IDEAS Engineering & Technology

What IDEAS Engineering & Technology does

IDEAS Engineering & Technology, LLC (operating as IDEAS-TEK) is a privately held, minority-owned aerospace electronics company headquartered in Albuquerque, New Mexico, founded in 2011. The company designs and builds radiation-hardened, radiation-tolerant, and radiation-mitigated embedded computing systems for space missions, selling to commercial space operators and government programs that require flight-grade electronics. Its core technology stack combines proprietary 90nm rad-hard-by-design ASIC capability with a "fuse rad-hard + COTS" architectural approach, layered onto a modular VITA 90 (VNX+) ecosystem branded AYLLU and a legacy VPX/SpaceVPX payload-card product line.

The product portfolio centers on the AYLLU VNX+ ecosystem introduced in 2025, comprising eight branded modules targeting SWAP-C-constrained missions: AYLA (chassis), OTO (radiation-tolerant HPSC via Microchip PIC64-HPSC), URUKU (radiation-mitigated NVIDIA Jetson GPU), KUYU (ARM A72 + 3D GPU), TUKU (rad-hard system monitor), SURRI (FPGA/MPSoC), TUPA (Versal AI Edge storage), and ANKA (rad-hard AI accelerator). Complementing these are 6U VPX and SpaceVPX form-factor computers using ARM and PowerPC processors, plus engineering services spanning FPGA-based flight computer design, BSP/embedded software (Linux and Green Hills INTEGRITY), radiation-hardened IC design, and build-to-print integration. Cumulative performance claims include 50,000+ hours of flight time across 30 systems or components in orbit, completed, or in development.

The business model is a B2B enterprise motion with quote-based pricing, multi-year contracts, engineering-led direct sales, and distribution exclusively through direct enterprise engagement (no resellers or e-commerce identified). Customer segments are vertically focused on space (commercial constellations, CubeSats, and government programs), with Aerospace Electronics Systems engineering services as a secondary business unit. Revenue streams combine hardware sales (modules, VPX cards, full systems) with professional services (design, integration, testing, BSP delivery). The company is pursuing AS9100/ISO 9001 certification to qualify as a supplier to larger aerospace primes, has no disclosed external capital, and grows organically with 20+ employees operating from a single 6,000 sq. ft. ESD-safe R&D facility.

Name

IDEAS Engineering & Technology

Legal name

IDEAS Engineering & Technology, LLC

Website

https://ideas-tek.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

IDEAS Engineering & Technology, LLC is a privately held, minority-owned aerospace electronics firm based in Albuquerque, NM, designing radiation-hardened, radiation-tolerant, and radiation-mitigated embedded computing systems and VITA 90 (VNX+) modular components for commercial and government space missions.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Space-grade embedded computing and radiation-hardened electronics

NAICS

Other Guided Missile and Space Vehicle Parts and Auxiliary Equipment Manufacturing (336419), Aerospace Product and Parts Manufacturing (33641), Search, Detection, Navigation, Guidance, Aeronautical, and Nautical System and Instrument Manufacturing (334511), Computer Systems Design Services (541512)

SIC

Guided Missiles & Space Vehicles & Parts (3760), Search, Detection, Navagation, Guidance, Aeronautical Sys (3812), Services-Computer Integrated Systems Design (7373)

akta.pro primary industry

Spacecraft Avionics, Flight Computers & Software (IMABACAI)

akta.pro secondary industry

Military Space Systems (Defense Spacecraft) (IMABACAC)

Keywords

• Radiation-hardened electronics
• Space-grade embedded computing
• VNX+ VPX modules
• Aerospace electronic systems
• Spaceflight computing solutions

Headquarters

HQ city

Albuquerque

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Custom Computing and Embedded Systems: Sale of custom-designed computing modules, VPX cards, VNX+ ecosystem products, and HPSC-based systems. Products range from radiation-mitigated COTS modules to fully radiation-hardened systems, with modular pricing based on specification complexity.
2. Engineering Services: System design, integration, testing, and build-to-print services. Includes design documentation review, production and quality flow insertion, assembly, integration and delivery services.
3. Board Support Package and Embedded Software: Delivery of systems with complete board support packages including Linux-based and Green Hills Integrity embedded software.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

IDEAS Engineering & Technology designs and builds radiation-hardened, radiation-tolerant, and radiation-mitigated embedded computing modules and electronics (VNX+/VNX ecosystem modules, VPX/SpaceVPX payload cards, HPSC-based flight computers, and rad-hard ASICs) for commercial and government space missions. The company also provides embedded systems engineering services, system integration, and board support package development to aerospace customers operating in SWAP-C constrained environments.

Product overview

IDEAS-TEK is an aerospace electronics company that provides computing and embedded system solutions for space missions. The product portfolio is organized around two main platforms: the VPX/VNX+ ecosystem (based on VITA 90 standards) and VPX Cards. The VNX+ Ecosystem (branded as AYLLU) is a modular ecosystem of plug-in computing modules in 19mm and 39mm form factors, including the OTO HPSC processor, URUKU NVIDIA GPU, KUYU ARM A72 CPU, ANKA AI Accelerator, TUKU System Monitor, SURRI FPGA/MPSoC, TUPA Storage, and AYLA Chassis products. These modules target SWaP-C constrained missions and span radiation hardened, radiation tolerant, and radiation mitigated tiers. The VPX Cards product line includes 6U VPX and SpaceVPX form-factor computers (ARM-based and PowerPC-based) for higher-throughput payload applications. All products are designed for reliability in space environments, with expertise in radiation hardened electronics and fault-tolerant system design.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• AYLLU: Modular VNX+ Ecosystem for small form factor technology, designed for compact, efficient, and high-performance solutions in the aerospace sector. Features modularity, radiation-tolerant computing, and VITA-90 standards compliance.
• AYLA
• OTO
• URUKU
• KUYU
• TUKU
• SURRI
• TUPA
• ANKA

Products and services

• AYLLU VNX+ Ecosystem IDEAS-TEK's flagship modular ecosystem for small form factor spacecraft electronics based on the VITA 90 standard. Provides radiation-tolerant and radiation-mitigated computing modules that can be tailored to specific mission requirements, supporting AI acceleration, fault-tolerant computing, and modular spacecraft electronics for CubeSat and high-reliability space applications.
• AYLA Adjustable VNX+ Chassis Radiation-tolerant VNX+ chassis solution with integrated backplane and I/O capabilities designed to maximize re-use and interoperability of modules in the AYLLU ecosystem, accelerating implementation schedules.
• OTO Radiation-Tolerant VNX+ HPSC Module Radiation-tolerant 39mm VNX+ module leveraging Microchip's PIC64 HPSC processor, enabling high-performance, high-reliability computing, AI processing, and networking in a small footprint with flexible power profiles for next-generation NASA missions through 2040 and beyond.
• URUKU Radiation-Mitigated VNX+ NVIDIA GPU Module Radiation-mitigated 19mm VNX+ module integrating a COTS NVIDIA Jetson SoM with radiation-hardened fault-mitigation circuitry to deliver GPU computing capability for space applications.
• KUYU ARM A72 CPU Module Radiation-tolerant 39mm VNX+ module integrating a Dual Core A72 ARM + 3D GPU chipset with radiation-tolerant circuitry, providing flexible computing, networking, and interfacing for diverse space applications.
• TUKU Rad-Hard VNX+ System Monitor Radiation-hardened 19mm VNX+ module that supervises correct operation of the system and implements system-level fault mitigation techniques, facilitating integration of COTS components.
• SURRI Radiation-Mitigated VNX+ FPGA/MPSoC Module Radiation-mitigated 19mm VNX+ module integrating a COTS FPGA SoM with radiation-hardened fault-mitigation circuitry, enabling quick adoption of AMD and Microchip COTS FPGAs and MPSoCs.
• TUPA Radiation-Mitigated VNX+ Storage / AI Module Radiation-mitigated 19mm VNX+ module integrating a COTS Versal Edge with radiation-hardened fault-mitigation circuitry, facilitating quick integration of Versal AI computing engines for storage and AI acceleration.
• ANKA Rad-Hard VNX+ AI Accelerator Radiation-hardened 19mm VNX+ AI accelerator module designed to provide high-reliability AI processing capabilities for critical space applications.
• 6U VPX Radiation-Mitigated ARM Computer 6U x 160 SpaceVPX-form-factor computer integrating dual-redundant COTS ARM quad-core processing engines managed by a radiation-hardened MCU, providing high-performance computing and networking capabilities for space applications.
• 6U VPX Radiation-Tolerant Computer 6U x 220 VPX-form-factor computer including two Dual-core PowerPC processors and a radiation-tolerant FPGA with high-speed interconnection, offering tightly integrated computing and data processing capability for space applications.
• HPSC-Based VNX+ System Next-generation flight computing system developed in partnership with Microchip using PIC64 HPSC technology, addressing computational performance, energy management, and fault tolerance needs of NASA missions through 2040 and beyond. Combines application complex and switching functionality in a single package for critical space computing and data processing applications.
• Embedded Systems Engineering, Integration, and Build-to-Print Services Embedded systems design, FPGA-based flight computer development, radiation-hardened IC design, system integration, testing, and build-to-print services for aerospace customers. Services include design documentation review, production and quality flow insertion, assembly, integration, delivery, and BSP/embedded software development for Linux-based and Green Hills INTEGRITY environments.

Quantifiable outcome

• 50,000+ hours of computers and electronic systems have flown in space
• +3 more outcomes

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Microchip TechnologycoreTechnology or Integration · 25 July 2024Strategic partnership to develop HPSC-based (High Performance Spaceflight Computing) solutions using Microchip's PIC64-HPSC MPUs. IDEAS-TEK is developing VNX+ ecosystem products based on this processor, featuring 100x improvement in processing capability compared to traditional space processors. The collaboration targets SWaP-C aerospace missions in commercial and space applications.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Mercury Systems: Mercury Systems manufactures mission-critical processing subsystems for aerospace and defense, including space-grade SBCs and signal processing boards. Competes in the same embedded space-computing category with overlapping form factors (VPX/OpenVPX).
• Curtiss-Wright Defense Solutions: Curtiss-Wright's defense solutions division provides ruggedized and radiation-tolerant embedded computing, including VPX/SpaceVPX modules for satellite and launch vehicle applications. Directly comparable product portfolio for space payload computing.
• Ramon Space: Ramon Space provides radiation-hardened and radiation-tolerant computing systems for space, including single-board computers and memory modules. Highly comparable to IDEAS-TEK in target use case (SWaP-C constrained missions) and product category (space-grade compute modules).
• Aitech Innovations: Aitech produces space-qualified embedded computing boards (SBCs, GPGPU systems) in VME, VPX, and SpaceVPX form factors for satellites and launch vehicles. Direct competitor in the SWaP-C space computing market.

Broad incumbents

• Honeywell Aerospace: Honeywell supplies radiation-hardened integrated circuits, guidance/navigation computers, and space-qualified electronics for commercial and government missions. Broader incumbent in aerospace electronics with overlapping radiation-hardening expertise.
• BAE Systems (Electronic Systems / Space): BAE Systems' Electronic Systems segment produces radiation-hardened electronics, including RAD750 and successor processors, plus space-grade memories and ASICs. A broader incumbent competing in overlapping space computing categories but with a much wider product portfolio.
• Microchip Technology: Microchip supplies radiation-hardened and radiation-tolerant semiconductors for space (e.g., PIC64-HPSC, RTG4 FPGAs, radiation-hardened microcontrollers). Acts as IDEAS-TEK's HPSC silicon partner and is an upstream incumbent whose modules compete with downstream integrators.

Emerging players

• Research Innovations Incorporated (RII): RII develops space-flight software, hardware, and mission solutions for DoD and intelligence customers, with comparable size and SWaP-focused offerings for smallsat programs. Comparable smaller-scale integrator focused on defense space missions.
• Frontier Aerospace Corporation: Frontier Aerospace develops advanced propulsion and in-space systems for small-sat and CubeSat missions. Emerging player with adjacent space-flight hardware offerings targeting the same small-sat customer segment.

Regional players

• Space Dynamics Laboratory: Space Dynamics Laboratory (USU-affiliated) builds space-qualified sensor payloads, on-board computers, and ground systems. Comparable in space electronics capabilities and mission scope, though Utah-based vs. IDEAS-TEK's NM footprint.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/IDEASTEKus
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ideas-engineering-&-technology
• Instagraminstagram.com/ideas.tek

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

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 IDEAS Engineering & Technology