What Performance Motion Devices does

Performance Motion Devices, Inc. (PMD) is a privately held Massachusetts corporation founded in 1992 that designs and manufactures motion control integrated circuits, digital drives, and embedded motion control boards for Brushless DC, DC Brush, and step motors. The company's product portfolio is organized around three proprietary IC families: Magellan (single- and multi-axis position/torque control), Juno (compact velocity and torque control), and Atlas (digital amplifiers). These are integrated into module-level products — ION/CME N-Series PCB-mountable drives and ION 500/3000 fully enclosed drives — and board-level products in the Prodigy line, available in PC/104, standalone, and machine-controller configurations with on-board Atlas amplifiers in 1-4 axis variants. The development ecosystem consists of the C-Motion programming language (enabling user code to execute directly on PMD boards for standalone operation), the Pro-Motion Windows analysis software, and developer kits, supported by an extensive technical content library covering FOC, S-curve profiling, and servo loop tuning.

PMD sells primarily to OEMs in five verticals: life sciences and lab automation, medical devices, mobile robotics, semiconductor capital equipment, and industrial automation. Pricing is quote-based with no public list prices; products are quoted based on volume and configuration. Go-to-market is sales-led and combines a direct sales channel through pmdcorp.com with a hybrid distribution model anchored by global authorized distributors DigiKey and Mouser Electronics, supplemented by regional sales partners IMCA (Turkey) and GT International (China, Hong Kong, Taiwan). Revenue is generated almost entirely through hardware product sales, with software and developer kits sold either bundled with hardware or as standalone licenses.

The company emphasizes an open, flexible, portable design philosophy — providing intelligent building blocks that customers can customize rather than restrictive turnkey systems — and commits to long-term product availability that is critical for medical and industrial customers. PMD achieved ISO 13485:2016 certification in 2020 as one of the first in the motion control industry, and serves a worldwide customer base with documented design wins at companies including OLogic, Simplexity, Creative Conners, Dusty Robotics, and Dover Motion. The company is privately held with no disclosed external funding rounds and operates with an estimated 50-100 person headcount.

Name

Performance Motion Devices

Legal name

Performance Motion Devices, Inc.

Website

https://pmdcorp.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1992

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Performance Motion Devices designs and manufactures motion control integrated circuits, digital drives, and embedded boards for Brushless DC, DC Brush, and stepper motors, serving OEMs in medical devices, lab automation, mobile robotics, semiconductor, and industrial automation worldwide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Motion Control Electronics

NAICS

Relay and Industrial Control Manufacturing (335314), Other Measuring and Controlling Device Manufacturing (334519)

SIC

Electronic & Other Electrical Equipment (No Computer Equip) (3600)

akta.pro primary industry

Motor Control & Driver ICs (Gate Drivers/BLDC Drivers) (HDAHAIAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Motion Control Controllers & CNC/Robot Drives (Motion Controllers, Multi-axis) (IMAGACAH), Motion & Machine Control (CNC, Robotics Controllers, Servo/Motion Controllers) (IMAGABAG), Motion Control Electronics & Controls (Controllers, Drivers, Feedback Interfaces) (IMAHAGAJ)

Keywords

• Motion control ICs
• Digital servo drives
• Step motor control
• Brushless DC drives
• Motion control boards

Headquarters

HQ city

Boxborough

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Hardware Product Sales: PMD generates revenue primarily through the sale of motion control hardware including integrated circuits (ICs), digital drives/amplifiers, and motion control boards. Products are sold directly and through distribution partners globally.
2. Developer Kits: Pre-configured development kits bundling hardware with software tools, cables, and documentation to enable rapid prototyping and development of motion control applications.
3. Software & Development Tools: Pro-Motion analysis software and C-Motion development tools sold as part of developer kits or separately for motion system development and optimization.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Performance Motion Devices (PMD) designs, manufactures, and sells high-performance motion control integrated circuits (ICs), digital amplifiers, and digital drives along with board-level motion controllers and developer kits. Its products provide trajectory profile generation, servo loop compensation, field oriented control, and network connectivity for Brushless DC, DC Brush, and step motors used in life sciences, robotics, medical devices, semiconductor equipment, and industrial automation applications.

Product overview

Performance Motion Devices (PMD) offers a comprehensive portfolio of motion control products organized as integrated circuits, digital drive modules, motion control boards, and development software tools. The product lineup centers on three core IC families: Magellan Motion Control ICs (for single and multi-axis positioning), Juno Velocity & Torque ICs (for velocity/torque control applications), and Atlas Digital Amplifiers (for power amplification). These ICs are incorporated into module-level products including ION Digital Drives (ION 500 at 500W and ION 3000 at 3000W) and the ultra-compact ION/CME N-Series PCB-mountable drives. At the board level, Prodigy Motion Control Boards provide ready-to-go controllers in PC/104, standalone, and machine-controller configurations with optional on-board Atlas amplifiers. The development ecosystem includes Pro-Motion analysis software, C-Motion programming language/SDK, and comprehensive developer kits. All products support Brushless DC, DC Brush, and step motors and serve industries including medical devices, lab automation, semiconductor, mobile robotics, and industrial automation.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Magellan: Family of motion control ICs providing breakthrough motion control for medical, scientific, automation, industrial, and robotic applications
• Juno
• Atlas
• ION
• Prodigy
• C-Motion
• Pro-Motion

Products and services

• Magellan Motion Control ICs ICs providing single-axis and multi-axis advanced position and torque control with trajectory profile generation, servo loop closure, and current control for Brushless DC, DC Brush, and step motors in 1-4 axis configurations. Sold to motion control engineers building positioning systems in life sciences, robotics, medical devices, semiconductor equipment, and industrial automation.
• Magellan MC58113 Motion Control IC Single-axis motion control IC within the Magellan family providing trajectory profile generation, programmable breakpoints, advanced performance trace, and advanced current control for Brushless DC, DC Brush, and step motors. Designed for OEMs needing high-performance single-axis motion control.
• Juno Velocity & Torque Control ICs Family of compact velocity and torque control ICs for Brushless DC, DC Brush, and step motors, providing full four-quadrant control, direct quadrature encoder input, profile generation, and advanced digital current control in a compact 64-pin package. Targeted at miniaturized applications that previously required larger stepper or brushless DC control solutions.
• Atlas Digital Amplifiers Compact single-axis digital amplifiers providing high-performance torque control for Brushless DC, DC Brush, and step motors, available in vertical and horizontal mounting configurations across three power ranges. Sold to motion control system integrators and OEMs needing compact, ready-to-use power amplification stages.
• ION/CME N-Series Digital Drives Ultra-compact, rugged PCB-mountable intelligent drives integrating high-performance motion control, network connectivity, and power amplification for Brushless DC, DC Brush, and step motors. Designed to embed directly onto customer PCBs for compact OEM products including mobile robotics, surgical robots, and lab automation instruments.
• ION 500 and ION 3000 Digital Drives Compact fully enclosed digital drive modules providing motion control, network connectivity, and power amplification for DC Brush, Brushless DC, and step motors in 500W (ION 500) and 3000W (ION 3000) ratings. Include profile generation, servo compensation, and field oriented control; sold to OEMs needing higher-power drop-in drive solutions.
• Prodigy Motion Control Boards High-performance board-level motion controllers available in PC/104, standalone, and standalone with built-in Atlas amplifiers (machine controller) configurations, supporting Brushless DC, step, and DC Brush motors in 1-, 2-, 3-, and 4-axis configurations. Sold to OEMs and system integrators needing ready-to-use board-level controllers.
• Prodigy/CME Machine-Controller Boards Prodigy motion control boards with on-board Atlas amplifiers that eliminate external amplifiers, supporting DC Brush, Brushless DC, and step motors in 1-4 axis configurations with Ethernet, CANbus, RS-232, and RS-485 communications. Target customers needing an integrated controller-plus-amplifier board-level solution.
• Pro-Motion Software Windows-based exerciser and motion analysis program providing ready-to-go capabilities to set up, tune, and analyze system parameters and motion performance for PMD motion control products. Sold to development teams needing a GUI tool for fast commissioning and tuning.
• C-Motion Language & SDK Proprietary C-language programming environment and SDK that simplifies motion control program development for PMD boards, modules, and ICs, allowing use of industry standard C/C++ or .NET and enabling standalone operation by running user code on the motion control hardware itself. Sold to software and embedded engineers integrating PMD hardware into custom applications.
• Prodigy & Magellan Developer Kits Complete development kits including motion control boards or ICs, Pro-Motion software, C-Motion SDK, complete manual sets, and cable and prototyping connector sets for various configurations including PC/104 and machine controller setups. Sold to engineering teams for rapid prototyping and evaluation of PMD motion control products.

Quantifiable outcome

• Supports positioning accuracies measured in nanometers or picometers with appropriate linear encoders
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature8 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core, regional and minor.

• DigiKeycoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorDigiKey serves as a global authorized distributor for PMD products including Magellan, Juno, ION, Atlas, and Prodigy families. Offers millions of products with same-day shipping availability worldwide.
• Mouser ElectronicscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorMouser Electronics is an authorized electronic component distributor offering PMD's complete product families. Features over 5 million products from 800+ manufacturers.
• IMCA (Electronics and Mechanics)regionalChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorRegional distribution partnership covering Turkey for PMD motion control products in the Electronics and Mechanics markets.
• GT International Co., Ltd.regionalChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorDistribution partnership covering China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan for PMD motion control products.
• PortescapminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative development partnership resulting in an innovative BLDC Developer Kit combining Portescap motors with PMD motion control technology for rapid prototyping.
• WPI (Worcester Polytechnic Institute)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic partnership where WPI engineering students used PMD motion control products in their CARP (Custom Autonomous Robotic Painter) project for the RobotArt Competition.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Faulhaber: Faulhaber specializes in miniature precision motors and matching motion controllers for medical, robotics, and optics applications. Its integrated motor-plus-controller solutions compete with PMD's miniaturized ION/CME N-Series and Juno-based designs.
• Celera Motion (Novanta): Celera Motion, a Novanta business, provides precision motion control components including servo drives, encoders, and motion controllers. It targets the same medical, life sciences, and advanced industrial OEMs that PMD serves.
• Galil Motion Control: Galil offers high-performance motion controllers and drives for multi-axis applications — a near-direct overlap with PMD's Prodigy machine-controller boards. Both serve medical, semiconductor, and laboratory automation customers with similar servo and stepper architectures.
• Elmo Motion Control: Elmo manufactures compact, high-power servo drives and motion controllers for robotics, medical, and industrial applications. Its product line directly competes with PMD's ION digital drives and Atlas amplifiers in the same design-in channels.
• Allied Motion Technologies: Allied Motion designs and manufactures motion control products including motors, drives, and integrated assemblies. It serves medical, robotics, and industrial automation with a comparable product breadth to PMD.
• Trinamic (now part of Analog Devices): Trinamic built a leading motion control IC portfolio for stepper and BLDC motors, directly overlapping PMD's Magellan and Juno IC families. Its acquisition by Analog Devices creates a much larger, well-funded competitor targeting the same OEM design wins.
• Aerotech: Aerotech produces high-precision motion control and positioning systems used in semiconductor, medical, and research applications. Its precision multi-axis controllers compete directly with PMD's Prodigy and Magellan offerings in high-end OEM designs.
• Maxon Group: Maxon is a global leader in precision DC and BLDC motors plus integrated motion control electronics, serving the same robotics, medical device, and industrial automation customers as PMD. Its ESCON and EPOS controllers directly overlap PMD's IC and drive products.

Broad incumbents

• STMicroelectronics: STMicroelectronics offers an extensive motor control IC family (STSPIN, PowerSTEP) plus MCUs targeting motion control. As a large incumbent, ST can leverage integrated silicon plus firmware ecosystems to challenge PMD's standalone motion control IC value proposition.
• Texas Instruments: TI's broad motor control IC portfolio (C2000 MCUs, gate drivers, motor driver ICs) targets the same BLDC and stepper applications as PMD. While not specializing in motion control, TI's scale and distribution can pressure PMD on price and integration at high-volume OEMs.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/MotionControl

Compliance4 records

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 Performance Motion Devices