What Tidalloft does

Tidalloft Electronics Design Consultancy LLC is a privately held, Campbell, California-based company founded in 2021 that develops custom, low-power, compact Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) RADAR systems and provides related RF, FPGA, and embedded-systems design services. Its technology stack centers on Pulse-Doppler signal processing with proprietary beamforming ICs, primarily operating in the X-band and Ku-band, and extends to S-band, C-band, and Ka-band through an unnamed partner startup. The hardware is built around a vertically integrated architecture consolidating RF, Analog, FPGA, and embedded designs with proprietary software that leverages NVIDIA CUDA, GPU-accelerated graphics, and AI/ML algorithms, supported by bespoke test instruments and a real-world testing methodology; the company positions low size, weight, power, and cost (SWaP-C) as the central engineering goal.

The company generates revenue through three streams: custom AESA RADAR system sales (hardware), technology licensing and legacy RADAR platform upgrades (beamforming, signal processing, and visualization modules), and end-to-end RADAR solutions delivered as professional services alongside demonstrations on a proven experimental platform. Pricing is not publicly disclosed and is handled on a quote-based, project-specific basis through a direct, sales-led enterprise engagement model, with the company website's contact form serving as the primary inbound channel.

Tidalloft's stated target markets span five verticals: aviation (air mobility, eVTOLs, drones, general aviation for mid-air safety, weather awareness, and terrain avoidance), smart city infrastructure (real-time all-weather traffic monitoring), environmental research (oceanography, forestry, coastline monitoring), defense and security (border security, patrol, surveillance), and weather monitoring. No named customers, no institutional funding, no disclosed patents or certifications, and no detailed headcount or revenue figures are present in the source material; founder Xu Li is the sole identified member of the leadership team.

Name

Tidalloft

Legal name

Tidalloft Electronics Design Consultancy LLC

Website

https://www.tidalloft.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Tidalloft is a privately held Campbell, California company that designs custom, low-power, compact AESA RADAR systems and provides RF, FPGA, and embedded-systems engineering services to aviation, smart city, environmental, defense, and weather-monitoring customers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Defense Electronics / Radar Systems

NAICS

Search, Detection, Navigation, Guidance, Aeronautical, and Nautical System and Instrument Manufacturing (334511), Navigational, Measuring, Electromedical, and Control Instruments Manufacturing (33451)

SIC

Search, Detection, Navagation, Guidance, Aeronautical Sys (3812), Measuring & Controlling Devices, Nec (3829), Instruments For Meas & Testing Of Electricity & Elec Signals (3825)

akta.pro primary industry

Radar Systems & Subsystems (Airborne, Ground, Naval) (IMABAGAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Millimeter-Wave (mmWave) ICs & Beamforming ICs (HDAHAMAH), Marine Navigation Systems (ECDIS, Radar, GNSS, AIS) (IMAJAJAE)

Keywords

• AESA radar systems
• Phased array antennas
• Pulse-Doppler radar
• Embedded systems design
• RF signal processing

Headquarters

HQ city

San Jose

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Custom AESA RADAR Systems: Development and sale of custom, low-power, and compact Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) RADAR systems tailored to customer mission needs.
2. Technology Licensing and Upgrades: Licensing technology for customers to upgrade legacy RADAR platforms through phased array beamforming, advanced signal processing, and data visualization modules.
3. End-to-End RADAR Solutions: Fully integrated RADAR solutions including demonstrations using proven experimental RADAR platform to mitigate project risk.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Tidalloft develops custom, low-power, compact Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) RADAR systems using proprietary Pulse-Doppler signal processing technology and beamforming ICs, operating primarily in X-band or Ku-band (with S/C/Ka-band via a partner). The company also supports and licenses technology for upgrading legacy RADAR platforms through phased array beamforming, advanced signal processing, and data visualization modules, and provides RF, FPGA, and embedded-systems design services.

Product overview

Tidalloft offers a unified product portfolio centered on custom, low-power, compact AESA RADAR systems. The core product is supported by integrated sub-products including Bespoke Test Instruments and Methods for calibration, a Low-SWaP Phased Array Antenna for the hardware layer, a High-Performance RF and Digital Signal Processing System for detection capabilities, and Software and AI Technology leveraging NVIDIA CUDA and AI/ML algorithms. Additionally, Tidalloft provides Legacy RADAR Platform Upgrade Modules to modernize existing systems through beamforming and signal processing licensing. The vertically integrated architecture combines RF, Analog, FPGA, and embedded designs with proprietary software for an optimized performance-to-cost ratio.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• AESA RADAR Systems Custom, low-power, compact Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) RADAR systems using advanced Pulse-Doppler signal processing technology and top-performing beamforming ICs, operating primarily in X-band or Ku-band (with S-band, C-band, and Ka-band available through a partner startup). Delivered as fully integrated end-to-end RADAR solutions for aviation, smart city, environmental research, defense, and weather monitoring customers.
• Legacy RADAR Platform Upgrade Modules Technology licensing and support modules for upgrading legacy RADAR platforms through phased array beamforming, advanced signal processing, and data visualization modules, enabling modernization without full system replacement.
• RF, FPGA, and Embedded-Systems Design Services Specialist engineering services covering RF design, FPGA development, and embedded-systems design, leveraging Tidalloft's vertically integrated hardware expertise to support customer RADAR and signal-processing projects.

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Echodyne: Echodyne builds compact, software-defined metamaterial ESA radars for airspace security, drone detection, and perimeter surveillance — a near-direct competitor to Tidalloft in low-SWaP AESA for security and smart-city applications.
• Fortem Technologies: Fortem Technologies offers radar-based airspace awareness and counter-UAS solutions for urban and critical-infrastructure environments, directly overlapping Tidalloft's security and smart-city radar positioning.
• Iris Automation: Iris Automation provides detect-and-avoid (DAA) radar/camera systems for commercial drones and eVTOLs — directly comparable to Tidalloft's aviation safety, mid-air collision avoidance, and eVTOL use cases.
• Robin Radar Systems: Robin Radar Systems builds compact 3D radar for bird and drone detection at airports and industrial sites, comparable to Tidalloft in low-SWaP radar form factor and aviation/environmental applications.
• Blighter Surveillance Systems: Blighter makes ground-based AESA/digital radar for border, perimeter, and counter-drone security — directly competing with Tidalloft's defense/security long-range, all-weather detection offering.

Broad incumbents

• Honeywell Aerospace: Honeywell is a major avionics and weather/intelligence radar supplier (e.g., RDR-series, IntuVue). It competes broadly with Tidalloft in aviation weather, terrain, and traffic radar across general aviation and eVTOL.
• RADA Electronic Industries (Leonardo DRS): RADA (now part of Leonardo DRS) manufactures compact tactical AESA radars for active protection, air defense, and counter-UAS — a much larger incumbent in the same low-SWaP AESA niche Tidalloft targets.
• Saab Surveillance: Saab produces Giraffe and other AESA ground radars for air defense, border security, and weather — an established incumbent whose product line overlaps Tidalloft's defense/security and weather segments.
• SRC Inc. SRC Inc. designs counter-UAS, surveillance, and air-traffic radar systems including AESA-based platforms, competing with Tidalloft in defense/security and smart-city airspace applications.
• Thales: Thales is a global supplier of air traffic management, surveillance, and defense radar (e.g., Ground Master, SMART-L). It is a broad incumbent overlapping Tidalloft across aviation, weather, and defense/security radar markets.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@Tidalloft
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/tidalloft
• Instagraminstagram.com/tidalloft
• Xx.com/tidalloft

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 Tidalloft