Wind River Systems
| File:Wind River logo.svg | |
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1981 |
| Headquarters | Alameda, California, U.S. Lua error in Module:Coordinates at line 489: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). |
Key people | Jay Bellissimo (President) |
| Revenue | US $400 million (2021) |
Number of employees | 1,800+ (11/2012) |
| Parent | Aptiv |
| Website | www |
Wind River Systems, Inc., commonly referred to as Wind River and trademarked as Wndrvr, operates as a subsidiary of Aptiv PLC based in Alameda, California. The firm specializes in embedded and cloud software solutions, offering products such as real-time operating systems, tailored industry applications, simulation tools, development environments, and middleware technologies.
History
Wind River was established in 1983 by Jerry Fiddler and Dave Wilner, initially concentrating on real-time operating systems designed for embedded hardware. Fiddler’s experience at Berkeley Lab along with his consulting background influenced the company’s initial strategy. Wilner joined as co-founder, and the company’s name was inspired by the town of Wind River in Wyoming.
Significant developments marking Wind River’s expansion and influence include:
- 1987: Debut of VxWorks, a prominent real-time OS for embedded platforms.
- 1995: Release of the Tornado integrated development environment, recognized with multiple innovation awards.
- 1997: VxWorks selected for NASA’s Mars Pathfinder mission.
- 1999: Acquisition of competitor Integrated Systems Inc., merging pSOS users into the VxWorks ecosystem.
- 2001: Purchase of Belgian company Eonic Systems along with its Virtuoso RTOS for digital signal processors; later renamed Rocket RTOS and open-sourced in 2015.
- 2004: Entry into embedded Linux sector via a Carrier Grade Linux platform aimed at telecommunications infrastructure.
- 2007-2008: Established leadership in embedded Linux with over 30% market revenue share; joined Google’s Open Handset Alliance.
- 2009: Intel acquired Wind River for roughly $884 million; launched a commercial Android platform; became a founding member of the GENIVI Alliance (now COVESA).
- 2010: Expanded offerings by acquiring Simics full-system simulation technology; VxWorks earned first RTOS certification under Achilles cybersecurity standards; collaborated with Intel and Linux Foundation on the Yocto Project to advance embedded Linux development.
- 2012: VxWorks powered NASA's Mars Science Laboratory rover Curiosity; introduced an IoT-focused software platform.
- 2013-2014: Integrated into Intel’s Internet of Things Group; released software supporting network functions virtualization (NFV) and enhanced VxWorks capabilities for IoT deployments.
- 2018: Intel divested Wind River to TPG Capital; Ford selected Wind River for Over-the-Air update technology; NASA’s InSight rover utilized VxWorks OS.
- 2019-2021: Became first OpenChain 2.0 conformant organization; Kevin Dallas appointed CEO in 2020; partnered with Verizon on virtualized 5G RAN implementation; achieved The Open Group FACE Conformance for Linux; supported Vodafone’s open RAN initiative across Europe.
- 2022: Acquired by Aptiv from TPG Capital via a $4.3 billion cash transaction.
- 2024: Avijit Sinha promoted to President and Chief Product Officer.
Over its history, Wind River has concentrated on maintaining leadership within embedded software markets spanning aerospace, automotive, telecom, and industrial domains. Its growth strategy has emphasized acquisitions and strategic alliances to broaden global reach and sustain competitive positioning in real-time operating systems and intelligent edge computing solutions.
Products
Among the primary offerings are the VxWorks real-time operating system (RTOS), Wind River Linux, and the Wind River Workbench integrated development environment (IDE), which is based on Eclipse. The company's hallmark product, VxWorks, was initially developed in the early 1980s as an extension to the VRTX OS. Wind River Workbench succeeded the previous Tornado IDE.
VxWorks
VxWorks is a deterministic, real-time operating system tailored for embedded and mission-critical infrastructure applications. It provides support for multicore processors across various architectures, including ARM, Intel, and Power, and features over 100 board support packages (BSPs) accommodating a wide range of hardware platforms.
Wind River Linux
Wind River Linux delivers source code alongside a build system designed to produce runtime images optimized specifically for embedded systems. It supports platforms such as ARM, IA32, and IA64 with options for both standard and PREEMPT RT kernels. The product boasts a commercial support lifecycle extending up to ten years, offering significant customization capabilities and comprehensive hardware compatibility maintained through BSPs.
The company offers subscription-based commercial updates including bug fixes and Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE) patches for its Linux products. These services are billed per project rather than per individual device or through royalties.
Early history
In 2004, Wind River collaborated with Red Hat to create an embedded Linux distribution but eventually ended this partnership to develop its own optimized distribution. The initial release, Platform for Network Equipment - Linux Edition (PNE-LE) 1.0, debuted in 2005 supporting IA32 and PPC architectures. Later versions broadened platform compatibility under various editions.
Wind River enhanced its real-time Linux technology by acquiring FSMLabs’ embedded solutions in 2007; however, the Wind River Real-Time Core product line was phased out by 2011. In 2007, Palm Inc. selected Wind River’s Linux offerings for its Palm Foleo device.
In 2008, Wind River joined forces with BMW, Intel, and Magneti Marelli to create an open-source Linux platform aimed at automotive electronics. This initiative led to the formation of the GENIVI Alliance in 2009.
Yocto Project
Starting in 2012, Wind River introduced a Linux distribution derived from the Yocto Project open-source framework and achieved certification as Yocto Project compatible. Every Wind River Linux release since then has been based on this project.
Wind River Linux release history
Wind River generally launches a new Long Term Support (LTS) version of Wind River Linux annually. These releases align with the current Linux Kernel LTS version and the most recent Yocto Project updates.
| Wind River Linux release | General Availability | End of Life |
|---|---|---|
| Wind River Linux LTS 21 | June 9, 2021 | To Be Announced |
| Wind River Linux LTS 19 | November 30, 2019 | To Be Announced |
| Wind River Linux LTS 18 | November 30, 2018 | To Be Announced |
| Wind River Linux LTS 17 | November 15, 2017 | To Be Announced |
| Wind River Linux 9 | December 15, 2016 | To Be Announced |
| Wind River Linux 8 | December 12, 2015 | January 1, 2026 |
| Wind River Linux 7 | December 1, 2014 | January 1, 2025 |
| Wind River Linux 6 | December 1, 2013 | January 1, 2024 |
| Wind River Linux 5 | October 1, 2012 | January 1, 2023 |
Wind River Linux Distro
In 2022, Wind River launched Wind River Linux Distro, a precompiled Linux distribution built upon its source-based offering. This product is crafted for embedded solution developers who require commercially supported Linux without the need for deep customization with Yocto. It focuses on swift deployment, customization through utilities like the Linux Assembly Tool and RPM package repositories, and system updates managed via OSTree.
A complimentary edition is available for developers at [1].
The distribution accommodates a variety of hardware platforms, with commercial support provided for specific models:
| Platform | Commercial Support | Free Download |
|---|---|---|
| Intel Elkhart Lake | Yes | Yes |
| Intel Ice Lake | Yes | Yes |
| Intel NUC Kaby Lake | Yes | Yes |
| Intel Snow Ridge | Yes | Yes |
| Intel Tiger Lake UP3 | Yes | Yes |
| NXP i.MX8 QuadMax MEK | Yes | Yes |
| Raspberry Pi 4 | Yes | Yes |
Simics
Simics serves as a comprehensive system simulator that allows software engineers to mimic intricate electronic hardware environments.
Wind River Studio
Wind River Studio is a cloud-native solution engineered to facilitate the deployment and administration of mission-critical intelligent edge infrastructures.
Acquisitions
- 1991: Acquired assets of ITRA (Vannes, France)
- 1997: Purchased DSP Foundry (WiSP RTOS for Motorola DSP563xx)
- 1999: Integrated Systems Inc. (pSOS+) acquisition
- 2000: Merged with Dragonfly Software Consulting personnel
- 2000: Embedded Support Tools Corp. (ESTC) acquisition
- 2000: ICEsoft (Bergen, Norway) acquisition
- 2000: Acquired AudeSi Technologies Inc. (Calgary, Alberta, Canada)
- 2001: Eonic Systems (Virtuoso RTOS) acquisition
- 2001: Acquired Berkeley Software Design Inc. (BSDI)
- 2005: ScopeTools division from Real-Time Innovations acquired
- 2006: Interpeak AB (Stockholm, Sweden) acquisition
- 2007: Obtained assets of FSMLabs (Socorro, New Mexico, United States)
- 2008: Acquired MIZI (Seoul, South Korea)
- 2009: Tilcon Software Limited (Ottawa, Ontario, Canada]) acquisition
- 2010: Purchased Virtutech (Stockholm, Sweden)
- 2011: Acquired Switch++ (Santa Clara, California)
- 2016: Arynga acquisition
- 2020: Star Labs acquisition
Through these strategic acquisitions, Wind River has broadened its range of products and reinforced its leadership in embedded software, real-time operating systems, and intelligent edge technologies.
Further reading
- Dataindustrier AB
- Lord of the Toasters – feature article from Wired magazine
- Wind River's Linux Transformation – coverage from CNET
External links
- Pages using gadget WikiMiniAtlas
- Pages with script errors
- Pages with broken file links
- 1981 establishments in California
- 2009 mergers and acquisitions
- 2022 mergers and acquisitions
- American companies established in 1981
- Companies based in Alameda, California
- Companies based in Berkeley, California
- Intel acquisitions
- Linux companies
- Software companies based in the San Francisco Bay Area
- Software companies established in 1981
- Software companies of the United States
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- Companies of the United States by year of establishment