FORTH
FORTH, Inc. is a privately held Los Angeles software company, founded in 1973 by Forth inventor Charles Moore, that licenses SwiftForth and SwiftX development tools and provides custom firmware engineering services to embedded systems developers and industrial clients worldwide.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1973
- HeadquartersLos Angeles, United States
- Headcount101–250
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What FORTH does
FORTH, Inc. is a privately held US software company founded in 1973 by Charles Moore, the inventor of the Forth programming language, and Elizabeth Rather. Headquartered in Los Angeles with 101-250 employees, the company has operated continuously for more than 50 years, providing both proprietary development tools and custom software/firmware engineering services. Its primary products are SwiftForth, an interactive development environment (IDE) for Windows, Linux, and macOS applications, and SwiftX, a suite of cross compilers for developing, debugging, and testing firmware on microcontrollers and microprocessors including ARM, ColdFire, MSP430, AVR, 68HCS08, 68HC12, 68K, 68HC11, 8051, and rad-hard processors (UT69R000, RTX2010RH) used in space applications. Supporting products include SwiftOS (a configurable multitasking kernel), SWOOP (an object-oriented Forth extension), and a catalog of technical books such as the Forth Programmer's Handbook and Starting FORTH.
FORTH, Inc. generates revenue through four streams: one-time perpetual per-developer software licenses ($295-$2,995 depending on tier), annual support subscription renewals ($129-$199), contract-based custom software and firmware consulting, and book sales. The company distributes exclusively through direct channels — its own e-commerce storefront at forth.com, direct digital downloads of free evaluation versions, and Amazon for books — with no third-party resellers. It targets two primary segments: embedded systems developers and firmware engineers (the core user base for SwiftX), and industrial, corporate, and scientific organizations requiring custom embedded and mission-critical software engineering. Marketing is content-led, relying on technical documentation, free evaluation downloads, and classic Forth tutorial books to attract developers.
The company operates as the original and longest-standing commercial Forth vendor, with Elizabeth Rather having chaired the ANSI Technical Committee that produced the ANSI Standard for Forth in 1994. No outside equity, venture, or private equity ownership has been disclosed in available data; ownership remains founder-aligned. Note: the ORamaVR investment and HAETAE photonic-computing consortium entries in the source data refer to FORTH-ICS (the Greek Foundation for Research and Technology - Hellas), a distinct entity from FORTH, Inc., and have therefore been excluded from this analysis.
FORTH firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- FORTH
- Legal name
- FORTH, Inc.
- Website
- https://forth.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1973
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 101–250 employees
- Short description
- FORTH, Inc. is a privately held Los Angeles software company, founded in 1973 by Forth inventor Charles Moore, that licenses SwiftForth and SwiftX development tools and provides custom firmware engineering services to embedded systems developers and industrial clients worldwide.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
FORTH industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Embedded Development Software
- NAICS
- Custom Computer Programming Services (541511), Software Publishers (5132), Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services (5416)
- SIC
- Services-Computer Programming Services (7371), Services-Engineering Services (8711)
- akta.pro primary industry
- DevOps Consulting & Transformation (BPAEAKAA)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Software Development (Programming, Frameworks, Dev Tools) (EDABAFAA), Systems Engineering & Technical Program Management (BPAHAIAI)
Keywords
Where FORTH is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Los Angeles
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Markets served
FORTH business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Software License Sales: One-time perpetual license sales for SwiftForth and SwiftX software products. Licenses are per-developer, with customers purchasing the right to use the software indefinitely with 1 year of included support and updates.
- Support Subscription Renewals: Annual support subscription renewals providing continued access to technical support (via email) and software updates. After the first year, customers pay annual fees to maintain support coverage.
- Custom Software Consulting Services: Contract-based software engineering and firmware consulting services for design, development, hardware bring-up, embedded systems, and custom device projects. Revenue generated through billable consulting engagements.
- Technical Books and Manuals: Sales of Forth programming books and manuals including 'Forth Application Techniques', 'Forth Programmer's Handbook', and 'SwiftForth Reference Manual'. Books available through the company's shop and Amazon.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| One time/ perpetual license | Multi-year contract | SwiftForth IDE - Single license for Windows, Linux, macOS development |
| One time/ perpetual license | Multi-year contract | SwiftForth Upgrade from Version 2 |
| One time/ perpetual license | Multi-year contract | SwiftX Lite - Entry-level cross compiler |
| One time/ perpetual license | Multi-year contract | SwiftX Pro - Professional cross compiler |
| One time/ perpetual license | Multi-year contract | SwiftX Rad-Hard Systems |
| Subscription | Annual | SwiftForth One-Year Support Subscription Renewal |
| Subscription | Annual | SwiftX One-Year Support Subscription Renewal |
| Unit Pricing | Multi-year contract | Forth Application Techniques (6th Edition) |
| Unit Pricing | Multi-year contract | Forth Programmer's Handbook |
| Unit Pricing | Multi-year contract | SwiftForth Reference Manual |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels4 records
FORTH product offering
Product offeringCore offering
FORTH, Inc. develops and licenses proprietary Forth-based software development tools (SwiftForth IDE for Windows/Linux/macOS and SwiftX cross compilers for embedded systems) and provides custom software engineering and firmware consulting services. The company also sells Forth programming reference books and offers annual support subscription renewals for its software products.
Product overview
FORTH, Inc. provides a suite of software development tools centered on the Forth programming language. The core product portfolio includes SwiftForth, an interactive development environment for Windows, Linux, and macOS applications, and SwiftX, a cross compiler IDE for embedded systems targeting microcontrollers and microprocessors. The company also offers software consulting services for custom development and firmware engineering. Supporting the tools are reference books including the Forth Programmer's Handbook, Forth Application Techniques, Starting FORTH, and Thinking FORTH, along with annual support subscription renewals. The ecosystem includes SwiftOS, a multitasking executive for embedded systems, and SWOOP, an object-oriented programming extension for SwiftForth.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- SwiftForth Interactive Development Environment (IDE) for developing applications on Windows, Linux, and macOS using the Forth programming language. Includes SWOOP object-oriented programming system, rule-based optimizing compiler, disassembler/decompiler, single-step debugger, cross-reference tools, multitasking with threads, and dynamic library integration.
- SwiftX Interactive cross compiler IDE for developing, debugging, and testing firmware code for microcontrollers and microprocessors. Supports ARM, ColdFire, MSP430, AVR, 68HCS08, 68HC12, 68K, 68HC11, 8051, and rad-hard processors including UT69R000 and RTX2010RH. Includes SwiftOS multitasking kernel.
- Software Consulting Services
- Forth Programmer's Handbook Reference manual book with extensive Forth language glossaries, covering common and advanced programming subjects. Available for purchase at $29.95.
- Forth Application Techniques Tutorial book (6th Edition) introducing Forth fundamentals and building practical knowledge through exercises for creating software solutions. Available for purchase at $18.99.
- Starting FORTH Classic Forth tutorial textbook by Leo Brodie, updated for modern Standard Forth systems, available as free online edition.
- Thinking Forth Book by Leo Brodie on problem-solving philosophy and approaches for Forth programmers, available as free PDF download.
- SwiftForth One-Year Support Subscription Annual tech support subscription at $129.00/year providing engineer-level email support and unlimited software updates for SwiftForth.
- SwiftX One-Year Support Subscription Annual tech support subscription at $199.00/year providing email support and unlimited software updates for SwiftX cross compilers.
Companies that use FORTH
Customer profileSegments2 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
FORTH technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature6 records
FORTH partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- HAETAE ConsortiumcoreFORTH-ICS participates in the HAETAE consortium alongside Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, IMEC, AkhETonics, KAIST, and DGIST to develop photonic processors using light instead of electrons for AI computing. The €1.49 million project is funded through EU's Horizon Europe programme and Chips Joint Undertaking, running until 2027. This strategic collaboration focuses on photonic integrated circuits and optical AI processing technology.
Scale indicators1 record
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights4 records
FORTH competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Keil (Arm): Arm's Keil µVision IDE and arm compilers target ARM-based microcontrollers. Keil is one of the closest direct peers to SwiftX for ARM embedded firmware development.
- Wind River Systems: Wind River provides VxWorks RTOS, Workbench IDE, and embedded development tools for aerospace, defense, and industrial. It competes with SwiftX/SwiftOS in safety-critical embedded toolchains and platforms.
- IAR Systems: IAR Systems provides commercial IDEs and cross-compilers (IAR Embedded Workbench) for ARM and other microcontrollers. It directly competes with SwiftX in the embedded development tools market with similar per-developer/site licensing models.
- Green Hills Software: Green Hills supplies MULTI IDE and embedded compilers/operating systems (INTEGRITY, µ-velOSity) for safety-critical applications. It competes directly with SwiftX plus SwiftOS in mission-critical and aerospace embedded development.
- Rowley Associates (CrossWorks): Rowley Associates' CrossWorks for ARM is a cross-platform IDE and toolchain for embedded microcontrollers, overlapping with SwiftX on supported MCUs and the per-developer pricing model.
- Tasking (Altium): TASKING compilers and IDEs target automotive and embedded MCUs (TriCore, PowerPC, ARM). It is comparable to SwiftX for safety-critical firmware development in automotive/industrial segments.
- SEGGER (Embedded Studio): SEGGER's Embedded Studio IDE and J-Link debug probes serve ARM and other MCU developers with a comparable professional cross-development toolchain akin to SwiftX.
Emerging players
- Microchip Technology (MPLAB X): MPLAB X is Microchip's free IDE for PIC and dsPIC microcontrollers. While vendor-tied rather than language-tied, it competes with SwiftX for AVR/PIC-adjacent MCU developer mind-share and budget.
- PlatformIO: PlatformIO is an open-source ecosystem for IoT and embedded development across many MCU families. It represents the open-source/free tooling alternative that could commoditize embedded IDE layers such as SwiftX.
Broad incumbents
- JetBrains (CLion): JetBrains' CLion IDE supports embedded development workflows and toolchains. As a broader incumbent with deep market reach, it competes for the same embedded C/C++/Rust developers that may otherwise consider SwiftForth/SwiftX.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
FORTH financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
FORTH leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
FORTH funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
FORTH M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about FORTH
What does FORTH do?
FORTH, Inc. develops and licenses proprietary Forth-based software development tools (SwiftForth IDE for Windows/Linux/macOS and SwiftX cross compilers for embedded systems) and provides custom software engineering and firmware consulting services. The company also sells Forth programming reference books and offers annual support subscription renewals for its software products.
Is FORTH a public or private company?
FORTH is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was FORTH founded?
FORTH was founded in 1973. It employs 101 to 250 people.
Where is FORTH based?
FORTH is headquartered in Los Angeles, United States, in the North America region.
How does FORTH make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Software License Sales are the primary driver. The others are support Subscription Renewals, custom Software Consulting Services and technical Books and Manuals.
Who are FORTH's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Keil (Arm), Wind River Systems, IAR Systems, Green Hills Software, Rowley Associates (CrossWorks), Tasking (Altium) and SEGGER (Embedded Studio). Emerging players are Microchip Technology (MPLAB X) and PlatformIO. JetBrains (CLion) is listed as a broad incumbent.
Does FORTH have an API?
No public API is recorded for FORTH.
What industry is FORTH in?
FORTH's product category is Embedded Development Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAEAKAA, DevOps Consulting & Transformation, with a secondary code of EDABAFAA, Software Development (Programming, Frameworks, Dev Tools). Its NAICS code is 541511 and its SIC code is 7371.