Timesys
Veteran embedded Linux specialist now operating under Lynx Software Technologies
Founded 1996 | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA | 51–200 employees
embedded-linuxcybersecurityembedded-consultingfirmware-development
What is Timesys?
Timesys Corporation was founded in 1996 by principals associated with Carnegie Mellon University's real-time systems research and built one of the first real-time-enhanced embedded Linux distributions. Headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with roughly 60 employees, the company's specialty — embedded Linux security patching and long-term maintenance — is a specific, underserved niche most generalist firms treat as an afterthought. In December 2023, Lynx Software Technologies acquired Timesys; buyers should confirm directly how much of the original specialist team and focus remains post-acquisition, since integration into a larger organization is exactly the kind of dilution risk a boutique buyer is trying to avoid by choosing a specialist in the first place.
Timesys works primarily with clients in Industrial IoT, Medical devices, Networking, Consumer Electronics sectors. Its primary differentiator is: Nearly three-decade specialization in the multi-year maintenance tail (security patching, CVE monitoring) most generalist firms treat as an afterthought, now under Lynx Software Technologies.
Timesys tech stack and services
Embedded Linux (Yocto)C/C++Linux kernel security patchingCVE monitoring tooling
| Service area |
|---|
| Embedded Linux |
| Cybersecurity |
| Embedded Consulting |
| Firmware Development |
Timesys pricing
Short answer: Timesys uses a engineering services, tooling licenses pricing approach. Minimum engagement is not publicly disclosed; a discovery call is required.
| Engagement model | Typical range | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Engineering services | Variable; depends on team size | Large programmes or team augmentation |
| Tooling/licensing | Variable; depends on team size | Large programmes or team augmentation |
Timesys does not publish a public rate card. Contact them directly via their website to get project-specific pricing.
Timesys pros and cons
| Advantages | Things to consider |
|---|---|
| +Explicit specialty in the multi-year maintenance tail (security patching, CVE monitoring) that most embedded agencies, boutique or generalist, treat as an afterthought | -Acquired by Lynx Software Technologies in December 2023 — confirm directly how much of the original specialist team and focus remains, since post-acquisition dilution is a real risk for boutique-specialist buyers |
| +Carnegie Mellon-linked founding team gives the company real-time Linux research credibility dating to the mid-1990s | -Team size (~60) caps capacity for large concurrent programs relative to bigger engineering firms |
| +Long operating history (since 1996) means extensive documentation and tooling maturity | -No public pricing or minimum engagement figures for pre-qualification |
Timesys vs alternatives
How Timesys compares to the other top Embedded Software Development agencies.
| Company | Best for | Key difference | Rating | Compare |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lemberg Solutions | Teams wanting specialist depth with capacity for multi-workstream... | Sized to keep embedded as an undivided core focus while still fielding multiple parallel workstreams, backed by ISO certification and named checkable clients | 4.8 | Full comparison |
| Pengutronix | Teams needing the deepest possible Linux kernel specialist,... | The purest specialist-vs-generalist case on this list: a tiny team with independently verifiable upstream Linux kernel contributions no larger firm can match layer-for-layer | 4.6 | Full comparison |
| MicroSys Electronics | Teams building on NXP Arm Cortex hardware wanting... | The smallest, narrowest specialist on this list — an NXP Gold Partner focused solely on Arm Cortex System-on-Modules and BSPs for nearly 50 years, not a scaled-down generalist | 4.6 | Full comparison |
| SYSGO | Safety-critical teams wanting specialist focus with the financial... | A ~100-person specialist sized to combine genuine product focus (SIL 4 PikeOS) with Thales Group financial backing for multi-decade safety-support commitments | 4.5 | Full comparison |
| DornerWorks | Aerospace/defense teams wanting a specialist, not a reassigned... | Two decades of unbroken aerospace/defense/medical focus with a narrower FPGA/Xen hypervisor specialty within that — genuine depth, not a boutique-branded generalist practice | 4.5 | Full comparison |
| ByteSnap Design | UK teams wanting direct access to the engineers... | 38-person team small enough that buyers work directly with the engineers holding named semiconductor partnerships, not routed through account-management layers | 4.5 | Full comparison |
| Sirin Software | Semiconductor teams wanting a boutique with genuine multi-protocol... | 11-50 person boutique with named depth across six wireless protocols — a narrower, more specific claim than most much larger generalist firms make about connectivity work | 4.4 | Full comparison |
| Witekio | Teams wanting chip-to-cloud breadth without stepping up to... | Deliberately broader than the smallest boutiques — full chip-to-cloud stack coverage while staying small enough that embedded remains the entire business | 4.4 | Full comparison |
| emlix | Industrial teams wanting Linux depth with more capacity... | 60+ engineers gives more concurrent-program capacity than the smallest boutiques while remaining entirely focused on the embedded Linux layer, unlike a diversified generalist practice | 4.3 | Full comparison |
| Integra Sources | Early-stage teams wanting one small agency for hardware... | Turnkey hardware-plus-firmware delivery from a single small team, removing the need to coordinate separate hardware and firmware agencies | 4.3 | Full comparison |
| Promwad | Programs needing hardware-through-manufacturing scope from a mid-size specialist. | Mid-size specialist (100+ engineers) large enough for hardware-through-manufacturing scope, while electronics design remains the entire business rather than one division | 4.3 | Full comparison |
| Klika Tech | AWS-native teams wanting global reach from a still-focused... | A specialist agency, not a generalist division — AWS Premier Partner status specifically for IoT/edge-to-cloud, with a genuinely global office footprint at a still-focused 180-person scale | 4.2 | Full comparison |
| Vector Informatik | Automotive teams wanting large-scale support without cross-industry dilution. | A large organization (4,000+) that stayed narrowly focused on automotive embedded tooling rather than diversifying — scale without cross-industry generalist dilution | 4.1 | Full comparison |
| Elektrobit | Automotive OEMs wanting production-scale software backed by Tier... | Software running in 600M+ vehicles at production scale — depth backed by Continental's Tier 1 manufacturing relationships, but shaped by a large parent's priorities rather than boutique independence | 4.1 | Full comparison |
| Enea | Buyers wanting mid-scale RTOS expertise with public-company financial... | Nasdaq Stockholm-listed RTOS vendor with public governance and audited financials — a trust signal neither the smallest boutiques nor most private generalist firms can offer | 4.1 | Full comparison |
| Bosch Engineering | OEMs wanting Bosch-grade process discipline over boutique independence. | A wholly-owned Bosch Group engineering subsidiary bringing Bosch's manufacturing-grade process discipline, trading independent-boutique focus for Bosch-ecosystem scale | 4.0 | Full comparison |
| DMC, Inc. | Teams wanting embedded work bundled with manufacturing/test automation... | A boutique-sized firm (51-200) that is nonetheless a generalist in practice — embedded software is one of several practice areas, not the sole focus, unlike the pure-play specialists on this list | 4.0 | Full comparison |
| Data Respons | Nordic teams wanting scale with (so far) retained... | 1,400-person embedded specialist that has retained a genuinely focused practice through two ownership transitions, rather than being folded into a diversified engineering pool | 3.9 | Full comparison |
| Softeq Development | Teams wanting one full-stack generalist vendor rather than... | A 500+ person generalist by structure — embedded/hardware is a dedicated practice within a broader full-stack business, not the entire company, unlike the boutiques on this list | 3.9 | Full comparison |
| KPIT Technologies | Large automotive OEM programs needing scale without cross-industry... | 12,000+ engineer scale that has stayed automotive-only rather than diversifying across unrelated industries — large but not a true cross-industry generalist | 3.9 | Full comparison |
| Intellias | Automotive programs wanting proven navigation depth inside a... | A 3,000+ person generalist IT outsourcer whose automotive/navigation practice specifically has proven depth (10+ car brands, 10M+ vehicles), even though the wider portfolio is generalist | 3.8 | Full comparison |
| N-iX | Teams wanting embedded/IoT work bundled with broader cloud... | A 2,200+ person generalist outsourcer whose 15-year IoT/embedded practice is real but structurally secondary to the firm's much larger cloud and data business | 3.8 | Full comparison |
| Innowise | Buyers wanting embedded work bundled with broader software... | A generalist IT outsourcer by design (broad custom software, staff aug across many domains) where embedded/IoT is a delivery line, not the founding specialty | 3.7 | Full comparison |
| Avenga | Enterprises wanting IoT engineering inside a broad digital... | A generalist by construction, not just scale — assembled through multiple mergers since 2017, meaning more process variation across teams than a boutique built around one focus from day one | 3.7 | Full comparison |
| Tata Elxsi | Enterprises needing embedded engineering alongside media or healthcare... | Generalist-conglomerate scale (13,000+) under the Tata Group, where automotive embedded capability competes for resourcing against equally significant media and healthcare R&D lines | 3.7 | Full comparison |
| Cyient | Aerospace and defense programs needing embedded avionics engineering... | Generalist-conglomerate scale (15,000+) with aerospace avionics as one named specialty within a much broader engineering portfolio, not the sole focus | 3.6 | Full comparison |
| eInfochips | Enterprise clients wanting embedded engineering backed by Arrow's... | Embedded engineering is one line of business inside a much larger parent (Arrow Electronics), trading independent-boutique focus for direct component-sourcing access | 3.6 | Full comparison |
| GlobalLogic | Enterprises wanting embedded work inside a broad Hitachi-backed... | Generalist-conglomerate scale (10,000+, Hitachi-owned) where embedded is one capability among many, with a named Elektrobit partnership as the clearest evidence of specific traction | 3.5 | Full comparison |
| Wind River | Teams needing a certified commercial RTOS platform rather... | Fundamentally a certified RTOS product/licensing vendor, not an agency in the traditional specialist-vs-generalist sense, with over 40 years of production history and several ownership changes | 3.5 | Full comparison |
| Luxoft | Automotive OEMs needing infotainment and digital cockpit software... | Nearly 18,000 people under DXC Technology — well past generalist scale, where the real question is whether the pre-acquisition automotive specialization survived integration | 3.5 | Full comparison |
| QuEST Global | Multi-vertical enterprises needing embedded engineering alongside broader R&D. | Among the most diversified generalist engineering firms on this list — 20,000+ people across seven-plus unrelated verticals, with embedded as one capability within a very broad portfolio | 3.4 | Full comparison |
| Capgemini Engineering | Global enterprises needing embedded work inside a broad... | One of the largest global engineering consultancies by headcount, with embedded/electronics as one of many technical domains covered — about as far from a boutique specialist as this list gets | 3.4 | Full comparison |
| HCLTech | Global enterprises wanting embedded engineering as part of... | The largest firm on this list by a wide margin (227,000+) — the definitive generalist counterpoint to the boutique specialists at the top, with embedded several organizational layers removed from company scale | 3.3 | Full comparison |
Timesys FAQ
What is Timesys?
Veteran embedded Linux specialist now operating under Lynx Software Technologies
How much does Timesys charge?
Timesys uses engineering services, tooling licenses pricing. Minimum engagement is not publicly disclosed. A discovery call is required to get project-specific quotes.
What tech stack does Timesys use?
Timesys works with Embedded Linux (Yocto), C/C++, Linux kernel security patching, CVE monitoring tooling. Primary industries served include Industrial IoT, Medical devices, Networking, Consumer Electronics.
Is Timesys right for enterprise?
Teams needing long-term embedded Linux security patching as a dedicated specialty. 51–200 team size. Key consideration: Acquired by Lynx Software Technologies in December 2023 — confirm directly how much of the original specialist team and focus remains, since post-acquisition dilution is a real risk for boutique-specialist buyers.
What are the best Timesys alternatives?
The best alternatives to Timesys depend on your use case. Top options are:
- Lemberg Solutions: sized to keep embedded as an undivided core focus while still fielding multiple parallel workstreams, backed by iso certification and named checkable clients
- Pengutronix: the purest specialist-vs-generalist case on this list: a tiny team with independently verifiable upstream linux kernel contributions no larger firm can match layer-for-layer
- MicroSys Electronics: the smallest, narrowest specialist on this list — an nxp gold partner focused solely on arm cortex system-on-modules and bsps for nearly 50 years, not a scaled-down generalist
Compare Timesys with other Embedded Software Development agencies
Timesys vs Lemberg Solutions Timesys vs Pengutronix Timesys vs MicroSys Electronics Timesys vs SYSGO Timesys vs DornerWorks Timesys vs ByteSnap Design Timesys vs Sirin Software Timesys vs Witekio Timesys vs emlix Timesys vs Integra Sources Timesys vs Promwad Timesys vs Klika Tech Timesys vs Vector Informatik Timesys vs Elektrobit Timesys vs Enea Timesys vs Bosch Engineering Timesys vs DMC, Inc. Timesys vs Data Respons Timesys vs Softeq Development Timesys vs KPIT Technologies Timesys vs Intellias Timesys vs N-iX Timesys vs Innowise Timesys vs Avenga Timesys vs Tata Elxsi Timesys vs Cyient Timesys vs eInfochips Timesys vs GlobalLogic Timesys vs Wind River Timesys vs Luxoft Timesys vs QuEST Global Timesys vs Capgemini Engineering Timesys vs HCLTech
Verify all details directly with Timesys before making a decision.