Elektrobit
Major automotive embedded software vendor owned by Continental
Founded 1988 | Erlangen, Germany | 1,000–5,000 employees
firmware-developmentrtos-developmentembedded-linuxcybersecurityembedded-consulting
What is Elektrobit?
Elektrobit, established in 1988 in Erlangen, Germany, has built embedded and connected software running in more than 600 million vehicles. As a wholly-owned Continental subsidiary since 2015, Elektrobit's outsourcing relationship comes bundled with Continental's global Tier 1 manufacturing footprint — relevant for automotive buyers already outsourcing hardware manufacturing to Continental and wanting embedded software delivery from the same corporate family, though buyers should weigh the reduced vendor independence that comes with a Tier 1-affiliated outsourcing partner.
Elektrobit works primarily with clients in Automotive sectors. Its primary differentiator is: Continental-affiliated outsourcing partner with software in 600M+ vehicles, relevant for buyers consolidating embedded and manufacturing outsourcing under one corporate family.
Elektrobit tech stack and services
AUTOSARC/C++Embedded LinuxISO 26262-aware developmentECU software platforms
| Service area |
|---|
| Firmware Development |
| RTOS Development |
| Embedded Linux |
| Cybersecurity |
| Embedded Consulting |
Elektrobit pricing
Short answer: Elektrobit uses a fixed project, licensing, dedicated team pricing approach. Minimum engagement is not publicly disclosed; a discovery call is required.
| Engagement model | Typical range | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Fixed project | From not disclosed | Well-defined scope |
| Licensing | Variable; depends on team size | Large programmes or team augmentation |
| Dedicated team | Variable; depends on team size | Large programmes or team augmentation |
Elektrobit does not publish a public rate card. Contact them directly via their website to get project-specific pricing.
Elektrobit pros and cons
| Advantages | Things to consider |
|---|---|
| +Software deployed in over 600 million vehicles — a production-scale reference point most outsourcing vendors can't match | -Wholly-owned Continental subsidiary since 2015 — vendor-independence considerations apply if you're outsourcing specifically to avoid Tier 1 lock-in |
| +Continental affiliation lets buyers already outsourcing manufacturing to Continental consolidate embedded software delivery under the same corporate relationship | -Automotive-exclusive focus means zero relevant experience for non-automotive outsourcing categories |
| +Three engagement models (fixed project, licensing, dedicated team) give outsourcing buyers pricing-structure flexibility | -No public pricing or minimum engagement figures published |
Elektrobit vs alternatives
How Elektrobit compares to the other top Embedded Software Outsourcing companies.
| Company | Best for | Key difference | Rating | Compare |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lemberg Solutions | Western European buyers wanting nearshore Ukraine cost with... | Genuine nearshore-Europe delivery model — Ukraine engineering cost with Hamburg, London, and Kraków offices for EU client-facing presence and contract jurisdiction | 4.8 | Full comparison |
| Witekio | EU buyers wanting zero timezone gap and full... | Onshore-EU (France) delivery trades nearshore/offshore cost savings for zero timezone gap and full EU jurisdiction and data-protection alignment | 4.6 | Full comparison |
| Sirin Software | US buyers wanting US contracting with Ukraine-cost engineering. | US-front, Ukraine-delivery structure — US contracting entity with substantially lower-cost offshore engineering in Kyiv and Ivano-Frankivsk | 4.6 | Full comparison |
| Innowise | Buyers wanting large-scale Poland nearshore staff augmentation capacity. | Large-scale Poland-based nearshore-EU outsourcing capacity with flexible staff augmentation, backed by GDPR-native EU membership | 4.5 | Full comparison |
| Intellias | North American buyers wanting large-scale offshore Ukraine capacity. | Dual US/Ukraine presence at 3,000+ employee scale, with a named production deployment proving offshore delivery ships at real volume | 4.5 | Full comparison |
| N-iX | EU buyers wanting Malta-jurisdiction contracting with Ukraine/Poland delivery. | EU (Malta) legal-entity contracting with Ukraine and Poland nearshore/offshore delivery, at 2,200+ employee scale across 25 countries | 4.4 | Full comparison |
| DornerWorks | ITAR-restricted programs where offshore outsourcing isn't legally viable. | US-onshore-only aerospace/defense specialist for programs where ITAR restrictions rule out nearshore or offshore outsourcing entirely | 4.4 | Full comparison |
| Promwad | German-market buyers wanting Latvia/Serbia nearshore delivery cost. | German client-facing presence with Latvia and Serbia nearshore-Europe engineering delivery, covering PCB, FPGA, and embedded Linux under one contract | 4.4 | Full comparison |
| Klika Tech | Buyers wanting multi-region delivery options with AWS-native scope. | Multi-region delivery footprint (Americas, Europe, Central Asia) with AWS Premier Partner status, letting buyers choose a preferred cost/timezone mix | 4.3 | Full comparison |
| Vector Informatik | Global buyers wanting local-subsidiary contracting with consistent AUTOSAR... | Global subsidiary network (10+ countries) lets outsourcing buyers contract locally while accessing consistent worldwide AUTOSAR tooling expertise | 4.3 | Full comparison |
| emlix | German buyers prioritizing onshore delivery over outsourcing cost... | Onshore-Germany embedded Linux specialist with over two decades of history, trading nearshore/offshore cost savings for zero timezone gap and full EU jurisdiction | 4.2 | Full comparison |
| Pengutronix | Buyers needing verified kernel depth, not lowest-cost outsourcing. | Onshore-Germany boutique with independently verifiable upstream Linux kernel contributions — depth over cost savings for this specific workstream | 4.2 | Full comparison |
| Timesys | US buyers needing onshore Linux security patching and... | US-onshore embedded Linux security specialist with nearly three decades of maintenance-tail expertise, now under Lynx Software Technologies | 4.1 | Full comparison |
| Softeq Development | US buyers wanting onshore contracting simplicity over offshore... | US-onshore full-stack outsourcing option covering hardware, firmware, and applications, trading nearshore/offshore cost savings for domestic contracting simplicity | 4.1 | Full comparison |
| Integra Sources | Budget-constrained buyers wanting turnkey offshore hardware and firmware. | Kazakhstan-based offshore turnkey hardware-plus-firmware delivery from a single small team, at a cost tier below Eastern European nearshore options | 4.0 | Full comparison |
| eInfochips | Buyers wanting India offshore delivery bundled with component... | Established India (Ahmedabad) offshore engineering delivery, backed by Arrow Electronics ownership for direct component-sourcing access | 4.0 | Full comparison |
| DMC, Inc. | US buyers outsourcing embedded controllers alongside factory automation. | Fully US-onshore delivery bundling embedded systems engineering with manufacturing and test automation, avoiding a split-vendor outsourcing gap | 4.0 | Full comparison |
| SYSGO | Safety-critical buyers prioritizing certification over outsourcing cost. | Onshore-Germany, Thales-affiliated licensing-plus-services vendor around a SIL 4-certified platform — certification stability over outsourcing cost tier | 4.0 | Full comparison |
| Enea | Buyers wanting a publicly-audited Nordic RTOS outsourcing partner. | Nasdaq Stockholm-listed, onshore-Sweden RTOS vendor offering audited financial transparency uncommon among private outsourcing firms | 4.0 | Full comparison |
| KPIT Technologies | Large automotive buyers wanting India-offshore scale with public... | Large-scale offshore-India automotive embedded outsourcing at 12,000+ engineer scale, with audited public-company financials and a named Renault Group partnership | 3.8 | Full comparison |
| Tata Elxsi | Buyers wanting offshore-India scale backed by Tata Group... | Offshore-India engineering R&D at 13,000+ engineer scale, backed by the Tata Group's decades of industrial-conglomerate corporate stability | 3.8 | Full comparison |
| Data Respons | Buyers wanting Nordic-onshore delivery with a Taiwan Asia... | Rare Nordic-plus-Asia (Taiwan) outsourcing footprint spanning eight regulated sectors, now backed by Akkodis scale after two ownership transitions | 3.8 | Full comparison |
| Cyient | Aerospace buyers wanting India-offshore avionics engineering at scale. | India-offshore aerospace avionics outsourcing (fly-by-wire, autopilot, collision avoidance) strengthened by the CERTON Software acquisition | 3.7 | Full comparison |
| GlobalLogic | Large buyers wanting embedded outsourcing inside a Hitachi-backed... | Hitachi Group-owned global outsourcing scale with embedded hardware/software solutions, backed by a named Elektrobit automotive partnership | 3.7 | Full comparison |
| Wind River | Buyers outsourcing platform access, not labor-cost arbitrage. | US-onshore certified-RTOS vendor where outsourcing value comes from platform ecosystem access, not labor-cost savings, now majority-owned by Aptiv | 3.6 | Full comparison |
| Luxoft | Automotive buyers wanting global outsourcing scale at DXC... | Global automotive outsourcing network (44 cities, nearly 18,000 people) with software in 50M+ vehicles, now under DXC Technology's financial backing | 3.6 | Full comparison |
| QuEST Global | Buyers wanting the broadest global delivery-center footprint. | One of the broadest global outsourcing footprints on this list (90+ delivery centers, 18+ countries), offering end-to-end silicon and embedded engineering directly to chipmakers | 3.6 | Full comparison |
| Capgemini Engineering | Global buyers needing embedded outsourcing inside a broad... | One of the largest global outsourcing vendors by headcount, with embedded/electronics as one of many technical domains covered across a global delivery footprint | 3.5 | Full comparison |
| LTTS | Large buyers wanting India-offshore scale with public governance. | Large-scale offshore-India outsourcing (23,800+ engineers, 22 design centers) backed by public-company governance and the L&T Group | 3.5 | Full comparison |
| HCLTech | Buyers wanting maximum outsourcing scale inside a massive... | Largest outsourcing scale on this list (227,000+ employees company-wide), with embedded delivered through a dedicated Engineering & R&D Services business unit | 3.4 | Full comparison |
Elektrobit FAQ
What is Elektrobit?
Major automotive embedded software vendor owned by Continental
How much does Elektrobit charge?
Elektrobit uses fixed project, licensing, dedicated team pricing. Minimum engagement is not publicly disclosed. A discovery call is required to get project-specific quotes.
What tech stack does Elektrobit use?
Elektrobit works with AUTOSAR, C/C++, Embedded Linux, ISO 26262-aware development, ECU software platforms. Primary industries served include Automotive.
Is Elektrobit right for enterprise?
Automotive buyers already outsourcing manufacturing to Continental. 1,000–5,000 team size. Key consideration: Wholly-owned Continental subsidiary since 2015 — vendor-independence considerations apply if you're outsourcing specifically to avoid Tier 1 lock-in.
What are the best Elektrobit alternatives?
The best alternatives to Elektrobit depend on your use case. Top options are:
- Lemberg Solutions: genuine nearshore-europe delivery model — ukraine engineering cost with hamburg, london, and kraków offices for eu client-facing presence and contract jurisdiction
- Witekio: onshore-eu (france) delivery trades nearshore/offshore cost savings for zero timezone gap and full eu jurisdiction and data-protection alignment
- Sirin Software: us-front, ukraine-delivery structure — us contracting entity with substantially lower-cost offshore engineering in kyiv and ivano-frankivsk
Compare Elektrobit with other Embedded Software Outsourcing companies
Elektrobit vs Lemberg Solutions Elektrobit vs Witekio Elektrobit vs Sirin Software Elektrobit vs Innowise Elektrobit vs Intellias Elektrobit vs N-iX Elektrobit vs DornerWorks Elektrobit vs Promwad Elektrobit vs Klika Tech Elektrobit vs Vector Informatik Elektrobit vs emlix Elektrobit vs Pengutronix Elektrobit vs Timesys Elektrobit vs Softeq Development Elektrobit vs Integra Sources Elektrobit vs eInfochips Elektrobit vs DMC, Inc. Elektrobit vs SYSGO Elektrobit vs Enea Elektrobit vs KPIT Technologies Elektrobit vs Tata Elxsi Elektrobit vs Data Respons Elektrobit vs Cyient Elektrobit vs GlobalLogic Elektrobit vs Wind River Elektrobit vs Luxoft Elektrobit vs QuEST Global Elektrobit vs Capgemini Engineering Elektrobit vs LTTS Elektrobit vs HCLTech
Verify all details directly with Elektrobit before making a decision.