Microdev Sarl

What Microdev Sarl does

Microdev Sàrl is a Swiss private limited company (Sàrl) founded in 2003 and headquartered in Martigny, Valais, operating as a boutique custom electronics design and embedded systems development firm. The firm employs 1–10 people and is led by Marc Nicollerat as the principal contact. Its business centers on designing bespoke electronic solutions — PCB design with Altium Designer, microcontroller programming in C, real-time algorithm development, and integration of communication protocols including CAN bus, RS485, Ethernet, BLE, and LTE — for clients requiring solutions that off-the-shelf products cannot address.

The firm's core product is iGate, a configurable process controller acting as an Ethernet-to-CAN/RS485 gateway with a plugin architecture for stepper motor management, CAN-Ethernet bridging, and firmware update orchestration. Around iGate, Microdev has built a broader technology stack comprising a proprietary CAN bus networking concept, a brushless/DC motor controller, a solar-powered RF acquisition network with GSM backhaul, BLE remote controls, and LTE mobile data acquisition devices built on the Nordic nRF 52840 platform. Recent exploratory work extends into computer vision using TensorFlow and NVIDIA Jetson Nano, though this has not yet been productized.

Microdev makes money through professional-services engagements: custom project-based development sold via direct client relationships in the Swiss domestic market, with no public pricing, no productized SaaS offering, and no recurring revenue model. The go-to-market is sales-led and project-led, leveraging the firm website (microdev.ch) as the primary marketing surface. The firm has no disclosed external investors, parent company, subsidiaries, M&A activity, or funding rounds, and operates as an independent founder-led enterprise.

Name

Microdev Sarl

Legal name

Microdev Sàrl

Website

https://microdev.ch

Company type

Private

Founded year

2003

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Microdev Sàrl is a Swiss boutique electronics design firm (Martigny, Valais) that develops custom embedded systems and IoT devices — built around its proprietary iGate process controller and CAN bus networking platform — for B2B clients requiring tailored electronic and motor-control solutions.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Custom Electronics Design and Embedded Systems Engineering

NAICS

Computer Systems Design and Related Services (54151), Custom Computer Programming Services (541511), Other Specialized Design Services (541490)

SIC

Services-Computer Integrated Systems Design (7373), Services-Computer Programming Services (7371), Computer Communications Equipment (3576), Industrial Instruments For Measurement, Display, And Control (3823)

akta.pro primary industry

Custom & Application-Specific ASIC Design Services (HDAHABAJ)

akta.pro secondary industry

General-Purpose Microcontrollers (MCUs) (HDAHAJAA)

Keywords

• Custom electronics design
• Embedded systems development
• IoT solutions engineering
• CAN bus networking
• Process controller automation

Headquarters

HQ city

Martigny

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Custom Electronics Development: Development of custom electronic systems, measurement, command, and acquisition solutions tailored to client needs. Includes algorithm development, regulation algorithms, electronic card prototyping, microcontroller programming, and acquisition systems.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

Microdev Sàrl designs and develops custom electronic systems for clients requiring specialized embedded solutions. Its core offering is the iGate process controller — a configurable automation platform bridging Ethernet/IP networks to industrial fieldbuses (CAN, RS485) — complemented by proprietary CAN bus networking, motor controllers, and low-power RF acquisition networks. Services span PCB design, real-time firmware, algorithm development, and integration of BLE, LTE, and IoT technologies for clients whose needs exceed off-the-shelf products.

Product overview

Microdev Sarl is an electronics design company that develops custom electronic solutions for clients. The core offering centers on iGate, a configurable process controller/automate that serves as the central hub connecting Ethernet/IP networks to industrial fieldbuses (CAN, RS485). The product architecture is modular, with iGate as the platform supporting interchangeable plugins for stepper motor management, CAN-Ethernet bridging, and device firmware updates. Complementary products include a Motor Controller for brushless/DC motor trajectory control and an RF Acquisition Network for distributed wireless data collection with solar-powered satellites transmitting via GSM to cloud servers. The company provides engineering services including PCB design using Altium Designer, real-time programming in C, algorithm development (e.g., brushless motor control), and integration of BLE, LTE, and IoT technologies.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• iGate Process Controller A configurable process controller/automate built around a powerful microcontroller with Ethernet network interface. iGate acts as a gateway between Ethernet and CAN/RS485 buses, manages synchronized stepper motor movements, and provides a plugin architecture for home automation, device management, and process automation. Targeted at clients needing a flexible automation platform for bespoke projects.
• Microdev CAN Network Proprietary CAN bus networking platform that interconnects actuators, interfaces, and sensors into a centrally managed network. Updates, configuration, and inspection are handled from a dedicated PC application. Designed for clients who need a robust, managed fieldbus architecture for automation and domotics.
• Motor Controller CAN-bus-connected controller for commanding brushless or DC motors in trajectory mode. Designed to interoperate with iGate, Switch, and I/O modules for synchronized multi-axis movement applications.
• RF Acquisition Network Distributed wireless data acquisition network consisting of multiple low-power RF satellite modules that forward acquisition data to a central concentrator. Satellites are designed for minimal energy consumption via small solar panels; the concentrator uses a GSM module to send data to a server running a Linux application that accepts incoming connections for database insertion.
• BLE Remote Control Bluetooth Low Energy remote control device with extended battery autonomy, developed on the Nordic nRF 52840 platform. Designed for clients needing low-power wireless control interfaces.
• LTE Mobile Data Acquisition Device Data acquisition and transmission device built on Nordic nRF 52840 that uses LTE mobile technology for long-range connectivity. Targeted at clients needing cellular-connected sensing or monitoring endpoints.
• Custom Electronics Development Services Bespoke engineering service encompassing electronic system conception, measurement, command, and acquisition solutions. Includes algorithm development (regulation, motor control), electronic card design and prototyping (PCB layout in Altium Designer), microcontroller programming (real-time C), and integration of BLE, LTE, GSM, and IoT technologies for clients with requirements beyond off-the-shelf products.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration7 records

AI capability2 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Nordic SemiconductorcoreTechnology or IntegrationMicrodev develops projects using Nordic nRF 52840 platform, a powerful microcontroller used for BLE remote controls, management modules, and LTE mobile data acquisition devices. Nordic's platform serves as a foundation for custom client projects.
• InfomaniakminorOthersWebsite hosting provider for microdev.ch, powered by WordPress.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Garz & Fricke: German embedded HMI and IoT solutions provider offering custom design services around MCU platforms. Similar model of turning client requirements into tailored embedded hardware/software products in the European industrial market.
• Kontron: European embedded computing vendor producing IoT gateways, SBCs, and custom industrial electronics. Directly comparable product surface (gateway devices, CAN/fieldbus integration) and target market (industrial automation and IoT integrators).
• TQ-Systems: German embedded systems house offering custom hardware/software design, MCU-based modules, and IoT solutions. Highly comparable business model of providing custom embedded engineering services around ARM/MCU platforms, similar in scale and approach to Microdev.
• SECO: Italian embedded electronics firm specializing in custom-designed IoT and edge-AI modules for industrial customers. Comparable as a European embedded design house moving up the stack into AI-enabled edge devices.
• Eurotech: Italian provider of embedded boards, edge computing modules, and IoT gateways with associated professional services. Comparable because both firms design custom MCU-based industrial hardware and integrate wireless (cellular/BLE) connectivity for B2B customers.

Emerging players

• Arduino: Open-source microcontroller and edge platform vendor with a growing professional/industrial line (Arduino Pro). Comparable at the technology level — Microdev actively uses the Arduino environment and could be displaced if customers adopt Arduino's commercial offerings instead.
• Particle: US-based IoT platform offering cellular/LTE modules, edge firmware, and cloud integration. Comparable for the IoT data-acquisition and LTE-transmission device category where Microdev also operates, but with a much more productized delivery model.

Broad incumbents

• Advantech: Taiwanese global leader in industrial IoT, embedded boards, and gateways. Broader portfolio at much larger scale, but competes with Microdev for industrial automation and IoT gateway mandates and serves many of the same end-customers.
• Siemens Industrial Automation: Global industrial automation incumbent (SIMATIC controllers, IO systems, drives). Adjacent competitor for the iGate/motor-controller category at the high end of the market, representing the ceiling of competitive intensity Microdev may eventually face.

Others

• Nordic Semiconductor: Fabless semiconductor vendor whose nRF 52840 is the foundation of Microdev's client projects. Not a competitor but a critical enabling platform partner; changes in Nordic's roadmap directly shape Microdev's offering.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat2 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/microdev-s-rl

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 Microdev Sarl