What acontis technologies does

acontis technologies GmbH is a German private software company founded in 2004 and headquartered in Weingarten (postal code 88250), with additional offices in Ravensburg and a wholly-owned US subsidiary. The company develops EtherCAT MainDevice software (centered on its EC-Master stack), a suite of configuration, diagnostic, simulation, and monitoring tools (EC-Engineer, EC-Engineer Web, EC-Simulator, EC-Inspector, EC-Monitor, EC-Lyser, EC-STA, EC-EAP), real-time hypervisors (Type 1 RTOSVisor and Type 2 LxWin combining Windows with real-time Linux), and a Windows real-time extension (RtaccWin). Technical differentiators include full EtherCAT standard compatibility, nanosecond-level Distributed Clock synchronization, bare-metal and Type 2 virtualization with hard real-time guarantees, and integrations across Linux, Windows, multiple RTOSs, NVIDIA Jetson/IGX Thor platforms, BlackBerry QNX, CODESYS, and ROS.

The company monetizes primarily through one-time OEM software licensing of EC-Master and its hypervisor products to blue-chip customers worldwide, supplemented by evaluation software and professional services/support. Pricing is not publicly disclosed and is mediated through a website-based evaluation request system. The go-to-market is sales-led, targeting OEMs in industrial automation controllers, robotics (including medical robotics, industrial robots, and humanoid robotics), machine building, and warehouse/logistics automation. Distribution is direct in core markets with regional distributors in France (ISIT SAS near Airbus), India, and ASEAN, plus the US subsidiary. Marketing channels center on industry trade shows (SPS Nuremberg, Embedded World), a developer center portal, GitHub and YouTube presence, and technical content marketing.

In 2024, the founders brought in Maxburg Capital Partners as a new shareholder, and on January 1, 2026, operational leadership transitioned from founders Christoph Widmann and Stefan Zintgraf to Cyril Eyssautier and Thomas Waggershauser. Named customers include Delta Motion (RMC200 motion controller) and Kinova (KIMA medical robotic arm, IEC 62304 Class C / ISO 14971 compliance).

Name

acontis technologies

Legal name

acontis technologies GmbH

Website

https://acontis.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2004

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

acontis technologies GmbH, founded in 2004 in Weingarten, Germany, develops EtherCAT MainDevice software, real-time hypervisors, and Windows real-time extensions licensed as OEM components to industrial automation, robotics, medical device, and machine-building customers worldwide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Industrial automation software (EtherCAT and real-time virtualization)

NAICS

Software Publishers (5132)

SIC

Services-Prepackaged Software (7372), Services-Computer Programming Services (7371)

akta.pro primary industry

Embedded Software & Firmware Tools (Compilers, Debug, RTOS tooling) (HDAHAFAE)

akta.pro secondary industry

Industrial Automation Software (SCADA, HMI, MES, Historian) (IMAHAHAJ)

Keywords

• EtherCAT software
• Real-time hypervisor
• Industrial automation software
• Windows real-time extension
• EtherCAT maindevice stack

Headquarters

HQ city

Ravensburg

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. Software Licensing: acontis generates revenue through licensing of EtherCAT software products (EC-Master, EC-Engineer) and real-time hypervisor solutions. Products are sold as OEM software to blue-chip customers worldwide, with products made in Germany known for high quality.
2. Evaluation and Support Services: Company provides evaluation versions of software and technical support services to customers.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

acontis technologies develops and licenses EtherCAT communication software (EC-Master MainDevice stack, configuration and diagnostic tools, network simulation) and real-time virtualization software (Type 1 RTOSVisor hypervisor, Type 2 LxWin Windows-Linux hypervisor, RtaccWin Windows real-time extension). These OEM software products are sold to industrial automation, robotics, medical, and machine building manufacturers to enable deterministic real-time communication, hardware consolidation through virtualization, and standards-compliant EtherCAT integration.

Product overview

acontis technologies is a leading provider of EtherCAT technology, Windows real-time software, and Real-Time Hypervisors with high quality products made in Germany. The core product portfolio consists of three main pillars: (1) EtherCAT Software - centered on the EC-Master MainDevice (Master) stack, complemented by EC-Engineer configuration/diagnosis tools, EC-Simulator for network simulation, EC-Inspector/Monitor/Lyser for diagnostics, EC-STA for SubDevice testing, and EC-EAP for automation protocols; (2) Real-time Hypervisors - including RTOSVisor (Type 1 bare-metal hypervisor) and LxWin (Type 2 hypervisor for Windows + Real-time Linux), with EC-Win as the EtherCAT-specific real-time solution; and (3) Windows Real-time Extension - RtaccWin for hard real-time Windows applications. Additional specialized offerings include Motion Control Library EC-Motion, Safety over EtherCAT (FSoE), EtherCAT for ROS integration, and EtherCAT for OpenPLC. The company serves blue-chip customers worldwide in automation, robotics, medical, and logistics industries.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• EC-Master: EtherCAT MainDevice (Master) Stack software for Linux, Windows & RTOS
• EC-Engineer
• EC-Simulator
• RTOSVisor
• LxWin
• EC-Win
• EC-Monitor
• EC-Inspector
• EC-Lyser
• RtaccWin

Products and services

• EC-Master EtherCAT MainDevice (Master) protocol stack software for Linux, Windows, and RTOS platforms, providing field-proven EtherCAT communication with full EtherCAT standard compatibility and interoperability with all EtherCAT SubDevices. Designed for industrial automation controller manufacturers, robot builders, and machine OEMs requiring deterministic real-time communication.
• EC-Engineer EtherCAT configuration and diagnosis software tool with network configuration, monitoring and troubleshooting capabilities that can be integrated into customer applications via an SDK. Targeted at engineers and OEMs commissioning and maintaining EtherCAT networks.
• EC-Engineer Web Web-based EtherCAT configuration and diagnosis tool with browser interface for remote network management and diagnosis of EtherCAT networks.
• EC-Simulator Real-time EtherCAT network simulation software that enables testing and commissioning of EtherCAT networks without actual SubDevices, including Functional Mock-up Interface (FMI) support for model-based development.
• EC-Inspector Troubleshooting and monitoring tool for EtherCAT networks, providing real-time network diagnostics and error detection for service technicians and commissioning engineers.
• EC-Monitor Passive EtherCAT network monitoring tool for continuous network surveillance and diagnostics in operational EtherCAT installations.
• EC-Lyser EtherCAT diagnosis software tool for detailed troubleshooting and network analysis of EtherCAT networks.
• EC-STA EtherCAT SubDevice Test Application and MainDevice Simulator Software for SubDevice development, conformance testing, and integration testing.
• EC-EAP EtherCAT Automation Protocol stack for system-wide communication enabling integration of EtherCAT networks with higher-level automation and IT systems.
• RtaccWin Windows real-time extension fully integrated into Windows OS, enabling hard real-time tasks within the familiar Microsoft Visual Studio development environment for industrial controller manufacturers running Windows.
• RTOSVisor Type 1 bare-metal real-time hypervisor enabling multiple operating systems to run concurrently on the same hardware with hard real-time guarantees, supporting RTOS VMs (VxWorks, real-time Linux, bare-metal) alongside standard OS via KVM.
• LxWin Type 2 real-time hypervisor enabling Windows plus real-time Linux on a single hardware platform, using a standard Linux kernel with real-time patches to deliver deterministic hard real-time behavior for consolidating legacy systems.
• EC-Win Windows EtherCAT real-time software solution combining EC-Master with real-time Windows capabilities for OEMs building EtherCAT controllers on Windows platforms.
• Motion Control Library EC-Motion Motion control library for EtherCAT-based motion control applications enabling high-speed and flexible motion control implementations for OEMs building servo and motion systems.
• Safety over EtherCAT (FSoE) FailSafe over EtherCAT protocol implementation for safety-critical applications meeting IEC 61508 SIL2/3 requirements, targeted at safety-function OEMs.
• EtherCAT for ROS Robot Operating System (ROS) integration package enabling EtherCAT communication within ROS-based robotic applications for robotics OEMs and research teams.
• EtherCAT for OpenPLC Integration enabling programming of EtherCAT devices using the IEC 61131-3 standard with OpenPLC, targeted at OEMs and integrators using OpenPLC runtime.
• Real-time Data Acquisition (DAQ) Library Real-time data acquisition library for capturing and processing real-time data from EtherCAT networks in industrial monitoring and analytics applications.

Quantifiable outcome

• EtherCAT network cycle times can reach sub-millisecond levels with nanosecond-level synchronization via Distributed Clocks
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Feature10 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• ISIT SAScoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 April 2020ISIT SAS is a value-added distributor based in Toulouse, France specializing in hardware and software tools for real-time embedded systems. They represent prestigious brands in France and offer support services including technology expertise, application development, training, testing and validation for acontis EtherCAT and Real-time Virtualization software.
• NVIDIAcoreTechnology or Integrationacontis has established a partnership with NVIDIA providing EC-Master support for NVIDIA Jetson Thor platform and IGX Thor platform. This enables high-performance, low-latency controllers for robotics, humanoid robots, and physical AI applications.
• CODESYScoreStrategic or Co-development Partneracontis and CODESYS plan product cooperation combining acontis real-time hypervisor technology with CODESYS PLC runtime systems. This enables a new class of flexibility for machine controllers paired with powerful real-time technology.
• BlackBerry QNXcoreTechnology or Integrationacontis announced EC-Master compatibility with BlackBerry QNX SDP 8.0, integrating their EtherCAT Master stack with the QNX operating system for safety-critical applications.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Beckhoff Automation: Beckhoff is the inventor of EtherCAT and a leading provider of EtherCAT master controllers, IPCs and TwinCAT automation software. It is the most direct competitor to acontis's EC-Master stack, serving the same OEM automation and machine-builder customers.
• HMS Networks: HMS Networks (Anybus) provides industrial communication protocol stacks, gateways and chips for EtherCAT, PROFINET, EtherNet/IP and others. It competes head-on with acontis in OEM protocol software and embedded communication modules.
• CODESYS: CODESYS is the leading IEC 61131-3 PLC runtime and development environment, with native EtherCAT master support and a global installed base in industrial controllers. It overlaps with acontis in the controller software stack and has an active product cooperation with acontis.
• BlackBerry QNX: QNX provides safety-certified real-time operating systems for automotive, industrial and embedded use. QNX SDP 8.0 now integrates acontis EC-Master, positioning QNX as both a partner and adjacent competitor in safety-critical real-time platforms.
• Wind River Systems: Wind River provides VxWorks, a leading RTOS widely used in industrial automation and robotics (supported by acontis RTOSVisor). It competes in the same embedded real-time OS market and shares customers in industrial and medical robotics.
• Green Hills Software: Green Hills Software provides the INTEGRITY RTOS and MULTI IDE for safety- and security-critical embedded systems. It competes with acontis's real-time hypervisor and RTOS tooling in industrial, medical and robotics applications.

Broad incumbents

• Siemens Digital Industries: Siemens offers the SIMATIC controller portfolio with PROFINET (and growing TSN support) as a competing industrial Ethernet standard. It is a broad incumbent in industrial automation with overlapping EtherCAT and real-time software needs across its customer base.
• Rockwell Automation: Rockwell Automation's Logix/CompactLogix platform uses EtherNet/IP as its primary industrial Ethernet protocol, positioning Rockwell as a broad incumbent competitor for OEM design wins that acontis targets via EtherCAT.
• Phoenix Contact: Phoenix Contact is a major industrial automation vendor with PLCs, I/O and EtherCAT-capable controllers, and previously acquired KW-Software (a competing IEC 61131 / EtherCAT stack vendor). It competes broadly in the same OEM and machine-builder market that acontis serves.

Emerging players

• RTI (Real-Time Innovations): RTI provides Connext DDS, a real-time databus used in robotics and autonomous systems. It is a partner in Kinova's medical robotics stack and overlaps with acontis in real-time robotic middleware and humanoid/medical robotics applications.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• GitHubgithub.com/acontis
• YouTubeyoutube.com/c/acontistechnologies
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/acontis-technologies

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries1 record

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 acontis technologies