What Stromasys does

Stromasys is a Swiss-headquartered, privately held software company founded in 1998 that builds enterprise-class cross-platform virtualization software for legacy computer systems. Its flagship Charon product family emulates five distinct legacy hardware architectures — Sun SPARC (Charon-SSP), DEC VAX (Charon-VAX), DEC Alpha (Charon-AXP), HP PA-RISC (Charon-PAR), and PDP-11 (Charon-PDP) — on modern x86 servers or on the major public clouds. The technology uses proprietary Dynamic Instruction Translation (DIT) and, in newer releases, MMU pass-through (Charon-SSP 6.0) and a second-tier DIT2 architecture (Charon-PAR 4.0), enabling original operating systems and applications — including OpenVMS, Tru64 Unix, Solaris, HP-UX, MPE/iX, RT-11, RSX-11, and RSTS — to run on contemporary infrastructure without any code modification, recertification, or user retraining.

The company serves government and defense agencies, manufacturers, healthcare providers, telecom carriers, energy and utility operators, semiconductor firms, and transportation and logistics companies. Stromasys is headquartered in the Geneva/Cointrin area with regional offices in the U.S. (Riverside, California; Raleigh, North Carolina) and operates across 70+ countries with more than 7,000 reported installations.

Revenue is generated through a mix of perpetual and term software licenses (priced per emulated hardware model and CPU count), cloud subscriptions on AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, and Oracle Cloud billed on a pay-as-you-go basis, annual Gold and Platinum support contracts, and partner-led professional services. Distribution combines direct enterprise sales with a certified global Solution Partner Program, hyperscaler marketplace listings, and implementation relationships with systems integrators including Stefanini Group. The business has no disclosed funding rounds, no parent company, and operates as an independent specialist serving a niche in which it has been a vendor since the late 1990s.

Name

Stromasys

Legal name

Stromasys

Website

https://stromasys.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1998

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Stromasys is a Swiss private software company that provides enterprise-class legacy hardware emulation, enabling organizations to run mission-critical Sun SPARC, DEC VAX, Alpha, HP PA-RISC, and PDP-11 operating systems and applications unchanged on modern x86 servers or public clouds.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Cointrin

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Software Licenses (On-premises): Perpetual or term software licenses for Charon emulation products (SSP, VAX, AXP, PAR, PDP). Licenses are configured for specific emulated hardware models and CPU counts. Hardware (USB) or software license keys are required for activation.
2. Cloud Subscriptions: Pay-as-you-go cloud deployment model for Charon on AWS, Azure, Oracle Cloud, and Google Cloud. Customers pay only for cloud computing cycles consumed, with flexible scaling based on workload demands.
3. Support Contracts (Gold and Platinum): Annual support contracts providing troubleshooting, diagnostics, software updates, and license key replacement. Gold plan offers standard business hours support with 24-hour response time; Platinum provides 24/7 coverage with 4-hour response and unlimited cases.
4. Professional Services: Partner-led migration services including assessment, implementation, cloud onboarding, and data transfer. Includes installation, licensing, and optimization support throughout the migration process.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Stromasys develops and sells the Charon family of hardware emulation software that creates virtual replicas of legacy computing systems (Sun SPARC, DEC VAX, DEC Alpha, HP PA-RISC, and DEC PDP-11) on modern x86 servers or major cloud platforms. The emulation runs original operating systems (Solaris, OpenVMS, Tru64 UNIX, HP-UX, MPE/iX, RT-11, RSX-11) and unmodified applications without requiring code rewrites, recertification, or user retraining. The company also offers Gold and Platinum annual support plans and partner-led migration services.

Product overview

Stromasys is a global leader in enterprise-class cross-platform virtualization solutions, specializing in legacy hardware emulation through its flagship Charon product line. The Charon family includes six core emulator products (Charon-SSP for Sun SPARC, Charon-PAR for PA-RISC/HP-UX, Charon-VAX for DEC VAX, Charon-AXP for DEC Alpha, Charon-PDP for PDP-11, and Charon on the Cloud for cloud deployment). Each emulator creates a virtual replica of legacy hardware on modern x86 platforms or cloud infrastructure, enabling original operating systems and applications to run unchanged without code modifications. The company also offers dedicated support plans (Gold and Platinum), management tools (Charon Manager), licensing solutions (VE License Server), and assessment tools for legacy system evaluation. Products support deployment on-premises, on cloud providers (AWS, Azure, Oracle Cloud, Google Cloud), and integrate with major hypervisors (VMware, Xen, Hyper-V, KVM).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Charon-SSP: SPARC emulator for Sun SPARC server virtualization
• Charon-VAX
• Charon-AXP
• Charon-PAR
• Charon-PDP
• Charon on the Cloud

Products and services

• Charon-SSP SPARC server emulator that creates a virtual replica of Sun SPARC family servers running Solaris OS and SPARC applications on modern Linux x86 hardware or in cloud environments without code modifications.
• Charon-PAR PA-RISC emulator that virtualizes HP 3000 and HP 9000 systems running MPE/iX or HP-UX operating systems on modern Intel x64 servers or cloud platforms for organizations modernizing HP legacy infrastructure.
• Charon-VAX

Quantifiable outcome

• Up to 90% savings compared to application rewrites
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers11 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration13 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• AWS (Amazon Web Services)coreTechnology or IntegrationAWS Advanced Technology Partner enabling Charon emulation deployment on AWS infrastructure. Joint go-to-market through AWS Marketplace and co-marketing initiatives. Provides documented re-hosting methodology for legacy systems migration to AWS.
• Microsoft AzurecoreTechnology or IntegrationAzure Technology Partner with published solution architecture for Solaris and legacy system migrations to Azure. Co-marketing through Microsoft Azure Marketplace listings and customer references.
• Google CloudcoreTechnology or IntegrationGoogle Technology Partner enabling legacy system migrations to Google Cloud Platform. Featured partner in Google Cloud Partner Advantage program.
• Oracle Cloud InfrastructurecoreTechnology or IntegrationOracle Cloud Marketplace partner offering Charon solutions for OCI deployment. Emphasizes performance boost and agility benefits for customers leveraging Oracle infrastructure.
• Red HatcoreTechnology or IntegrationRed Hat Connect Partner participating in Red Hat Summit events and certification programs. Charon products run on Red Hat Enterprise Linux as supported host platforms.
• HP Inc.coreTechnology or IntegrationHP recognizes Charon-AXP as a valid virtual Alpha replacement platform and Charon-PDP as a valid replacement for PDP-11 platform to run RSX-11M, RT11, and RSTS. HP-endorsed legacy migration alternative.
• Stefanini GroupmajorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerStrategic collaboration announced May 2025 to redefine innovation in legacy server transformation. Stefanini Group provides implementation and consulting services for Charon deployments globally.
• VX CompanymajorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerNetherlands-based solution partner that has helped 30+ customers (more than 100 systems) modernize infrastructure without application rewrites. Featured partner success story demonstrating regional expertise.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Astadia: Astadia is a global systems integrator that specializes exclusively in legacy application and infrastructure modernization, including emulation and rehosting for mainframe and midrange systems. Direct competitor to Stromasys in helping enterprises lift-and-shift legacy workloads to modern and cloud platforms.
• Heirloom Computing: Heirloom Computing provides emulation-based rehosting of COBOL and mainframe workloads to cloud via its Heirloom PaaS. Highly comparable to Stromasys in business model and target customer: enterprises moving legacy mission-critical apps to AWS/Azure without code rewrite.
• TmaxSoft (OpenFrame): TmaxSoft's OpenFrame is an emulation platform that rehosts mainframe and AS/400 workloads to x86 or Linux environments. Direct competitor to Stromasys's Charon family in legacy application rehosting without code rewriting.

Broad incumbents

• OpenText (Micro Focus): OpenText (which acquired Micro Focus) is a much larger legacy modernization vendor covering COBOL, mainframe, ALM, and DevOps tools. While it sells into similar enterprises as Stromasys, its portfolio is broader and its emulation offering is part of a wider modernization suite.
• Rocket Software: Rocket Software provides modernization and infrastructure products for IBM System z mainframe, Power Systems, AS/400, and MultiValue environments. Competes broadly with Stromasys in legacy enterprise workload modernization but covers a much wider hardware and software footprint.
• AWS Mainframe Modernization: AWS offers its own Mainframe Modernization service that bundles partner tools and accelerators to move mainframe/midrange workloads to AWS. Both a competitor to Stromasys Charon and a hosting partner via the AWS Marketplace.
• Microsoft Azure (Mainframe & Migration Programs): Microsoft Azure runs mainframe and legacy migration programs that compete with Stromasys Charon on the Cloud. Azure is also a hosting partner and co-marketing channel, creating a dual competitor-enabler dynamic.
• Oracle: Oracle still owns and operates SPARC/Solaris systems that Stromasys helps customers emigrate from, and offers Cloud Infrastructure where Stromasys Charon is listed. A broad incumbent that is both a competitor (legacy SPARC systems) and a cloud partner.
• IBM: IBM provides System z, Power, and other legacy enterprise systems plus its own modernization tools and ISV partnerships. Competes broadly with Stromasys for the same enterprise legacy modernization budgets while also being a partner via IBM Technology Partner program.

Others

• Stefanini Group: Stefanini Group is a global IT services and consulting firm that announced a strategic partnership with Stromasys in May 2025 for legacy server transformation delivery. Functions as an implementation/SI partner in the Stromasys ecosystem rather than a direct competitor.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/Stromasys_HQ
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCP5Cr8tgn6f24Zc4v-9v1fg
• Facebookfacebook.com/stromasys
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/stromasys

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 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 Stromasys