What The Good Penguin does

The Good Penguin is a UK-based embedded software consultancy, founded in 2019 in South Wales, specializing in embedded Linux for hardware product makers. The firm's core services span hardware enablement (board bring-up, bootloader and OS porting, BSP development), distribution development on Yocto and Buildroot, security hardening (secure boot, vulnerability management, encrypted filesystems), boot time optimization, low-level Linux kernel and driver development, and embedded application software. Its client base is composed of OEMs and product companies building ARM-based devices, with disclosed engagements spanning precision measurement instruments (Imetrum), at-home medical diagnostics (Entia), and edge data center cooling (Iceotope). Technical differentiation is anchored in rare expertise: the firm has demonstrated a 90% boot time reduction on NXP i.MX8 platforms and upstreamed Linux v6.19+ kernel improvements delivering up to 95% boot time reduction on PREEMPT_RT kernels with slow serial consoles.\n\nThe business operates a professional services model delivering either fixed-price contracts with detailed scope of work executed from the firm's own offices, or time-and-materials team augmentation for longer-term engagements where the client retains project management. The firm is shifting toward productized recurring revenue through Galapagos, a cloud-based vulnerability management service that integrates into customer Yocto platforms and delivers CVE reporting filtered by kernel configuration. It also operates The Capable Hub, a not-for-profit funded by Innovate UK to steward open-source tooling for the CHERI capability-hardware ecosystem. The Good Penguin is ISO 9001:2015 certified by NQA, holds official partnerships across the embedded stack (Arm, NXP, Raspberry Pi, Toradex, Yocto Project, Memfault), and reaches a worldwide client base from a small, highly specialized team of approximately 12 engineers plus management.

Name

The Good Penguin

Legal name

The Good Penguin Ltd

Website

https://thegoodpenguin.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Good Penguin is a UK-based embedded Linux consultancy founded in 2019 that delivers hardware enablement, Yocto distribution development, boot time optimization, and security hardening services to OEMs building ARM-based devices.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Newport

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Embedded Software Consulting Services: Consultancy delivering bespoke embedded software development services. Offers fixed-price contracts for defined scope of work, or time-and-materials arrangements for longer-term team augmentation engagements.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

The Good Penguin is a UK-based embedded Linux consultancy that delivers bespoke embedded software development services to product-makers and OEMs worldwide. Core offerings include hardware enablement (board bring-up, BSP development, bootloader porting), Yocto/Buildroot distribution development, boot time optimization (with documented 90%+ reductions), security hardening and vulnerability management via the Galapagos service, low-level kernel and driver development, and embedded application software. Engagements are delivered via fixed-price contracts or time-and-materials team augmentation.

Product overview

The Good Penguin is an embedded software consultancy that primarily offers engineering services rather than packaged software products. Their main service offerings include: (1) Galapagos – a cloud-based vulnerability management service for Yocto-based embedded Linux systems that monitors, triages, and remedies CVEs through actionable reports and engineering support; (2) Boot Time Reduction Services – consulting engagements to optimize cold boot times of embedded Linux devices, with a documented 90% boot time reduction achieved on i.MX8 platforms. Additional services span hardware enablement, distribution development (Yocto, Buildroot), security hardening, low-level kernel development, and application software. The company operates from South Wales, UK, and is ISO 9001:2015 certified.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Galapagos: Vulnerability management service for Yocto-based embedded systems. Provides regular actionable CVE reports, vulnerability triage, and remediation services.
• The Capable Hub

Products and services

• Galapagos Galapagos is a cloud-based vulnerability management service for manufacturers of Yocto-based embedded Linux products. It integrates a proprietary Yocto layer (meta-galapagos) into customer platforms, performs regular scans, and delivers actionable CVE reports with CVSS and EPSS scores filtered by kernel configuration. It also supports compliance with regulations such as ETSI EN 303 645, NIST IR 8259A, and the EU Cyber Resilience Act. Target users are connected device manufacturers needing continuous vulnerability triage and remediation guidance.
• Boot Time Reduction Services Boot Time Reduction Services is a consultancy offering that optimizes cold-boot times of embedded Linux devices. Engagements include a fixed-price investigation phase producing a detailed report identifying boot-flow inefficiencies, followed by a time-and-materials optimization budget. The Good Penguin has demonstrated a 90% cold-boot reduction on i.MX8 (from 19.6s to 1.9s) and has upstreamed printk/console improvements into Linux v6.19+ that reduce boot time by up to 95% on PREEMPT_RT kernels with slow serial consoles. The service is targeted at product-makers whose devices need fast power-on-to-UI behaviour.

Quantifiable outcome

• 90% boot time reduction achieved (19.6s to 1.9s on i.MX8 platform)
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability4 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core, important and supporting.

• ArmcoreTechnology or IntegrationThe Good Penguin is an official member of the Arm Partner Program. The vast majority of devices they work with are built on Arm, predominantly Cortex-A and Cortex-M technologies.
• NXP SemiconductorscoreTechnology or IntegrationNXP Registered Partner with years of experience with i.MX and Layerscape processors. Services range from board bring-up through to secure boot, software update, optimization and vulnerability management.
• Raspberry PicoreTechnology or IntegrationDesign Partner with extensive experience in Raspberry Pi products including Pi, Pico, Zero series, Compute Module, and microcontrollers. Experience includes carrier bring-up, distribution development, optimization, secure boot and software maintenance.
• ToradexcoreTechnology or IntegrationToradex Partner with extensive experience supporting customers with Verdin family Computer on Modules. Brought expertise to create Smart Edge AI Demo for Embedded World exhibition.
• The Yocto ProjectcoreTechnology or IntegrationYocto Project Participant. The majority of projects involve Yocto, giving the team extensive experience in developing Linux distributions with it.
• Analogue & MicroimportantImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerConsultancy and full turnkey design and manufacturing services for complex electronic systems and open source Linux development environments. The Good Penguin works closely with them to bring customer products to life.
• CoralsupportingTechnology or IntegrationCoral provides hardware and software platform for building intelligent devices with fast local AI featuring Edge TPU coprocessor. The Good Penguin supports Coral customers by developing Linux distributions, software updates, secure boot and boot time optimization.
• MemfaultsupportingTechnology or IntegrationPreferred Partner. Memfault provides embedded device observability and over-the-air (OTA) update solutions for IoT and embedded systems, including coredumps, logs, custom data collection, and firmware update distribution.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Bootlin: French embedded Linux and Yocto consultancy offering BSP development, kernel training, and upstream contributions. The closest direct peer — same niche, similar team size, identical customer profile of embedded device OEMs.
• Pengutronix: German embedded Linux consultancy specializing in BSP development, kernel work and Yocto-based distributions for industrial and automotive customers. Direct competitor for European embedded Linux engineering engagements.
• Opersys: North American embedded Linux consultancy offering training, Yocto development and BSP services. Comparable in scale and service mix, addressing the same product-maker customer segment.
• Timesys: Embedded software services and tools provider focused on Yocto-based BSPs, security and lifecycle management. Overlaps heavily with Good Penguin's Galapagos-style vulnerability management offering.

Broad incumbents

• MontaVista Software: Long-standing embedded Linux distribution and services vendor serving telecom, automotive and industrial OEMs. Wider portfolio than The Good Penguin but directly competing for the same Yocto/Linux engineering engagements.
• Wind River Systems: Major embedded RTOS and Linux vendor offering VxWorks and Wind River Linux plus professional services. Broader incumbent that often competes for large embedded software platform contracts that smaller consultancies support.

Emerging players

• Foundries.io: Cloud-based platform offering managed embedded Linux builds, OTA updates and security for IoT devices. Adjacent competitor to Galapagos and a potential substitute for parts of The Good Penguin's offering.
• Memfault: Embedded device observability and OTA update platform and existing Good Penguin partner. Comparable in targeting Yocto-based product-makers with security/observability tooling, though product rather than services led.

Others

• Toradex: Swiss Computer-on-Module vendor and Good Penguin partner whose Verdin ecosystem is a key platform The Good Penguin builds on. Adjacent ecosystem participant rather than direct competitor.
• Doulos: UK-based training and consulting firm covering embedded Linux, RTOS and hardware design. Overlaps in training and design services for embedded engineers but services rather than product-led.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/GoodPenguinLtd
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-capable-hub

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 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 The Good Penguin