What NineFX does

NineFX, Inc. is a privately held HUBZone and Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) software and cyber engineering firm headquartered in Columbia, South Carolina, founded in 2013. The company operates in two intertwined lines of business. First, it functions as a sub-tier vendor on federal government contracts, holding positions on large IDIQ and GWAC vehicles including DLA JETS (~$6B ceiling), DTIC IAC MAC (~$28B ceiling), VA VECTOR (~$25B ceiling), ITES-3S ($12.1B), VETS 2 ($5B), SeaPort-NxG, and the IWRP OTA, providing software engineering, cybersecurity, cloud-native architecture, DevSecOps, and offensive security services to DoD, DLA, VA, Army, and Navy end-customers through primes such as Sev1Tech, AECOM, Software Engineering Services Corporation, EmeSec, and Teksouth.

Second, NineFX builds and resells a portfolio of specialized software products targeting defense and federal compliance requirements. Its proprietary core product, Shortfin, is an end-to-end interoperable chat platform built on open standards, supporting NATO Federated Mission Networking (FMN) Basic and Advanced Instant Messaging Collaboration Services with W3C WCAG Section 508 accessibility and FIPS 140 cryptography. Additional proprietary and resold offerings — Shuttlebus (TAXII/STIX 2 cyber threat intelligence server), MongooseIM (XMPP/Jabber chat), VerneMQ (MQTT broker for IoT/ISR), CircleCI (FedRAMP Moderate CI/CD), Chef Automate (DevSecOps), CryptoComply (FIPS 140-2 cryptographic modules), Confluent Control Center (Kafka management), Burp Suite Pro, and IDA Pro — are bundled as Value-Added Reseller offerings with integration and support services. The underlying engineering stack is centered on Rust, Scala, Erlang, Elixir, and ReScript, runtimes chosen for highly concurrent and reliable systems suitable for critical infrastructure and defense workloads. Revenue is generated through professional services on federal subcontracts and licensing/margin on resold software; pricing is not publicly disclosed and the company does not report revenue. In January 2020 NineFX formed the Innovative Union JV with Meridian Technologies under the SBA Mentor Protégé Program to jointly pursue larger federal opportunities.

Name

NineFX

Legal name

NineFX, Inc.

Website

https://ninefx.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

NineFX is a HUBZone/SDVOSB software and cyber engineering firm based in Columbia, SC that builds the Shortfin NATO FMN-compliant chat platform, resells enterprise security and DevSecOps tools, and serves as a subcontractor on federal IDIQ/GWAC contracts for DoD and other agencies.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Columbia

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Government Subcontracting: NineFX operates as a subcontractor on multiple federal IDIQ, GWAC, and other contract vehicles including DLA JETS, VA VECTOR, VETS 2, DTIC IAC MAC, ITES-3S, SeaPort-NxG, and IWRP OTA, providing software engineering and cyber services to DoD and federal agencies.
2. Value-Added Reselling: NineFX resells enterprise software products from OEM vendors including MongooseIM, Chef Automate, CircleCI, VerneMQ, Burp Suite Pro, IDA Pro, CryptoComply, and Confluent Control Center, providing support, consulting, and integration services.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

NineFX provides software engineering and cybersecurity services to commercial and federal government customers, with deep expertise in advanced programming languages (Rust, Scala, Erlang, Elixir, ReScript) for building highly concurrent, reliable, and secure systems. The firm delivers offensive security services (penetration testing, exploit research, secure code review), cloud native and DevSecOps architecture, and develops its own proprietary products including Shortfin (NATO FMN-compliant chat) and Shuttlebus (TAXII/STIX 2 threat intel server). NineFX also operates as a Value-Added Reseller of FIPS 140-2-enabled enterprise software products (MongooseIM, VerneMQ, CircleCI, Chef Automate, CryptoComply, IDA Pro, Burp Suite Pro, Confluent Control Center) to defense and federal customers.

Product overview

NineFX is a HUBZone/SDVOSB software and cybersecurity engineering firm serving commercial and Federal customers. Their core proprietary product is Shortfin, an end-to-end chat solution built on open standards with NATO FMN interoperability. Beyond Shortfin, NineFX resells a portfolio of specialized tools targeting defense and Federal clients, including MongooseIM (scalable XMPP chat platform) and VerneMQ (MQTT broker for IoT/ISR applications), both supporting FIPS 140-2 certified cryptography. Their Federal-focused toolset includes CircleCI (FedRAMP-authorized CI/CD), Chef Automate (DevSecOps infrastructure management), CryptoComply (FIPS 140-2 validated cryptography), and security tools IDA Pro and Burp Suite Pro. The portfolio is tied together with Apache Kafka streaming via Confluent Control Center.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Shortfin: An end-to-end interoperable, secure, and scalable chat solution combining a web-based chat client and highly scalable chat server based on open standards. Supports NATO Federated Mission Networking (FMN) Basic and Advanced Instant Messaging Collaboration Services, with W3C WCAG Section 508 accessibility and FIPS 140 cryptography requirements.

Products and services

• Shortfin End-to-end chat solution combining a web-based chat client and highly scalable chat server based on open standards. Supports NATO Federated Mission Networking (FMN) Basic and Advanced Instant Messaging Collaboration Services, with W3C WCAG Section 508 accessibility and FIPS 140 cryptography requirements. Targeted at defense and federal customers.
• Shuttlebus TAXII/STIX 2 Cyber Threat Intelligence server targeting Federal and commercial clients, supporting FIPS 140-2 enabled cryptography for Erlang's crypto module.
• MongooseIM (Resold) Robust and efficient XMPP/Jabber chat platform from Erlang Solutions aimed at large enterprise installations. Supports FIPS 140-2 encryption, fault tolerance, clustering, REST API, WebSocket, and BOSH connections.
• VerneMQ (Resold) MQTT publish/subscribe message broker implementing the OASIS industry standard MQTT protocol. Supports FIPS 140-2 certified cryptography, TLS 1.2, master-less clustering, designed for IoT, ISR, and telemetry applications in Federal environments.
• CircleCI (Resold) Continuous integration and continuous deployment (CI/CD) platform. FedRAMP Moderate authorized, suitable for commercial and Federal government customers with FIPS 140-2 enabled containers support.
• Chef Automate (Resold) Infrastructure and application code change management platform providing DevOps collaboration and continuous delivery workflows. Includes FIPS 140-2 cryptography support aligned to SecDevOps for security-conscious Federal environments.
• Confluent Control Center (Resold) Management tool for Apache Kafka environments providing real-time operational visibility, monitoring, and governance of Kafka streaming platforms capable of handling trillions of events daily.
• CryptoComply (Resold) FIPS 140-2 validated cryptographic modules from SafeLogic including Java, Libgcrypt, and NSS versions. Provides drop-in compliance cryptographic engines for COTS or GOTS applications with the RapidCert program for obtaining FIPS certificates.
• Burp Suite Pro (Resold) Integrated platform for security testing of web applications from PortSwigger. Supports manual and automated vulnerability assessment and penetration testing methodologies.
• IDA Pro (Resold) Gold standard multi-processor disassembler and debugger from Hex-Rays for malware analysis and reverse engineering. Supports analysis of x86/x64, ARM, MIPS, PowerPC, and hundreds of other processor architectures across multiple operating systems.
• Software Engineering and Cybersecurity Services Professional services delivered to federal and commercial customers, covering Agile software development using Rust, Scala, Erlang, Elixir, and ReScript; cloud native architecture, DevSecOps, container orchestration, and service mesh expertise; and offensive security including exploit research, penetration testing, secure code review, and vulnerability assessments.

Named customers6 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration8 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Meridian TechnologiescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 20 January 2020Joint venture named 'Innovative Union JV' formed under SBA Mentor Protégé Program (SBA MPP). Combines NineFX's leading-edge capabilities with Meridian's large and well-established IT consulting and staffing solutions. Both are HUBZone and SDVOSB certified.
• Sev1TechcoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerPrime contractor on DLA JETS IDIQ contract ($6B+). NineFX supports Sev1Tech on the small business tier providing IT services, cyber security, and network engineering.
• AECOM (URS Federal Services)coreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerPrime on DTIC IAC MAC ($28B). NineFX is subcontracted to AECOM supporting DoD Information Analysis Centers' multiple award contract for Defense Technical Information Center.
• Software Engineering Services CorporationcoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerPrime on VA VECTOR ($25B). NineFX supports general management and business support services for VA program offices.
• EmSeccoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerPrime on VETS 2 GWAC ($5B). NineFX provides IT services as a SDVOSB subcontractor on GSA's Veterans Technology Services contract.
• TeksouthminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerPrime on SeaPort-NxG. NineFX participates as a subcontractor on Navy's electronic platform for acquiring support services.
• Erlang SolutionscoreTechnology or IntegrationNineFX resells MongooseIM, Erlang Solutions' robust and efficient chat platform supporting FIPS 140-2 encryption for defense and federal deployments.
• SafeLogiccoreTechnology or IntegrationNineFX resells SafeLogic's CryptoComply line of FIPS 140-2 validated cryptographic modules including Java, Libgcrypt, and NSS versions.
• CircleCIcoreTechnology or IntegrationNineFX is a HUBZone/SDVOSB-certified value-added reseller for CircleCI, providing training and professional services around CI/CD with FIPS 140-2 support.
• ErlingcoreTechnology or IntegrationVerneMQ is built on proven telecom grade technology stack. NineFX resells VerneMQ as an MQTT broker supporting FIPS 140-2 for IoT and ISR applications in federal environments.
• Chef (Progress)coreTechnology or IntegrationNineFX resells Chef Automate which manages infrastructure and application code changes with FIPS 140-2 cryptography support aligned to SecDevOps.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Concept Plus: Small federal IT services and systems integrator serving DoD and federal civilian agencies. Similar size band and federal contracting motion.
• Dev Technology Group: SDVOSB federal IT services firm of similar scale serving DoD and federal civilian agencies. Comparable set-aside status, customer base, and software engineering / cyber services mix.
• Sev1Tech: Small business federal IT services prime contractor on DLA JETS where NineFX is a sub. Highly comparable in size, customer base, contract vehicles, and small-business federal contracting model.
• Planate Management Group: SDVOSB federal engineering and IT services contractor. Comparable set-aside certifications, federal customer concentration, and small-business subcontracting model.
• Meridian Technologies: SDVOSB/HUBZone IT consulting and staffing firm and NineFX's JV partner under SBA MPP. Closely comparable in size, certifications, and federal IT services focus.
• GCyber: Small federal cybersecurity services contractor supporting DoD and federal agencies. Comparable in scale and in the federal cyber services niche NineFX's offensive security practice targets.
• 22nd Century Technologies: Federal IT staffing and services contractor supporting DoD and federal civilian agencies. Similar contracting vehicle exposure and subcontractor model.
• Harmonia Holdings: Small federal IT and cyber services firm headquartered in Virginia. Overlapping customer base (federal civilian and DoD) and similar services portfolio.
• CALIBRE Systems: Mid-sized federal IT and management consulting firm serving DoD and federal civilian clients. Overlapping customer set and similar federal services positioning.

Broad incumbents

• Booz Allen Hamilton: Major federal IT and cyber consulting incumbent serving DoD, intelligence, and federal civilian agencies. Overlapping customer base and capability mix, but operates at vastly greater scale and holds prime-level positions NineFX supports as a sub.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 NineFX