Project ACRN
Project ACRN is a Linux Foundation-hosted open-source Type 1 hypervisor for embedded IoT and automotive Software-Defined Cockpit workloads, contributed to primarily by Intel and embedded by OEMs including TTTech Industrial, ADLINK, Neusoft, and Chery.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2018
- HeadquartersHillsboro, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Project ACRN does
Project ACRN is an open-source reference hypervisor hosted by the Linux Foundation as ACRN Project, a Series of LF Projects, LLC (Delaware series LLC), and governed by a Technical Steering Committee formed in December 2021. Launched in March 2018 with significant code contributions from Intel, ACRN is a Type 1 (bare-metal) hypervisor optimized for embedded IoT development with real-time and safety-criticality requirements. The codebase is intentionally small (under 40K lines of code versus 150K+ for datacenter-centric hypervisors), boots quickly, and runs a Linux-based Service VM alongside multiple guest VMs supporting Linux, Windows, Zephyr RTOS, VxWorks, Android (Celadon), and AliOS. The technology stack includes a hybrid-mode architecture (introduced in v2.0) supporting both resource sharing and partitioning, AcrnGT (GVT-g virtual graphics with GPU preemption and surface sharing), Virtio-based I/O virtualization, Cache Allocation Technology for QoS, and the ACRN Device Model for I/O mediation. The Hypervisor Service Module (HSM) was merged into Linux kernel 5.12 in March 2021, and the project received functional safety concept approval from TÜV SÜD Rail GmbH.
The business model is non-commercial. ACRN is distributed free of charge under permissive open-source licensing through GitHub, with no pricing tiers and no direct revenue from the software itself. Project velocity is sustained through contributions from industry partners — Intel (flagship contributor, with a ~100-person Shanghai R&D team), ADLINK, TTTech Industrial, Neusoft, HopeRun Software, ASRock Industrial, Harman, and the wider open-source community (~100 contributors, 4,554 commits by December 2019). Commercial value accrues to OEM partners who embed ACRN in their products rather than to the project itself: TTTech Industrial's Nerve Blue (December 2020, first commercial ACRN-based product for industrial edge), ADLINK's ROScube-I robotics controller (January 2021), Neusoft's smart cockpit systems for Chinese automakers, and Chery's EXEED SUV (Q3 2019, first mass-production vehicle using ACRN with Intel Apollo Lake and Android 9.0).
Customer segments are automotive (Software-Defined Cockpit, IVI, instrument clusters) and industrial IoT (robotics controllers, factory automation, edge computing) as primary verticals, with smart retail and energy as secondary. Distribution is exclusively through GitHub self-serve downloads and OEM/embedded channels; go-to-market is community-led through monthly Technical Community meetings, conference presence (Embedded World, Open Source Summit, Automotive Linux Summit), documentation, and partner case studies. The project continues to actively release (v3.3 in August 2024, blog content in March 2025) and is headquartered legally in San Francisco with engineering presence in Shanghai, Beijing, and Vienna.
Project ACRN firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Project ACRN
- Legal name
- ACRN Project a Series of LF Projects, LLC
- Website
- https://projectacrn.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2018
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Project ACRN is a Linux Foundation-hosted open-source Type 1 hypervisor for embedded IoT and automotive Software-Defined Cockpit workloads, contributed to primarily by Intel and embedded by OEMs including TTTech Industrial, ADLINK, Neusoft, and Chery.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Project ACRN industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Embedded Hypervisor Software
- NAICS
- Computer Systems Design and Related Services (54151), Computer Systems Design Services (541512), Computer Systems Design and Related Services (5415), Custom Computer Programming Services (541511), Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (5182)
- SIC
- Services-Computer Integrated Systems Design (7373), Services-Computer Programming Services (7371), Services-Prepackaged Software (7372), Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Hyperscale & OCP Server Designs (HDABADAB)
Keywords
Where Project ACRN is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Hillsboro
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices5 records
Markets served
Project ACRN business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others
Revenue model
- Open Source Distribution: Project ACRN is a fully open source reference hypervisor distributed freely under Linux Foundation. No direct revenue is generated from the software itself. The project is sustained through contributions from industry partners (Intel, ADLINK, TTTech Industrial, Neusoft, HopeRun Software) who use ACRN in their commercial products and services.
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels7 records
Project ACRN product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Project ACRN provides a flexible, lightweight Type 1 bare-metal reference hypervisor optimized for embedded IoT development, with real-time and safety-critical capabilities. It runs multiple guest VMs (Linux, Windows, Android/Celadon, Zephyr RTOS, VxWorks, AliOS) simultaneously on a single SoC and is complemented by a Configurator UI, Board Inspector, Hypervisor Service Module (HSM, upstreamed into Linux kernel 5.12), AcrnGT virtual graphics, and a Device Model for I/O mediation. The software is distributed freely as open source under the Linux Foundation.
Product overview
Project ACRN is a Linux Foundation-hosted open source project providing a flexible, lightweight type-1 reference hypervisor designed specifically for embedded IoT development. The core ACRN Hypervisor is supplemented by supporting tools including the ACRN Configurator UI for graphical configuration, the Board Inspector for system diagnostics, and the ACRN Hypervisor Service Module (HSM) which was upstreamed to the Linux kernel. The ACRN Device Model provides I/O mediation for sharing hardware resources across virtual machines. The portfolio targets automotive (Software-Defined Cockpit), industrial workload consolidation, and general IoT embedded virtualization use cases, supporting various guest operating systems including Linux, Windows, Zephyr RTOS, VxWorks, Android/Celadon, and AliOS.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- ACRN Hypervisor A flexible, lightweight Type 1 reference hypervisor built with real-time and safety-criticality in mind, optimized for embedded IoT development. Runs on bare-metal hardware with fast boot and supports multiple guest VMs (Linux, Windows, Zephyr RTOS, VxWorks, Android/Celadon, AliOS) simultaneously for automotive Software-Defined Cockpit, industrial workload consolidation, and general IoT use cases. Targeted at automotive OEMs, Tier-1 suppliers, industrial automation vendors, and embedded platform manufacturers.
- ACRN Configurator UI A graphical user interface tool shipped with the ACRN Hypervisor that simplifies hypervisor and VM configuration with intuitive design, comprehensive error checking, and developer-friendly messages. Used by embedded developers and integrators building ACRN-based systems.
- ACRN Board Inspector A diagnostic tool that collects information about target system processors, memory, and devices, and generates board XML files used by the ACRN Configurator to determine configuration options and possible resource values. Used by embedded developers during ACRN deployment.
- ACRN Hypervisor Service Module (HSM) Linux kernel module required to run Linux in ACRN User and Service VMs, upstreamed into the Linux kernel 5.12 mainline for native integration. Used by Linux-based Service OS deployments of ACRN.
- AcrnGT (GVT-g Virtual Graphics) Virtual graphics support enabling Service OS and User OS applications to run GPU workloads simultaneously with minimal overhead, providing Direct Display, GPU Preemption, and Surface Sharing capabilities for digital cockpit and IVI systems. Targeted at automotive cockpit and multi-OS graphics-sharing scenarios.
- ACRN Device Model Reference framework implementation for virtual device emulation with rich I/O mediators enabling low-latency access for sharing graphics, audio, storage, network, USB, and other devices across VMs. Used by embedded developers and OEMs building ACRN-based virtualization stacks.
Quantifiable outcome
- Reduces hardware costs by enabling single SoC to replace multiple processors for automotive IVI and cluster applications
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Project ACRN
Customer profileNamed customers7 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Project ACRN technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration3 records
Feature10 records
Project ACRN partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.
- ADLINKcoreADLINK's ROScube-I ROS 2 controller powered by Intel technology is one of the first robotic controllers to support ACRN real-time hypervisor. This enables mixed real-time and application workload consolidation on a single Edge platform for AI-based robotic applications.
- TTTech IndustrialcoreTTTech Industrial launched the first commercial product based on ACRN hypervisor - the Nerve Blue industrial edge computing platform. ACRN 2.0 is available to customers in a commercial, fully supported software solution running on Intel processors for industrial applications.
- HopeRun SoftwarecoreHopeRun Software became a strategic software partner of ACRN, key component of virtualization strategy. Has added support for 74 chip-level capabilities on HiHope platform for embedded virtualization in-vehicle, power management, and retail applications.
- Neusoft AutomotivecoreNeusoft developed smart cockpit system using ACRN and Intel platform for mass production with Chinese automakers. First Chinese company to develop and mass produce smart cockpit system based on ACRN virtualization.
- Alibaba/AliOScoreCollaboration on electronic cockpit solutions using AliOS and Intel architecture with ACRN virtualization. Joint demonstration at 2018 YunQi Conference showcasing next-generation e-cockpit applications.
- IntelflagshipIntel is the primary contributor to ACRN with significant code contributions and design input. Provides processor platforms (Apollo Lake, Atom N-Series, Core processors) and ongoing engineering support through Shanghai and Beijing R&D teams.
- Linux FoundationflagshipLinux Foundation hosts and governs the ACRN project as a Series of LF Projects, LLC. Provides governance framework, infrastructure, and project oversight through Technical Steering Committee.
- ASRock IndustrialcoreASRock Industrial systems based on Intel 12th Gen Core CPUs (iEP-9010E, iEPF-9010S-EY4) are supported by ACRN v3.x for industrial embedded use cases with performance hybrid architecture.
- Zephyr ProjectcoreCollaboration with Zephyr RTOS project for real-time operating system support in ACRN virtual machines. Zephyr can run as pre-launched or post-launched guest OS for real-time industrial workloads.
- CherycoreChery EXEED SUV launched Q3 2019 as first mass production vehicle using ACRN virtualization with Intel Apollo Lake processor and Android 9.0 for next-generation smart cockpit.
Scale indicators7 records
Recent moves9 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Project ACRN competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Wind River: Wind River provides VxWorks RTOS and the Helix Virtualization Platform, a Type 1 hypervisor for embedded and edge applications. Directly comparable to ACRN for automotive and industrial workload consolidation use cases.
- SYSGO: SYSGO's PikeOS is a Type 1 hypervisor for embedded and safety-critical applications in automotive, avionics, and industrial sectors. Directly comparable to ACRN's purpose-built embedded virtualization approach.
- Real-Time Systems (RTS): RTS provides embedded hypervisors for real-time and safety-critical industrial applications. Directly competes with ACRN in industrial IoT and edge computing workload consolidation.
- Green Hills Software: Green Hills offers the INTEGRITY Multivisor, a safety-certified embedded hypervisor for automotive, aerospace, and industrial markets. Directly competes with ACRN's safety-critical positioning.
- BlackBerry QNX: BlackBerry QNX offers a safety-certified embedded hypervisor for automotive and industrial use cases. It is a direct competitor to ACRN in automotive cockpit and instrument cluster virtualization, with deeper safety certification history.
- Lynx Software Technologies: Lynx's MOSA.ic is a Type 1 hypervisor for embedded and mixed-criticality systems in aerospace, defense, and automotive. Comparable to ACRN for multi-OS workload consolidation on a single SoC.
Others
- Canonical (Ubuntu): Canonical provides Ubuntu-based virtualization and real-time Linux distributions for embedded and edge use cases. As an existing ACRN integration partner (Ubuntu is the Service VM OS), it is an adjacent ecosystem participant rather than a direct competitor.
Broad incumbents
- Xen Project: Xen is a mature open source Type 1 hypervisor primarily designed for cloud and server virtualization. While broader in scope than ACRN, it serves as an open source benchmark in the virtualization space.
- KVM (Kernel-based Virtual Machine): KVM is the Linux kernel's native hypervisor, broadly used in cloud and data center environments. As an open source Linux-integrated virtualization technology, it represents ecosystem competition for ACRN's Linux-based embedded deployments.
- Red Hat: Red Hat provides enterprise Linux virtualization and container platforms through KVM and OpenShift. While broader in focus, it competes for embedded and edge Linux virtualization workloads that ACRN also targets.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Project ACRN social profiles
Digital presenceProject ACRN compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
Project ACRN financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Project ACRN leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Project ACRN funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
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Project ACRN M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
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Frequently asked questions about Project ACRN
What does Project ACRN do?
Project ACRN provides a flexible, lightweight Type 1 bare-metal reference hypervisor optimized for embedded IoT development, with real-time and safety-critical capabilities. It runs multiple guest VMs (Linux, Windows, Android/Celadon, Zephyr RTOS, VxWorks, AliOS) simultaneously on a single SoC and is complemented by a Configurator UI, Board Inspector, Hypervisor Service Module (HSM, upstreamed into Linux kernel 5.12), AcrnGT virtual graphics, and a Device Model for I/O mediation. The software is distributed freely as open source under the Linux Foundation.
Is Project ACRN a public or private company?
Project ACRN is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Project ACRN founded?
Project ACRN was founded in 2018. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Project ACRN based?
Project ACRN is headquartered in Hillsboro, United States, in the North America region.
How does Project ACRN make money?
One revenue line is on record: open Source Distribution.
Who are Project ACRN's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Wind River, SYSGO, Real-Time Systems (RTS), Green Hills Software, BlackBerry QNX and Lynx Software Technologies. Canonical (Ubuntu) is listed as an others. Broad incumbents are Xen Project, KVM (Kernel-based Virtual Machine) and Red Hat.
Does Project ACRN have an API?
No public API is recorded for Project ACRN.
What industry is Project ACRN in?
Project ACRN's product category is Embedded Hypervisor Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HDABADAB, Hyperscale & OCP Server Designs. Its NAICS code is 54151 and its SIC code is 7373.