What Sundance does

Sundance Multiprocessor Technology Ltd. is a privately held UK-based designer and distributor of high-performance embedded signal processing solutions, established in 1989 and headquartered in Chesham with a US operation (Sundance DSP Inc., Reno). The company builds modular FPGA, DSP, and SoC products on industry-standard form factors (FMC, FMC+, CRUVI, OpenVPX, PXIe, PCIe104, VPX, CompactPCI), integrating silicon from AMD/Xilinx (Zynq, Kria, Series-7), Texas Instruments (KeyStone), Microchip (PolarFire), and Intel. Its proprietary VCS³ single-board computer family, based on AMD Zynq UltraScale+ MPSoC, is positioned as one of the smallest SBCs of its kind, and the company also distributes complementary products from Ainstein (radar altimeters), Red Pitaya (T&M), Trenz Electronic (SoMs), Etion Create (OpenVPX), and Logic Design Solutions (FPGA IP).

The business model combines one-time hardware sales (sold direct in UK/Europe and through a global distributor network spanning USA, China, Czech Republic, Germany, Japan, Korea, Morocco, Taiwan, and Turkey), FPGA IP licensing (NVMe, ARINC), and custom design services. Pricing is quote-based with standard 30-day payment terms. Customers sit across defense and aerospace (where DO-160/178/254 compliance and ISO9001:2015 certification matter), UAV platforms (ArduPilot, PX4, DroneCAN integration), robotics/vision/motion developers, and 250+ academic institutions. The company is ISO9001:2015 certified and operates a Sundance-branded web store (store.sundance.com) alongside a content marketing engine (blog, newsletter, trade shows such as DroneX, Embedded World, DSEI, FPGA Conference Europe). Sundance has no disclosed external funding, revenues, or public ownership structure, and reports no senior leadership team beyond an administrative manager.

Name

Sundance

Legal name

Sundance Multiprocessor Technology Ltd.

Website

https://sundance.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1989

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Sundance designs and distributes modular FPGA, DSP, and SoC embedded signal processing boards (VCS³, FMC, OpenVPX, PXIe) plus Ainstein radar altimeters, serving defense, aerospace, UAV, robotics, and academic customers across 40+ countries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Embedded Computing Hardware

NAICS

Computer and Peripheral Equipment Manufacturing (33411), Other Communications Equipment Manufacturing (334290), Semiconductor and Related Device Manufacturing (334413)

SIC

Electronic Computers (3571), Search, Detection, Navagation, Guidance, Aeronautical Sys (3812), Electronic & Other Electrical Equipment (No Computer Equip) (3600), Instruments For Meas & Testing Of Electricity & Elec Signals (3825)

akta.pro primary industry

System-on-Chip (SoC) Platforms (Mobile/Consumer/Embedded) (HDAHAJAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Programmable Logic (FPGAs/CPLDs) (HDAHAJAG), Compute & Acceleration ICs (CPU/GPU/AI/FPGA/ASIC) (HDAHABAC), Application Processors & Microprocessors (MPUs/CPUs) (HDAHAJAB)

Keywords

• Embedded computing modules
• FPGA development boards
• DSP signal processing
• OpenVPX systems
• UAV radar altimeters

Headquarters

HQ city

Chesham

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Hardware Product Sales: Sale of embedded computing modules, boards, and systems including FPGA modules, DSP processors, SBCs, FMC modules, radar altimeters, and complete systems. Products are sold through direct sales and distributor network. Revenue generated from one-time hardware purchases with standard 12-month warranty.
2. FPGA IP Licensing: Licensing of production-ready FPGA IP cores for NVMe storage and ARINC communication solutions. IP cores available through Sundance web store for evaluation and purchase.
3. Custom Design Services: Custom hardware design, manufacturing, and testing services for customers with unusual requirements. Company provides specification, design, manufacture and test of custom solutions.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Sundance Multiprocessor Technology Ltd. designs, manufactures, and distributes high-performance embedded processing hardware based on FPGA, DSP, and SoC platforms from AMD/Xilinx, Texas Instruments, Microchip, and Intel. Its portfolio includes VCS³ single-board computers, FMC mezzanine cards, OpenVPX, PXIe and PCIe boards for robotics, vision, motion and sensor applications, alongside distributed radar altimeters, test instruments, and FPGA IP cores.

Product overview

Sundance Multiprocessor Technology Ltd. is an ISO9001-2015 certified company established in 1989 that designs and manufactures a comprehensive range of products for the high-performance embedded processing market. The product portfolio consists of Sundance's own VCS³ family of compact single-board computers based on AMD Zynq UltraScale+ MPSoC technology, complemented by distributed products from technology partners including Ainstein radar altimeters (US-D1, US-D1 Pro, LR-D1, LR-D1 Pro) for UAV applications, Red Pitaya test and measurement instruments, Trenz Electronic embedded modules, Etion Create OpenVPX boards (VF365, VF370), and Logic Design Solutions FPGA IP cores (NVMe Host IP, ARINC IP). The Sundance product range spans multiple form factors including OpenVPX, PCIe, PCIe104, PXIe, VPX, and CompactPCI for defense, aerospace, industrial, and robotics applications. Core product families include modular systems with DSP and FPGA technologies from Texas Instruments KeyStone and Xilinx/Zynq platforms, FMC and FMC+ I/O expansion modules, sensors and vision systems, radar systems, and standalone development tools. The company also provides custom designed solutions for customers with unusual requirements.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Sundance VCS³ Stack Compact single-board computer combining AMD Zynq UltraScale+ MPSoC with FPGA acceleration, designed for embedded vision and AI inference applications. Weighs approximately 70 grams and supports Vitis AI and DPU integration.
• Efinix Titanium Ti135 FPGA Module Low-power FPGA module based on Efinix Titanium Ti135 silicon, demonstrated at Embedded World 2026 for embedded applications requiring thermal efficiency.
• Ainstein All-Weather Radar Altimeter All-weather Ainstein radar altimeter added to the Sundance portfolio for UAV applications, complementing the existing US-D1 and LR-D1 series.
• Red Pitaya Test and Control Products Distributed line of Red Pitaya test and measurement instruments for test and control systems, available through the Sundance web store.
• Etion Create VF365 3U OpenVPX SBC 3U OpenVPX single-board computer module from Etion Create distributed by Sundance, targeted at defense and aerospace embedded computing applications requiring SOSA-aligned designs.
• PXIe720 PXI Express FPGA Module Powerful, flexible, and expandable PXI Express FPGA module for test and measurement applications, expanding Sundance's PXIe form factor lineup.
• Polar-VPX SoSA-aligned VPX Board Highly secure SoSA-aligned VPX board with advanced features for demanding defense and aerospace applications, based on Microchip PolarFire SoC technology.
• SMT-FMC116 16-Channel ADC FMC Module 16-channel ADC FMC module for high-channel-count data acquisition applications, adding density to Sundance's FMC mezzanine card portfolio.
• FMC-ADC500CD HPC FMC Module HPC FMC module with 4 channels of high-sampling-rate, high-resolution ADC and DAC for demanding signal processing applications.
• SoM1-SoC System-on-Module System-on-module for embedded computing applications based on Sundance's modular SoC platform designs.
• EMC²-MPFS250 PC104 Carrier PC104 carrier board built around the Microchip PolarFire SoC for industrial embedded applications requiring low-power secure processing.
• Lynsyn Lite Power Measurement Tool Non-intrusive power measurement tool for embedded systems that samples program counters and correlates power measurements with source code, supporting low-energy computing research.
• VCS-1 Embedded Processor Platform Original embedded processor platform based on AMD/Xilinx Zynq SoC technology for vision and AI applications, predecessor to the current VCS³ family.
• Ainstein Radar Altimeter Family (US-D1, US-D1 Pro, LR-D1, LR-D1 Pro) Family of Ainstein mmWave radar altimeters for UAV applications, ranging from standard short-range (US-D1, sub-80m AGL) to long-range dual-band precision systems (LR-D1 Pro, 24/60 GHz, 500m AGL). Designed against DO-160, DO-178, and DO-254 airworthiness standards with ArduPilot, PX4, and DroneCAN integration support.
• NVMe Host FPGA IP Core High-performance NVMe storage IP core for embedded systems on Microchip FPGAs, supporting multiple namespaces and configurable I/O queues with both CPU and hardware state machine control.
• ARINC IP Cores Avionics communication IP cores implementing industry-standard ARINC interfaces, designed to accelerate FPGA development for certification-focused aerospace projects.
• Custom Embedded Hardware Design Services Bespoke hardware design, manufacturing, and testing service for embedded systems customers with unusual requirements that cannot be met by standard COTS products.

Quantifiable outcome

• Deployed in over 40 countries for UAV operations
• +1 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

AI capability3 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Digital Catapult Machine Intelligence GarageminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 December 2020AI/ML incubator partnership to accelerate and deepen Sundance's artificial intelligence and machine learning knowledge and expertise. Facilitates ongoing AI/ML projects including the ARISE underground mining surveyor project.
• AinsteincoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAuthorized distributor and integration partner for Ainstein radar altimeters including US-D1, US-D1 Pro, LR-D1, and LR-D1 Pro models. Sundance offers these mmWave radar sensors for UAV applications through its web store and technical support.
• LogicTronixcoreTechnology or IntegrationFPGA Design and Machine Learning Company providing technical tutorials and integration support for Sundance VCS3 products. LogicTronix has demonstrated Vitis AI/ML integration with VCS3 3D Kit using Prophesee event cameras and develops AI-powered vision applications.
• Etion CreatecoreTechnology or IntegrationPartnership for OpenVPX and VNX+ solutions including VF365 3U OpenVPX single-board computer module. Jointly developing OpenVPX knowledge base for future-proof design. Products featured at DSEI 2025 and InnoTrans 2026.
• Red PitayaminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAuthorized reseller of Red Pitaya products for test and control systems. Products available through Sundance web store.
• Trenz ElectroniccoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSundance distributes Trenz Electronic embedded products including System-on-Modules and provides access to the Trenz Electronic catalogue 2025. Featured at FPGA Horizons 2025 and 2026 events.
• AMD (Xilinx)coreTechnology or IntegrationAMD Adaptive Computing Partner providing embedded computing solutions based on AMD/Xilinx Zynq SoCs, Series-7 FPGAs, and Kria SOMs. Sundance products use AMD technology and participate in AMD Embedded Computing Summits.
• Logic Design Solutions (LDS)coreTechnology or IntegrationFPGA IP provider offering NVMe storage IP and ARINC communication solutions through Sundance web store. LDS IP cores are production-ready for aerospace, defense, industrial and embedded applications.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• ADLINK Technology: Provider of embedded computing modules, SBCs, and FPGA-based data acquisition boards, with extensive aerospace/defense exposure — directly comparable to Sundance's FPGA/DSP module and PXIe lines.
• Mercury Systems: Designs and manufactures ruggedized, mission-critical embedded computing subsystems for aerospace and defense — direct competitor to Sundance's OpenVPX/SOSA-aligned Polar-VPX and FMC-based signal processing boards, serving the same primes and integrators.
• Kontron: Global embedded computing modules and SBCs provider with COM-HPC, SMARC, and proprietary boards — overlaps directly with Sundance's SBC, FMC, and FPGA module portfolio for industrial and defense applications.
• Abaco Systems (Ametek): Specializes in rugged embedded computing for aerospace, defense, and industrial applications including OpenVPX, XMC/FMC, and FPGA-based signal processing — closely mirrors Sundance's defense-focused board portfolio.
• SECO: Italian embedded computing specialist offering SBCs, edge AI platforms, and modular systems — directly comparable to Sundance's VCS3 and FPGA module lines for industrial/vision applications.
• Trenz Electronic: FPGA-based System-on-Module and carrier board vendor (and Sundance distribution partner) — directly comparable modular FPGA product line and an explicit go-to-market partner.
• Connect Tech: Designs carrier boards, embedded AI platforms, and FPGA/MPSOC integration products — closely mirrors Sundance's VCS3 SBC and FMC/CRUVI carrier strategy.
• Diamond Systems: Long-standing SBC and embedded I/O board manufacturer with PC/104, PCIe/104, and EPIC form factors — closely aligned with Sundance's PCIe104 carrier and SBC catalogue.

Broad incumbents

• Advantech: Diversified industrial computing and embedded platform incumbent with broad SBC, COM, and edge-AI offerings — overlaps with Sundance in industrial embedded but at vastly larger scale.
• Curtiss-Wright Defense Solutions: Large aerospace/defense conglomerate with extensive ruggedized OpenVPX, mission computing, and signal processing portfolios — broad incumbent competing with Sundance for defense embedded slots.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/sundancedotcom
• Facebookfacebook.com/sundancedotcom
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sundance-multiprocessor-technology

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 Sundance