Thales announced today the acquisition of Sysgo AG, the European leader in safe and secure operating systems required for markets served by the Group such as aeronautics, space, transport, defense and security. Sysgo employs 80 people in Germany, France and the Czech Republic.

The operation will strengthen Thales’s leadership in embedded computing solutions for mission-critical applications. At the same time, it will bring Sysgo access to the market for Thales solutions, consolidating the company’s position as Europe’s leading provider of safe and secure operating systems while supporting its capacity to expand into new markets such as automotive.

Luc Vigneron, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer of Thales, called the acquisition “an excellent opportunity to bring on board dynamic teams of experts in advanced software technologies. This will accelerate the development of the next generation of operating systems, particularly for avionics applications. All of our markets will benefit from the key competencies of Sysgo, as the Group addresses growing safety and security requirements with new generations of multi-core processors.”

In a joint statement, the Executive Team of Sysgo, Michael Tiedemann and Knut Degen, said they were delighted to see the company being backed up by “an organization with the breadth and caliber of Thales. This step boosts Sysgo’s technological and commercial development both within Thales and with our long-standing customer base in the open market. All of us at Sysgo are very excited about the future development plan proposed by Thales, which is providing us with the ability, but also the freedom to promote the PikeOS operating system globally in all market segments.”

Sysgo will be a subsidiary of Thales while retaining its core mission and brand identity. The company will continue to be headquartered in Klein-Winternheim, near Frankfurt, Germany.

Thales will rely heavily on the company’s current management and staff to ensure that Sysgo can guarantee continuity of service with existing customers.