Program, and SOC 2 Type II Acceleration Offering, delivered under GSA Schedule, IDIQ, and BPA contract vehicles as a Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business.
Is Aquia a public or private company?
Aquia is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Aquia founded?
Aquia was founded in 2021. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is Aquia based?
Aquia is headquartered in Millsboro, United States, in the North America region.
How does Aquia make money?
One revenue line is on record: federal Professional Services.
Who are Aquia's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Coforma, Fearless, Omni Federal, Nava, Ad Hoc LLC and Oddball. Broad incumbents are Noblis, Booz Allen Hamilton and Leidos. RegScale is listed as an emerging player.
Does Aquia have an API?
No public API is recorded for Aquia.
What industry is Aquia in?
Aquia's product category is Federal IT and Cloud Security Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAEAOAF, IT Asset Lifecycle Services (Procure-to-Retire), with a secondary code of HDABAAAD, Managed Application Platforms (App PaaS & Runtime Services). Its NAICS code is 54151 and its SIC code is 7370.