Mender
Mender is an over-the-air software update platform for IoT and embedded device fleets, developed by Northern.tech AS. It serves enterprise OEMs across automotive, medical, industrial, consumer, and building management verticals with secure, compliant updates across any environment, including air-gapped and EU CRA-regulated deployments.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2015
- HeadquartersSan Francisco, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Mender does
Mender is an over-the-air (OTA) software update platform purpose-built for IoT and embedded device fleets, developed and maintained by Northern.tech AS (a Norwegian public limited company). The platform enables device manufacturers and operators to securely deliver software updates—including applications, containers, operating systems, AI models, and peripherals—to any device across connected, bandwidth-constrained, or fully air-gapped environments. Core technical components include the Mender Server (available as self-hosted software or as the cloud-hosted Hosted Mender SaaS), the Mender Client installed on devices, and the Mender Gateway Docker component for relaying update traffic through segregated networks. Differentiated capabilities span A/B partition updates with automatic rollback, delta updates for bandwidth efficiency, phased rollouts, multi-tenant device management, and full compliance with the EU Cyber Resilience Act (CRA).
The platform serves enterprise OEMs and device operators across automotive, industrial/manufacturing, medical/healthcare, building management systems, consumer electronics, security/access control, and smart energy verticals. Named customers and logo listings include Siemens, Schindler, ZF, Airbus, NVIDIA, NXP, QNX, Thales, Lyft, MOIA, MacGregor, and Veo, with the company claiming 15+ Fortune 100 deployments and a connected device footprint across 64+ countries. Revenue is generated through tiered subscription plans differentiated by device limits and features, add-on modules (Configure, Monitor, Troubleshoot, Connect, Extras), and a 12-month free trial funnel for the hosted product. The go-to-market combines product-led growth (self-serve hosted trial) with enterprise field sales for large deployments, supplemented by a community-led motion through the Mender Hub open-source integration repository.
Founded in 2015 and headquartered in the United States, Mender operates as a privately held product under Northern.tech AS. The company maintains an active product cadence, with notable launches between April 2025 and June 2026 including Mender for Microcontrollers (Zephyr RTOS/ESP32), Mender Client 6.0, an experimental AI failure-analysis feature, a Service Provider multi-tenant tier, and Yocto 6.0 Wrynose LTS support. These moves expand the addressable market into resource-constrained edge devices and managed service providers, timed against the December 2027 EU CRA enforcement deadline.
Mender firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Mender
- Legal name
- Northern.tech AS
- Website
- https://mender.io
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2015
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Mender is an over-the-air software update platform for IoT and embedded device fleets, developed by Northern.tech AS. It serves enterprise OEMs across automotive, medical, industrial, consumer, and building management verticals with secure, compliant updates across any environment, including air-gapped and EU CRA-regulated deployments.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Mender industry classification
Industry- Product category
- IoT Device Management Software
- akta.pro primary industry
- Remote Monitoring & Management (RMM) Services (BPAEABAA)
Keywords
Where Mender is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- San Francisco
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Mender business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Subscription Plans: Mender offers tiered subscription plans (plans and add-ons) for hosted and self-hosted deployments. Plans include various feature sets and device limits. Add-ons such as Configure, Monitor, and Troubleshoot provide additional capabilities. Annual and multi-year billing options available.
- Free Trial / Freemium: Mender provides a free 12-month trial for hosted Mender, allowing users to evaluate the platform. This serves as a user acquisition and conversion funnel for paid subscriptions.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Monthly | Free trial for 12 months |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels7 records
Mender product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Mender is an open-source over-the-air (OTA) software update platform purpose-built for connected IoT devices. It enables device manufacturers to securely deploy, manage, and rollback firmware and software updates across fleets of Linux-based and microcontroller-based devices. The platform is offered as both a self-hosted enterprise solution and a fully managed Hosted Mender SaaS service.
Product overview
Mender is a unified OTA software update platform designed for managing IoT device fleets throughout their entire lifecycle. The core platform consists of Mender Server (available as self-hosted software or cloud-hosted Hosted Mender), the Mender Client software installed on devices, and Mender Gateway for air-gapped network environments. The platform supports updating any software including applications, containers, operating systems, AI models, and peripherals. Add-on modules extend functionality including Mender Connect (remote access), Mender Configure (device configuration), Mender Monitor (fleet monitoring), and Mender Troubleshoot (remote diagnostics). Mender Hub provides a community repository for board integrations. A specialized offering for microcontrollers (MCUs) supports Zephyr RTOS and similar real-time operating systems. Development tools include mender-artifact, mender-convert, and mender-cli workstation utilities. The platform is built on open source with 100% API-driven architecture supporting integration with enterprise CI/CD pipelines and cloud IoT platforms.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Mender Hub: Community-supported repository for Mender board integrations and OTA update enablement.
- Hosted Mender
Products and services
- Mender Platform The core Mender OTA update platform composed of the Mender Server (backend management) and Mender Client (device-side agent) that delivers full and delta software updates, rollback, and configuration management to fleets of Linux-based IoT devices. Targeted at device manufacturers and embedded engineering teams.
- Hosted Mender
Quantifiable outcome
- 2000+ devices per month saved from failed updates
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Mender
Customer profileNamed customers15 records
Segments7 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Mender technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration10 records
AI capability2 records
Feature7 records
Mender partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.
- Northern.techcoreNorthern.tech is the parent company that develops and maintains Mender. The company is the creator of Mender and provides the core technology development, commercial licensing, and enterprise support for the OTA update platform.
- STMicroelectronicsflagshipSTMicroelectronics partnered with Northern.tech on a panel discussion about EU CRA compliance. STMicroelectronics provides technical marketing expertise on MPU products and security for the STM32 ecosystem, collaborating on security best practices and CRA compliance guidance.
- Azure IoT HubcoreOfficial integration between Mender and Azure IoT Hub, enabling Mender to serve as the OTA update backend for devices managed through Azure IoT Core.
- AWS IoT CorecoreOfficial integration between Mender and AWS IoT Core, enabling Mender to serve as the OTA update backend for devices managed through Amazon Web Services IoT.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Mender competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Digi International: Digi International provides cellular routers, embedded modules, and the Digi Remote Manager platform for OTA updates and fleet management. It competes with Mender at the device + connectivity + management bundle level for industrial customers.
- JFrog: JFrog's platform includes software distribution and update capabilities for embedded and edge devices through its Xray and Distribution products. It competes with Mender at the artifact distribution and update layer, particularly for enterprise customers.
- Microsoft Azure IoT Hub: Azure IoT Hub offers device management and update capabilities as part of the Azure IoT platform. Like AWS, it both competes with Mender on basic OTA and serves as an integration partner for managed update workloads.
- AWS IoT Device Management: AWS IoT Device Management provides fleet indexing, OTA jobs, and remote actions as part of the broader AWS IoT Core suite. Mender integrates with AWS IoT Core while also competing against its bundled update features for less demanding deployments.
- Wind River: Wind River provides embedded operating systems (VxWorks, Wind River Linux) and edge lifecycle management including OTA updates. It competes with Mender for large industrial, aerospace, and telecom customers needing certified, long-lifecycle device management.
Emerging players
- Eclipse hawkBit: Eclipse hawkBit is an open source OTA software update framework for IoT devices, providing direct competition to Mender's open source offering. It is typically self-hosted by large OEMs and integrators building in-house update infrastructure.
Direct peers
- Particle: Particle provides an IoT platform with cellular-connected hardware and a cloud-managed OTA update pipeline. It overlaps with Mender on OTA, fleet management, and developer tooling for connected products.
- Foundries.io: Foundries.io offers a continuous delivery platform for embedded Linux and Zephyr devices with integrated OTA updates and secure device management. It competes with Mender in the same embedded/IoT OTA space, particularly for Yocto-based fleets.
- Balena: Balena provides an IoT fleet management platform with over-the-air OS and application updates for embedded Linux devices. It directly competes with Mender on hosted vs. self-hosted OTA, fleet observability, and container-based device updates.
Regional players
- Toradex: Toradex offers embedded computing modules and Torizon, an open source industrial Linux platform with OTA update capabilities. It overlaps with Mender on embedded Linux OTA, with a stronger footprint in EMEA industrial customers.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Mender social profiles
Digital presenceMender compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance2 records
Mender financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Mender leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles3 records
Mender funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Mender 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 Mender
What does Mender do?
Mender is an open-source over-the-air (OTA) software update platform purpose-built for connected IoT devices. It enables device manufacturers to securely deploy, manage, and rollback firmware and software updates across fleets of Linux-based and microcontroller-based devices. The platform is offered as both a self-hosted enterprise solution and a fully managed Hosted Mender SaaS service.
Is Mender a public or private company?
Mender is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Mender founded?
Mender was founded in 2015. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Mender based?
Mender is headquartered in San Francisco, United States, in the North America region.
How does Mender make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Subscription Plans are the primary driver. The others are free Trial / Freemium.
Who are Mender's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Digi International, JFrog, Microsoft Azure IoT Hub, AWS IoT Device Management and Wind River. Eclipse hawkBit is listed as an emerging player. Direct peers are Particle, Foundries.io and Balena. Toradex is listed as a regional player.
Does Mender have an API?
Yes. Mender provides both Server-side API and Device-side API. The Server-side API enables management of deployments, devices, artifacts, and inventory. The Device-side API (Mender Authentication API v1) handles device authentication. APIs support integration with CI/CD pipelines including GitHub Actions, GitLab CI/CD, and Azure DevOps. Developer documentation is at docs.mender.io/api.
What industry is Mender in?
Mender's product category is IoT Device Management Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAEABAA, Remote Monitoring & Management (RMM) Services.