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20 years aicas
May 3, 2021

In 2021, aicas’ 20th anniversary, we would like to extend heartfelt thanks to our current and former teammates and partners for their invaluable contributions to our many successes over the years.

When, in 2001, four young software engineers founded aicas in Karlsruhe, Germany, they could hardly imagine that twenty years on, their software technology would be embedded in more than 21 million automotive and industrial devices globally.

From the small beginnings in modest office spaces in a relatively quiet town, aicas has evolved into a global high-tech company with offices in Europe and North America, serving customers all over of the world.

Check out our 20 years aicas timeline!

"Silicon Valley had just hit the DOTCOM bust, but we thought embedded systems would bloom in the heart of Industrial Germany. We were excited to bring the new language Java to the Operational Technology (OT) world with realtime performance. We were enthusiastic about the possibilities that embedded software has to offer and we still are. That is why we founded aicas. Over the years, we have expanded our vision of revolutionizing how embedded systems are programmed and managed. Stay tuned—the best is yet to come.“
Dr. James J. Hunt
CEO/CTO

Anniversary Greetings from Partners and Friends

“aicas is an innovator bringing first to the automotive industry that have great enhanced and changed the in-vehicle experience. You’ve set the standard for the industry.”
Matthew Anderson | Business Development Executive | Charlton Group
“I had a lot of contact with aicas, including a visit in order to solve a performance problem on our side. This was about 17 years ago now. In the meantime, we have reached JamaicaVM version 8.4 and have developed a new product together. I always had a competent and quick answer to my questions and problems. I really appreciate that about aicas. aicas has grown in the last 20 years. This is a sign for me, that the technological foundations from the early days are solid and proved to be the right ones.”
Paul Geiter | Software Engineer | Uster Technologies AG
"Things have been going steadily upwards. You are now represented worldwide with your software products in all kinds of leading markets. And you have never turned your back on research. We have worked with you on many interesting projects in recent years. As a member of the FZI Sponsors' Association, you continue to support us in our work. For this, we say thank you."
Jan Wiesenberger | Executive | FZI Research Center for Information Technology
“Today, aicas supplies, supports and advises major corporations worldwide in the fields of industrial automation, automotive and aerospace technology. In doing so, aicas always proceeds from the perspective of their customers and thus creates more value for them.”
Marc Sesemann | Director | Sparkasse Karlsruhe

Automotive Software Future
20 Years Roundtable

Unlocking the Future of Driving with Data

Participants include Dr. Sven Beiker, Silicon Valley Mobility Center at Stanford University; Egil Juliussen, Ph.D., Automotive Analyst, formerly IHS Markit;  Dr. Julian Weber, BMW; Michael Wintergerst, Volkswagen; and Johannes M. Biermann, aicas.

Internet of Things
20 Years Roundtable

Agile IoT – from Edge to Cloud

Participants include Marco Becker, IDC; Bill O’Such, Momenta; Gonzalo Perez Rodriguez, Telefonica; Farid Bichareh, IIC and Johannes M. Biermann, aicas.

TIMELINE

aicas from 2001 to 2021 and beyond!

aicas from 2001 to 2021 and beyond!

2001
aicas was born!
aicas was born!

aicas GmbH was founded in Karlsruhe on 3 May 2001 by four partners:
James J. Hunt, Andy Walter, Fridtjof B. Siebert and Götz M. Fluck as CEO.

aicas launched JamaicaVM
aicas launched JamaicaVM

aicas launched its first product: JamaicaVM.

In autumn 2001, aicas presented JamaicaVM for the first time at the SPS/IPC/Drives exhibition in Nuremberg. Initial customers came from industrial, avionics and aerospace.

2002
First office at Höpfner Burg
First office at Höpfner Burg

First office at Höpfner Burg in Karlsruhe, Germany.

FZI Partnership
FZI Partnership

aicas entered into a partnership with Förderverein des Forschungszentrums Informatik (FZI), Karlsruhe.

Peter Marggrander joined aicas

Peter Marggrander joined aicas as a financial advisor.

JamaicaVM 2.0 was Released
JamaicaVM 2.0 was Released

JamaicaVM 2.0 using the GNU Classpath class library was released with support for the Real-Time Specification for Java 1.0.

2003
Global Expansion: Japan
Global Expansion: Japan

Global expansion: aicas expanded its area of activity and started to offer its products in Japan.

Peter Marggrander became CFO
Peter Marggrander became CFO

Peter Marggrander became shareholder and CFO of aicas.

EADS Development Partnership
EADS Development Partnership

EADS and aicas agreed to a development partnership to jointly promote Java solutions for embedded space applications.

BMW Scientific Award
BMW Scientific Award

aicas received the BMW Scientific Award for its realtime technology.

2004
JamaicaVM in SIMOTION Products
JamaicaVM in SIMOTION Products

Siemens integrated JamaicaVM in their SIMOTION products.

More Developers joined
More Developers joined

Expansion: With additional financial resources secured, aicas expanded technical staff to leap into the automotive industry.

James Hunt, CEO
James Hunt, CEO

Dr. James J. Hunt became the new CEO of aicas.

JamaicaVM in Dreamliner
JamaicaVM in Dreamliner

JamaicaVM 2.4 was deployed inside Boeing 787 Dreamliner to enhance gate arrival technical maintenance with secure exchange of all onboard data starting at touchdown.

2005
aicas inc. was founded!

aicas inc. was founded on 3 February 2005. The foundation of aicas incorporated in New Haven, CT, enabled the aicas team to serve the US market even better.