Canary
Canary Labs Inc. is a privately held, Martinsburg, Pennsylvania-based industrial software company founded in 1985 that sells the Canary System — a time-series data historian and analytics platform used by manufacturers, energy producers, and government operators in 70+ countries to collect, store, and visualize process data from PLCs, SCADA, and IIoT systems.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1985
- HeadquartersMartinsburg, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Canary does
Canary Labs Inc. is a privately held, Martinsburg, Pennsylvania-based industrial software company founded in 1985 that has operated continuously for over 40 years without disclosed external funding. The company develops and sells the Canary System, an enterprise data historian and time-series analytics platform used by industrial operators in manufacturing, oil and gas, chemicals, energy, government, and higher education across more than 70 countries. The core platform pairs the Canary Historian — a proprietary NoSQL time-series database with class-leading lossless compression that supports over 2 million tags per server — with Data Collectors for OPC (DA/UA), MQTT, SQL, CSV, and SCADA sources, and a Store & Forward layer for reliable delivery across unreliable networks. Context is added through Virtual Views (asset/UNS modeling), a Calculation Server with 70+ functions, and an Events module for batch, downtime, and shift detection; data is surfaced through the Axiom dashboarding tool and Excel Add-in, and shared with third-party systems via MQTT Sparkplug, REST Web API, ODBC, and Kafka connectors into Power BI, Seeq, Spotfire, AWS, IBM Maximo, and similar platforms. A free, no-license-restriction native module embeds Canary as a Tag History Provider inside Inductive Automation's Ignition SCADA, and the company holds SOC 2 Type I and Type II certifications.
Canary firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Canary
- Legal name
- Canary Labs Inc.
- Website
- https://canarylabs.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1985
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Canary Labs Inc. is a privately held, Martinsburg, Pennsylvania-based industrial software company founded in 1985 that sells the Canary System — a time-series data historian and analytics platform used by manufacturers, energy producers, and government operators in 70+ countries to collect, store, and visualize process data from PLCs, SCADA, and IIoT systems.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Canary industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Industrial Data Historian Software
- NAICS
- Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (51821), Computer Systems Design and Related Services (54151)
- SIC
- Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370), Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Industry/Domain Analytics Solutions & Accelerators (BPAEAHAK)
Keywords
Where Canary is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Martinsburg
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Canary business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Software Licenses (Historian): Perpetual and subscription software licenses for the Canary Historian, priced by tag count (number of data points). Base system starts at 3,500 tags for $9,970. Additional tags purchased in tiers. Support and maintenance at 18% of licensed product cost annually.
- ODBC Connector: Optional add-on module enabling SQL-like queries against the Canary Historian for $2,500, licensed separately from the base system.
- Support & Maintenance: Annual support and maintenance at 18% of licensed product costs, providing updates, technical support, and access to new releases.
- Ignition Integration Module: Free module with no licensing restrictions for integration with Ignition SCADA platform.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Unit Pricing | Annual | Entry-level system: 3,500 tags, full feature set |
| Unit Pricing | Annual | Enterprise tiers: larger tag counts |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels7 records
Canary product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Canary Labs develops and sells "The Canary System," an industrial data historian and operational intelligence platform built on a proprietary NoSQL time-series database with class-leading lossless compression supporting 2M+ tags per server. The platform collects time-series process data from PLCs, SCADA systems, and IIoT devices via OPC, MQTT, SQL, CSV, and SCADA connectors; stores it reliably through Store & Forward buffering; applies asset context and KPI calculations through Virtual Views, Calculation Server (70+ functions), and Events; and visualizes it through Axiom dashboards, the Excel Add-in, and Data Connectors (MQTT Sparkplug, Web API, ODBC, Kafka). It serves industrial operators, government/municipal infrastructure, systems integrators, and higher education/research customers across 70+ countries.
Product overview
Canary is a data historian software company offering the Canary System, a unified platform-plus-modules architecture for industrial automation data management. The core platform consists of the Canary Historian (time-series database) paired with Data Collectors (supporting OPC, MQTT, SQL, CSV protocols) and Store & Forward (for reliable offline delivery). Context is applied through Virtual Views (asset modeling) and Calculation Server (real-time KPIs with 70+ functions), with Events for batch/downtime/shift monitoring. Data is visualized via Axiom (dashboards/trending) and Excel Add-in, with unlimited concurrent clients. Data Connectors (MQTT Sparkplug, Web API, ODBC) enable integration with third-party analytics tools (Power BI, Spotfire, Seeq, AWS). The Ignition Module provides native integration with Inductive Automation's SCADA platform. The system is designed for edge, site, and enterprise/cloud deployments across 70+ countries.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- The Canary System Unified industrial data historian platform that collects time-series process data from PLCs, SCADA systems, and IIoT devices via OPC, MQTT, SQL, CSV, and SCADA connectors; stores data with lossless compression supporting 2M+ tags per server; applies asset context and KPI calculations through Virtual Views, Calculation Server (70+ functions), and Events; and visualizes results via Axiom dashboards and the Excel Add-in. Targeted at industrial process operators in oil & gas, chemicals, energy, aerospace, manufacturing, and municipal infrastructure. Pricing is by tag count, starting at $9,970 for 3,500 tags with unlimited Axiom and Excel Add-in client seats.
- ODBC Connector Optional add-on module that exposes Canary Historian data, Virtual Views, and Events via SQL-like ODBC queries to third-party analytics and BI tools. Licensed separately from the base Canary System at $2,500. Targeted at data analysts, BI developers, and engineers who need SQL-based access to time-series data.
- Ignition Module Free integration module enabling the Canary Historian to function as a native Tag History Provider for Ignition by Inductive Automation SCADA projects (Ignition 8.3+). Enables joint SCADA control and historical data logging deployments with no licensing restrictions. Targeted at Ignition SCADA users and systems integrators deploying Inductive Automation platforms.
Quantifiable outcome
- 30,000+ installations in over 70 countries
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Canary
Customer profileNamed customers13 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Canary technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration14 records
AI capability4 records
Feature12 records
Canary partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- SORBA.aicoreCanary Labs and SORBA.ai announced a strategic partnership to integrate their platforms for industrial data and AI solutions. The integration enables direct access to time-series data for predictive modeling. The collaboration aims to streamline deployment processes, reduce costs, and support secure, on-premises operations for industrial enterprises.
- Inductive Automation (Ignition)coreCanary has developed a free Ignition module that functions as a native Tag History Provider for Ignition SCADA projects. The module is free with no licensing restrictions. Canary collaborates with Inductive Automation's ICC user community. Combined Ignition + Canary solutions are priced at ~$55,460 total, offering both SCADA control and historical data logging.
- Inductive Automation (Ignition)coreCanary's historian is exposed as a native module within the Ignition SCADA platform by Inductive Automation. The Ignition Tag Historian Module (~$2,365) combined with Canary's historian enables a joint solution where Canary serves as the native tag history provider.
- Chirality ResearchminorCo-sponsor of the second annual Canary Day Calgary 2026 event. Chirality Research and Canary Labs are among companies practicing partnership-driven approaches in Canada's industrial technology sector rather than traditional competition.
- Tarco ConsultingminorCo-sponsor of the second annual Canary Day Calgary 2026 event. Tarco Consulting participates in collaborative delivery models in Canada's industrial technology sector.
- Dimension SoftwareminorCo-sponsor of the second annual Canary Day Calgary 2026 event. Dimension Software collaborates with Canary Labs on real-world applications of asset intelligence and AI in industrial settings.
- Water For GoodminorCanary has partnered with Water For Good since 2019. Canary team members have traveled to Africa to support water point installations. As of the latest report, Water For Good has reached 981,000 people and installed 200+ water points in the Central African Republic.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Canary competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- AVEVA (PI System): AVEVA's PI System (formerly OSIsoft PI) is the dominant industrial data historian and Canary's primary named competitor in marketing materials. Canary explicitly positions itself on cost (1/6 the price) and feature parity with PI.
- Inductive Automation (Ignition): Inductive Automation's Ignition SCADA platform is both a core integration partner (Canary provides the native Tag History Module for Ignition) and a competitive alternative, since Ignition includes its own built-in historian capability.
Emerging players
- InfluxData: InfluxDB is a leading open-source/cloud-native time-series database increasingly adopted in industrial IoT. It competes with Canary for modern cloud-first buyers but lacks the deep SCADA/OPC protocol integration and industrial asset-modeling of Canary.
- Seeq Corporation: Seeq provides advanced process analytics and machine learning on top of time-series historians, including Canary. Seeq is both a complement (integrates with Canary) and a partial alternative for advanced analytics use cases.
- AWS IoT SiteWise: AWS IoT SiteWise is a cloud-native managed industrial time-series service that competes with Canary for cloud-first industrial customers. It offers tighter integration with the AWS ecosystem but lacks Canary's on-premises heritage and asset-modeling depth.
Broad incumbents
- Siemens (WinCC Historian): Siemens offers the WinCC Historian as part of its broader industrial automation portfolio (SIMATIC). It serves overlapping manufacturing customers but is bundled into Siemens's full-stack automation offering rather than sold as a standalone historian.
- Honeywell (Uniformance PHD): Honeywell's Uniformance Process History Database (PHD) is a long-standing industrial historian widely used in process industries. It overlaps with Canary in chemical, oil & gas, and refining customers but is part of Honeywell's broader process automation suite.
- GE Digital (Proficy Historian): GE Digital's Proficy Historian serves discrete and process manufacturing customers globally. It competes with Canary for plant-floor data management but is typically sold as part of GE's broader Proficy manufacturing software suite.
- Aspen Technology (Aspen IP21): Aspen Technology's IP21 (formerly InfoPlus.21) is a process-industry historian widely used in chemicals and refining. It overlaps with Canary's process manufacturing customer base but is part of AspenTech's broader asset optimization suite.
- Rockwell Automation (FactoryTalk Historian): Rockwell's FactoryTalk Historian (formerly RSHistorian) targets discrete and hybrid manufacturers using Logix controllers. It competes with Canary for plant-floor data but is tightly coupled to Rockwell's control system ecosystem.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Canary social profiles
Digital presenceCanary compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance2 records
Canary financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Canary leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Canary funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Canary 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 Canary
What does Canary do?
Canary Labs develops and sells "The Canary System," an industrial data historian and operational intelligence platform built on a proprietary NoSQL time-series database with class-leading lossless compression supporting 2M+ tags per server. The platform collects time-series process data from PLCs, SCADA systems, and IIoT devices via OPC, MQTT, SQL, CSV, and SCADA connectors; stores it reliably through Store & Forward buffering; applies asset context and KPI calculations through Virtual Views, Calculation Server (70+ functions), and Events; and visualizes it through Axiom dashboards, the Excel Add-in, and Data Connectors (MQTT Sparkplug, Web API, ODBC, Kafka). It serves industrial operators, government/municipal infrastructure, systems integrators, and higher education/research customers across 70+ countries.
Is Canary a public or private company?
Canary is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Canary founded?
Canary was founded in 1985. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Canary based?
Canary is headquartered in Martinsburg, United States, in the North America region.
How does Canary make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Software Licenses (Historian) is the primary driver. The others are ODBC Connector, support & Maintenance and ignition Integration Module.
Who are Canary's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are AVEVA (PI System) and Inductive Automation (Ignition). Emerging players are InfluxData, Seeq Corporation and AWS IoT SiteWise. Broad incumbents are Siemens (WinCC Historian), Honeywell (Uniformance PHD), GE Digital (Proficy Historian), Aspen Technology (Aspen IP21) and Rockwell Automation (FactoryTalk Historian).
Does Canary have an API?
Yes. Canary provides a Web API for reading and writing data to the historian, accessible through the Views Service. The API provides access to raw data, aggregated process data, Canary Events, Virtual Views, calculated tags, and more. Custom Publish Services can communicate latest tag values via JSON over WebSocket. The API also supports gRPC for both data ingestion and reading. Authentication is supported through API tokens generated in the Identity service, and OAuth 2.0/OpenID Connect (Entra ID, Okta, Google). Documentation is available at readapi.canarylabs.com. Developer documentation is at readapi.canarylabs.com.
What industry is Canary in?
Canary's product category is Industrial Data Historian Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAEAHAK, Industry/Domain Analytics Solutions & Accelerators. Its NAICS code is 51821 and its SIC code is 7370.