STEPS

Engineering Design and Industrial Automation Servicesstepsmail.com

STEPS Knowledge Services is a Coimbatore-based multi-disciplinary engineering design house delivering embedded systems, firmware, PCB design, custom Special Purpose Machines, and process automation to industrial manufacturers and academic institutions across 40 countries.

Company typePrivate
Founded2010
HeadquartersCoimbatore, India
Headcount11–50
GTM typeB2B
OfferingServices

What STEPS does

STEPS Knowledge Services Pvt Ltd is a multi-disciplinary engineering design house established in 2010 and headquartered in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India. The firm delivers end-to-end product design and development services spanning embedded systems, firmware, multi-layer PCB design, and Special Purpose Machines (SPM) for industrial automation, including documented builds such as Auto Cluster, ABS Tester, Fluid Dispenser, and Valve Tester. Its vendor-neutral approach combines in-house embedded development with COTS integration and extends into Industrial IoT, edge node processing, machine vision, and SCADA systems. Beyond product engineering, STEPS runs a Process Consultancy practice covering design-for-manufacturing, lean production, and feasibility studies, as well as a dedicated Patents & IPR service line and a Lab Setup offering for academic and industrial institutions.

Commercially, the firm operates on a B2B project-based model with custom-quoted engagements and stated multi-year contract cadence, serving two primary verticals: industrial and manufacturing companies requiring new product development, custom automation, and process optimization; and universities and academic institutions seeking teaching labs, Centre of Excellence setup, faculty development programs, and student internships. A secondary audience of working professionals and engineering students is reached through workshops, contests, and the IoT ATAL FDP course. Distribution is entirely direct, via enterprise field engagement, on-site service delivery, and academic outreach channels, with no marketplace or channel-partner presence. The company claims global reach across 40 countries via its directors' relationships with overseas OEMs and consultants, though operational delivery remains centralized in India.

The leadership team of three directors — N Kavitha, B Shanmuga Sundaram, and V S Ramesh — collectively brings 92 man-years of industrial experience spanning design, manufacturing, quality assurance, global services, and IP development. The firm is privately held and founder-owned, with no disclosed external funding rounds, acquisitions, or institutional investors. Its revenue, headcount within the 11-50 band, and customer roster are not publicly disclosed, and the most recent website copyright extends to 2017, indicating limited public-facing commercial signaling in the intervening period.

STEPS firmographics

Firmographics

Name: STEPS
Legal name: STEPS Knowledge Services Pvt Ltd
Website: https://stepsmail.com
Company type: Private
Founded year: 2010
Operating status: Operating
Headcount range: 11–50 employees
Short description: STEPS Knowledge Services is a Coimbatore-based multi-disciplinary engineering design house delivering embedded systems, firmware, PCB design, custom Special Purpose Machines, and process automation to industrial manufacturers and academic institutions across 40 countries.
Ownership category
akta.pro rank

STEPS industry classification

Industry

Product category: Engineering Design and Industrial Automation Services
NAICS: Computer Systems Design Services (541512), Engineering Services (54133), Management Consulting Services (54161), Professional and Management Development Training (61143)
SIC: Services-Computer Integrated Systems Design (7373), Services-Computer Programming Services (7371), Services-Management Consulting Services (8742), Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700)
akta.pro primary industry: Systems Engineering & Technical Program Management (BPAHAIAI)

Keywords

Embedded systems design
Special purpose machines
Industrial automation solutions
PCB design services
Engineering skills training

Where STEPS is headquartered

Location

Headquarters

HQ city: Coimbatore
HQ country: India
HQ region: Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

STEPS business model

Business model

GTM type: B2B
Offering type: Services
Cost components: Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

Design and Development Services: End-to-end product design and development services including embedded system design, architectural design, firmware development, hardware design, PCB development, and prototyping. Revenue generated through project-based engagements for industrial clients.
Process Automation: Special Purpose Machines, End of Line Testers, Test Jigs, automation systems, system integration with PLC/HMI/Drive/Sensors, SCADA, machine vision systems. Project-based revenue from custom automation solutions.
Process Consultancy: Multi-disciplinary consulting for design for manufacturing, production optimization, lean manufacturing, process audits, feasibility studies, and process capability assessment. Advisory service revenue.
Patents & IPR Services: Ideation to patenting, prior-art search, patent drafting, patentability analysis, inventive landscaping, freedom to operate analysis, defensive publishing, and technical disclosures.
Lab Setup: Setting up of Analog, Power Systems, Embedded, Wireless Connectivity & IoT working labs, Skilling labs, Centre of Excellence, Innovation Halls, Platform Hubs, Consultation House and Technology Clinic. Sale of lab equipment and setup services.
Training and Internship: Technical training programs covering C, Embedded C, C++, Sensors, Analog Front Ends, Power, Microcontrollers, ARM, DSP, Communication Protocols, IoT, RTOS, PCB Design, Embedded Linux, LabView/VeePro integration with embedded systems. Also offers internship to eligible engineering students.

Pricing tiers

Model	Billing	Price
Other	Multi-year contract	B2B Services - Custom Quoted

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

STEPS product offering

Product offering

Core offering

STEPS Knowledge Services is a multi-disciplinary engineering design house that delivers end-to-end embedded system design and development, custom Special Purpose Machines (SPMs) and test equipment, process automation, and industrial IoT/Industry 4.0 solutions to industrial and manufacturing clients. It complements these with process consultancy, patents and IPR services, lab setup, and technical training/internship programs for academia and working professionals.

Product overview

STEPS Knowledge Services is a multi-disciplinary engineering design house offering a portfolio of Special Purpose Machines (SPMs) — including the Auto Cluster, ABS Tester, Fluid Dispenser, and Valve Tester — alongside firmware and PCB design services. The company's offerings are organized into six core service pillars: Design and Development, Process Automation, Process Consultancy, Patents & IPR, Lab Setup, and Training/Internship. Educational offerings include Hands-on Workshops and Specialized Labs/Centre of Excellence setup. A dedicated IoT ATAL FDP course is also offered in partnership with university programs. The portfolio is engineering services and hardware-product focused, not a single software platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

Auto Cluster SPM Fully automated Special Purpose Machine for assembly and testing of instrument clusters for the automobile sector.
ABS Tester SPM Special Purpose Machine to test ABS sensors for their performance specifications.
Fluid Dispenser SPM Special Purpose Machine to precisely dispense fluid into dashpots of various volumes.
Valve Tester SPM Universal Special Purpose Machine for testing a variety of pneumatic solenoid valves.
Design and Development Services End-to-end embedded system design and product development services for industrial clients, encompassing architectural design, processing technology selection (microprocessors, microcontrollers, realtime controllers, DSP, CPLD, FPGA), hardware/software co-design, OS/RTOS selection, analog front end design, protocol development, firmware development, schematics, BOM, PCB development, Linux device drivers, sensor design (capacitive, optical, proximity), Industrial IoT, wireless systems, and edge node processing.
Process Automation Special Purpose Machines, End of Line Testers, Test Jigs and Fixtures, automation and control, system integration with PLC/HMI/Drives/Sensors/Actuators, SCADA, UI with LabVIEW or VEE Pro, machine vision and imaging systems, Poka-yoke systems, and Industrial IoT / Industry 4.0 solutions.
Process Consultancy Multi-disciplinary end-to-end consulting covering design for manufacturing, pilot to volume production transition, line balancing, lean manufacturing, time studies, value engineering, process audit, feasibility studies, and process capability assessment.
Patents & IPR Services Full-spectrum intellectual property services including ideation to patenting, prior-art search, patent drafting, patentability analysis, inventive landscaping, freedom-to-operate analysis, patent portfolio evaluation, defensive publishing, and technical disclosures.
Lab Setup Setup of Analog, Power Systems, Embedded, Wireless Connectivity and IoT working labs, skilling labs, Centre of Excellence, Innovation Halls, Platform Hubs, Consultation House and Technology Clinic; also supports instrumentation & control labs with PLC, HMI, drives and controllers.
Training and Internship Programs Technical training covering C, Embedded C, C++, Sensors, Analog Front Ends, Power, Microcontrollers, Microprocessors, ARM, DSP, Communication Protocols (CAN, LIN, USB, Ethernet), Wireless, IoT, RTOS, CPLD/FPGA, PCB Design, Embedded Linux, LabVIEW/VEE Pro, MATLAB, and PLC/HMI/Drive programming, plus internship programs for engineering students.
Internet of Things (IoT) ATAL FDP KIOT Course IoT and AI-enabled systems course covering Industry 4.0 implementation, edge sensor nodes, cloud connectivity, and artificial intelligence applications in connected systems; structured for educators and professionals.

Companies that use STEPS

Customer profile

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

STEPS technology and API

Technology

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API: No
API docs
API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

STEPS partnerships and signals

Strategic signal

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights5 records

STEPS competitors and assessment

Company assessment

Broad incumbents

Quest Global: Global Indian-headquartered engineering services firm with embedded, manufacturing, and industrial automation practices — competes for the same multi-disciplinary engineering RFPs that STEPS targets, at vastly larger scale.
L&T Technology Services: Large Indian engineering R&D and design services firm serving industrial, automotive, and electronics OEMs — competes for the same SPM/automation consulting mandates but operates at much greater scale than STEPS.
Tata Elxsi: Large Indian design services firm with industrial automation, embedded, and IoT practices serving automotive and industrial OEMs — direct competitor for SPM/embedded RFPs but with substantially deeper resources.

Emerging players

Tessolve: India-headquartered semiconductor and embedded engineering services firm with rising capability in test and product engineering — comparable on the embedded/PCB axis but with significant testing-services scope STEPS does not offer.

Direct peers

iWave Systems Technologies: Bangalore-based embedded design house offering system-on-module, FPGA design, and firmware services — closely comparable multi-disciplinary profile to STEPS' embedded design and development practice.
Embitel Technologies: Bengaluru-based automotive and IoT engineering services firm with strong SPM and embedded offerings, now part of Quest Global — overlapping with STEPS' Auto Cluster/ABS Tester builds and connected-vehicle practices.
Sasken Technologies: Publicly listed Indian firm specializing in embedded product engineering, firmware, and semiconductor design services — overlapping with STEPS on architectural design, DSP, RTOS, and IIoT, but at meaningfully greater scale.
Mistral Solutions: Bangalore-based embedded product design and systems engineering services firm of comparable size, offering embedded software/hardware design, FPGA, and IoT — directly overlapping with STEPS' embedded systems and IIoT service lines.
eInfochips: India-based embedded software and product engineering services firm with deep firmware, PCB, and IoT capabilities — the closest analog to STEPS' design-and-development practice and similar customer verticals.
Volansys Technologies: Indian IoT and embedded product engineering services company with focus on connected device design, edge, and cloud — closely comparable to STEPS' IIoT, edge analytics, and wireless systems offerings.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

STEPS financial estimates

Financial estimate

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

STEPS leadership team

Management profile

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

STEPS funding detail

Funding detail

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

STEPS M&A and investment

M&A and investment

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about STEPS

What does STEPS do?

Is STEPS a public or private company?

STEPS is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.

When was STEPS founded?

STEPS was founded in 2010. It employs 11 to 50 people.

Where is STEPS based?

STEPS is headquartered in Coimbatore, India, in the Asia region.

How does STEPS make money?

Six revenue lines are on record. Design and Development Services are the primary driver. The others are process Automation, process Consultancy, patents & IPR Services, lab Setup and training and Internship.

Who are STEPS's main competitors?

Broad incumbents on record are Quest Global, L&T Technology Services and Tata Elxsi. Tessolve is listed as an emerging player. Direct peers are iWave Systems Technologies, Embitel Technologies, Sasken Technologies, Mistral Solutions, eInfochips and Volansys Technologies.

Does STEPS have an API?

No public API is recorded for STEPS.

What industry is STEPS in?

STEPS's product category is Engineering Design and Industrial Automation Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAHAIAI, Systems Engineering & Technical Program Management. Its NAICS code is 541512 and its SIC code is 7373.