DECODE
DECODE is a Zagreb-headquartered, EU-based custom software development partner with 90+ engineers delivering mobile, web, AI, and enterprise applications for enterprise clients across rail, telecom, hospitality, fintech, and healthcare.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2012
- HeadquartersZagreb, Croatia
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What DECODE does
DECODE is a full-service custom software development partner headquartered in Zagreb, Croatia, with a German subsidiary (DECODE Services GmbH) in Düsseldorf. Founded in 2012 by three University of Zagreb engineers, the firm has grown to more than 90 experts delivering mobile, web, AI, and enterprise applications across industries including rail, telecommunications, hospitality, fintech, healthcare, and IoT. Core technical offerings span native and cross-platform mobile (Swift, Kotlin, React Native, Flutter), full-stack web (React, Angular, Vue, Node.js, Java, Python, Ruby on Rails), DevOps across AWS/Azure/GCP, and an emerging AI services portfolio covering generative AI, autonomous agents, computer vision, speech, and predictive analytics, supported by a proprietary Agentic Development Process and a private Spark AI Workstation.
The business operates a professional services model with three primary revenue streams: custom project development (minimum €100K for MVPs, €200K+ for market-ready products), team augmentation and Build-Operate-Transfer engagements (typical 6+ months), and fixed-package product discovery services ($29,000–$55,000+). Pricing is quote-based with 25%–50% deposits and standard 10-day payment terms; invoices are issued in EUR, GBP, or USD. The go-to-market is sales-led and enterprise-focused, with senior consultants (Chief Client Officer with 25+ years of experience, Client Strategy Specialists) driving direct outreach and Calendly-booked consultations. Notable engagements include Royal Caribbean (offline crew app across 40 ships), Norfolk Southern (capacity-planning platform processing 400,000+ daily reservations and saving $100M+), a 9-year partnership with Metaswitch/Microsoft (21 senior engineers delivering carrier-grade telecom apps), and AT&T.
DECODE firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- DECODE
- Legal name
- DECODE HQ d.o.o.
- Website
- https://decode.agency
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2012
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- DECODE is a Zagreb-headquartered, EU-based custom software development partner with 90+ engineers delivering mobile, web, AI, and enterprise applications for enterprise clients across rail, telecom, hospitality, fintech, and healthcare.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
DECODE industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Custom Software Development Services
- NAICS
- Custom Computer Programming Services (541511), Computer Systems Design and Related Services (54151)
- SIC
- Services-Computer Programming Services (7371), Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370), Services-Computer Integrated Systems Design (7373)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Digital Experience Monitoring & Management (DEX/DEM, AIOps for EUC) (BPAEAIAF)
Keywords
Where DECODE is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Zagreb
- HQ country
- Croatia
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices2 records
Markets served
DECODE business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations
Revenue model
- Custom Software Development Services: Project-based custom software development including AI software, mobile apps, web apps, MVP development, and legacy modernization. Revenue generated through fixed-price or time-and-materials engagements. Minimum project size starting from €100,000 for greenfield MVPs.
- Team Augmentation Services: Providing senior engineers to augment client teams through team extension, dedicated teams, or Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) models. Engineers work alongside client teams for extended periods (typical 6+ months engagements).
- Product Discovery and Consulting: Fixed-package product discovery services ranging from $29,000 to $55,000+ depending on complexity and duration (8-16+ weeks). Includes market research, user personas, wireframes, technical proposals, and prototypes.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| One time/ perpetual license | Multi-year contract | Minimum viable product (MVP) development starting from €100,000 |
| One time/ perpetual license | Multi-year contract | Market-ready product development starting from €200,000+ |
| Subscription | Multi-year contract | Simple product discovery: up to 8 weeks, $29,000 |
| Subscription | Multi-year contract | Advanced product discovery: 10-16 weeks, $29,000-$55,000 |
| Subscription | Multi-year contract | Complex product discovery: 16+ weeks, $55,000+ |
| Hybrid | Multi-year contract | Fixed price and Time & Materials engagement models |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels7 records
DECODE product offering
Product offeringCore offering
DECODE is a full-service software development partner that builds custom AI-powered software, mobile and web applications, and provides team augmentation for enterprise clients. The company offers end-to-end product development from discovery and prototyping through deployment, alongside dedicated team, team extension, and Build-Operate-Transfer collaboration models. Its work spans industries including telecommunications, fintech, healthcare, logistics, transportation, and IoT, serving clients such as Microsoft, AT&T, Royal Caribbean, Norfolk Southern, and Metaswitch.
Product overview
DECODE is a full-service software development partner offering a comprehensive portfolio of services organized into four main categories: AI Solutions (AI software development, AI agent development, AI opportunity assessment, AI prototyping, AI integration), Software Engineering (mobile, web, custom software, MVP, PoC, QA, DevOps), Consulting & Strategy (technology consulting, product discovery, MVP scoping, tech feasibility), and Digital Transformation (legacy modernization, process digitization). The company also offers flexible collaboration models including team extension, dedicated teams, build-operate-transfer, and end-to-end project delivery. DECODE specializes in serving enterprises and ambitious companies across telecommunications, fintech, healthcare, logistics, and IoT industries, delivering solutions from enterprise platforms to consumer-facing apps and digital transformation initiatives.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Shake: A spin-off SaaS company launched from DECODE, providing bug and crash reporting tools for mobile and web applications. Used by hundreds of tech companies worldwide with 26 million installs on unique mobile devices.
Products and services
- AI Software Development End-to-end AI software development service that builds AI-powered features, integrates AI into existing products, and optimizes business processes using AI for enterprise clients.
- AI Agent Development Development of autonomous AI agents that handle multi-step tasks with limited human intervention, using agentic engineering workflows for enterprise products.
- AI Opportunity Assessment Assessment service that identifies where AI can deliver the biggest business impact, prioritizing use cases based on impact, effort, risk, and feasibility.
- Mobile App Development Native and cross-platform mobile development for iOS and Android using Swift, Kotlin, React Native, Flutter, and Kotlin Multiplatform, delivered for enterprise clients.
- Web App Development Full-stack web application development using React, Angular, Vue, Node.js, Java, Python, Ruby on Rails, and other modern frameworks.
- Custom Software Development Tailored software solutions built to specific business requirements, ranging from enterprise platforms to consumer-facing applications.
- MVP Development Rapid development of minimum viable products to test ideas, validate concepts, and attract early users, starting from €100,000.
- Quality Assurance Comprehensive QA services including manual and automated testing, CI/CD integration, and usability testing integrated throughout development.
- DevOps DevOps services including CI/CD pipelines, cloud infrastructure (AWS, Azure, GCP), Docker, Kubernetes, and deployment automation.
- Technology Consulting Strategic technology consulting for digital transformation, cloud migration, and technology stack decisions delivered by senior consultants.
- Product Discovery Fixed-package product discovery services ranging from $29,000 to $55,000+ including market research, user personas, wireframes, technical proposals, and prototypes.
- Legacy System Modernization Modernization of outdated systems and legacy software, replacing manual processes with automated digital solutions for enterprise clients.
- Digital Transformation End-to-end digital transformation services including business process digitization and workflow automation for established enterprises.
- Dedicated Development Team Fully dedicated cross-functional teams handling all phases of development from planning to delivery under a one-team, one-project policy.
- Team Extension Embedding DECODE engineers into existing client teams to cover skill gaps and accelerate delivery for typical 6+ month engagements.
- Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) DECODE builds and operates a team, then transfers full ownership to the client after 12-24 months for long-term team building.
Quantifiable outcome
- $100M+ cost savings for Class I railroad through capacity-planning platform modernization
- +6 more outcomes
Companies that use DECODE
Customer profileNamed customers13 records
Segments7 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
DECODE technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability13 records
Feature3 records
DECODE partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- ShakecoreShake is DECODE's sister company, a SaaS bug and crash reporting tool launched from DECODE's innovation process. DECODE helped launch Shake and continues collaboration. Shake has grown to become a success in its own right with products used by dev teams at companies like Ford, Qantas, and Brilliant.
Scale indicators14 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights5 records
DECODE competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Infinum: Croatia-based full-service software development agency with similar enterprise focus, AI capabilities, and EU delivery model. Direct head-to-head competitor for premium European engineering talent in the same Zagreb talent market.
- Ciklum: Global digital solutions company with Eastern European engineering hubs providing custom software development, team extension, and digital transformation services to enterprise clients across telecom, fintech, and healthcare verticals.
- Toptal: Premium freelance talent platform connecting enterprises with top-tier vetted software engineers for team augmentation and project-based engagements. Comparable in selective top-1% talent model and enterprise client focus.
- BairesDev: Latin American-based software development firm offering dedicated teams, staff augmentation, and end-to-end custom development services to enterprise and mid-market clients with selective hiring model.
- Coherent Solutions: US-headquartered custom software development firm with Eastern European delivery centers providing AI, mobile, web, and enterprise software engineering services to enterprise clients across financial services, healthcare, and logistics.
Broad incumbents
- Endava: Public UK-based IT services firm with significant Eastern European delivery centers offering custom software development, team augmentation, and digital transformation to enterprise clients globally. Comparable in custom development services with broader geographic scale and public-market visibility.
- EPAM Systems: Large-scale public IT services firm with Eastern European heritage offering custom software development, digital platform engineering, and AI services to global enterprise clients across multiple verticals.
- Thoughtworks: Global technology consultancy specializing in custom software development, digital transformation, and enterprise modernization with strong engineering culture and product-minded delivery approach comparable to DECODE's positioning.
- Globant: Large IT services and digital transformation firm offering custom software development, AI engineering, and platform services to enterprise clients across multiple verticals with nearshore delivery model.
Emerging players
- Andela: Global talent marketplace for vetted engineers focused on AI-augmented software development and team augmentation, competing for enterprise custom development budgets with a similar premium-talent positioning to DECODE.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
DECODE social profiles
Digital presenceDECODE compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance2 records
DECODE financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
DECODE leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
DECODE subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries1 record
DECODE funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
DECODE 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 DECODE
What does DECODE do?
DECODE is a full-service software development partner that builds custom AI-powered software, mobile and web applications, and provides team augmentation for enterprise clients. The company offers end-to-end product development from discovery and prototyping through deployment, alongside dedicated team, team extension, and Build-Operate-Transfer collaboration models. Its work spans industries including telecommunications, fintech, healthcare, logistics, transportation, and IoT, serving clients such as Microsoft, AT&T, Royal Caribbean, Norfolk Southern, and Metaswitch.
Is DECODE a public or private company?
DECODE is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was DECODE founded?
DECODE was founded in 2012. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is DECODE based?
DECODE is headquartered in Zagreb, Croatia, in the Europe region.
How does DECODE make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Custom Software Development Services are the primary driver. The others are team Augmentation Services and product Discovery and Consulting.
Who are DECODE's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Infinum, Ciklum, Toptal, BairesDev and Coherent Solutions. Broad incumbents are Endava, EPAM Systems, Thoughtworks and Globant. Andela is listed as an emerging player.
Does DECODE have an API?
No public API is recorded for DECODE.
What industry is DECODE in?
DECODE's product category is Custom Software Development Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAEAIAF, Digital Experience Monitoring & Management (DEX/DEM, AIOps for EUC). Its NAICS code is 541511 and its SIC code is 7371.