Tuxera Acquires HCC Embedded

Tuxera, Inc. has signed an agreement to acquire HCC Embedded (HCC), the Hungarian developer of embedded file systems, flash management, and network data transfer software.

HCC will officially operate as Tuxera Hungary Kft. Tuxera now offers a range of software and services for managing data as it is stored, used, and moved in and between embedded systems. The acquisition deepens Tuxera’s commitment to deliver reliable data management solutions in a world increasingly fueled and vitalized by data.

CEO of both companies

Rising global data use demands secure management solutions
ID) predicts that the global data demand will grow to an estimated 175ZB by 2025. Keeping up with the storage needs driven by this global data demand will require over 22ZB of storage capacity across all media types. Much of this data will be generated by embedded devices and transported through complex and demanding network protocols. As the world becomes more dependent on data for real-time decision-making, the requirements for safe and secure data management grow more stringent.

Meeting the need for safety-critical data management
Since its founding in 2002, HCC has emphasized quality and information security, achieving both ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management and ISO 27001 Information Security Management standards. This complements Tuxera’s focus on serving its customers with demanding safety- and mission-critical data requirements, particularly in the automotive industry. Safety design standards and increasingly regulations continue to put more demand on embedded systems designs – in the automotive sector, and also in the avionics, aerospace, medical, rail and shipping transport, and industrial automation industries as well.

New networking expertise and deeper flash storage knowledge
The acquisition also brings hardware enablement knowledge and expertise to Tuxera, allowing the company’s storage management software to interact more closely and optimally with an even wider range of hardware environments. Additionally, HCC brings a range of MISRA-compliant networking products to Tuxera’s portfolio, covering domains such as network management, security, and TCP/IP applications.

These new products will enrich Tuxera’s expertise beyond fail-safe storage and management of data-at-rest and data-at-use, to encompass the reliable and secure transport of data in, out, and through limitless data-driven, connected devices.

Leading the way in data management solutions
Tuxera develops fail-safe, high-performance software for managing data, with roots stretching back to 1983. Its solutions have shipped in billions of consumer devices and vehicles to date. It develops proprietary implementations of file systems such as FAT, exFAT, and NTFS, as well as its own range of proprietary embedded file systems, flash management software, and network storage solutions.

In 2021, Tuxera’s storage-industry leadership was recognized by CRN on its annual Storage 100 list of the most innovative providers of storage technology used in enterprise deployments.

“Joining forces with HCC is a great next step for us in strengthening our expertise in embedded storage solutions and expanding our offering even more towards deeply embedded systems using real-time OSs and micro-controllers. With the networking and middleware components of HCC, we’re able to provide a more comprehensive portfolio of solutions spanning the entire lifecycle of data management. Expanding our team will also allow us to more effectively provide engineering services in Central Europe,” says Tuukka Ahoniemi, CEO of Tuxera.

“For the past 20 years at HCC, we have worked to provide ever-higher quality embedded software components and related services to customers that value quality and reliability. By joining Tuxera, a company of similar aims and values for its customers, partners, and employees, I’m now more confident than ever that we can accelerate our mission to provide quality embedded software to fulfill tomorrow’s needs for secure and safe products,” says Dave Hughes, CEO, HCC.

The combined engineering teams of the 2 companies now encompasses some of the top experts in file systems, flash memory, embedded storage, and networking technology around the globe. Their experience and understanding of storage and transfer technology covers any OS or real-time OS, any flash memory type, any hardware environment, any storage interface, and a wide range of network protocols.

DLA Piper acted as legal advisor to Tuxera, and KPMG acted as financial and tax advisor.

RSM Hungary acted as financial, legal, and tax advisor to HCC.