Dojo Five
Editor's pick #1Small Saint Paul team that treats firmware like modern software, with automated builds and tests on every commit
Founded 2018 | Saint Paul, MN, USA | 11–50 employees
Firmware DevelopmentRTOS & Bare-MetalWireless & IoT ConnectivityFirmware Testing & HILFirmware Consulting
What is Dojo Five?
Where most vendors on this list sell hardware and firmware together, Dojo Five sells only firmware, plus the tooling around it. The Saint Paul, Minnesota company was set up in 2018 and employs a few dozen engineers, most of them working remotely across North America. Alongside contract development it sells EmbedOps, a DevOps product for embedded teams that runs containerized builds, unit tests and static analysis in CI. Dojo Five is a Nordic Semiconductor partner, and its client work leans toward connected medical, consumer and industrial devices built on Cortex-M parts.
Dojo Five works primarily with clients in Medical devices, Consumer electronics, Industrial IoT sectors. Its primary differentiator is: Firmware-only consultancy that also sells its own embedded DevOps product, EmbedOps.
Dojo Five tech stack and services
CC++ZephyrFreeRTOSNordic nRFSTM32DockerGitLab CICeedlingUnity
| Service area |
|---|
| Firmware Development |
| RTOS & Bare-Metal |
| Wireless & IoT Connectivity |
| Firmware Testing & HIL |
| Firmware Consulting |
Dojo Five pricing
Short answer: Dojo Five uses a time & materials, fixed project pricing approach. Minimum engagement is not publicly disclosed; a discovery call is required.
| Engagement model | Typical range | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Consulting | Variable; depends on team size | Large programmes or team augmentation |
| Fixed project | From not disclosed | Well-defined scope |
| Time & materials | Variable; depends on team size | Large programmes or team augmentation |
Dojo Five does not publish a public rate card. Contact them directly via their website to get project-specific pricing.
Dojo Five pros and cons
| Advantages | Things to consider |
|---|---|
| +Every engineer works on firmware, so you never get a web developer reassigned to your bootloader | -No in-house PCB or electrical design, so hardware has to come from you or another partner |
| +Clients keep the CI setup, unit-test harness and Docker build images after the engagement ends | -A team of a few dozen people limits how many parallel workstreams it can staff |
| +Nordic partner status and heavy Zephyr use suit Bluetooth LE and cellular IoT products | -Delivery is North America–focused, which can mean limited overlap for European or Asian clients |
| +Remote model makes it easy to embed a Dojo Five engineer inside an existing in-house firmware team |
Dojo Five vs alternatives
How Dojo Five compares to the other top Firmware Development service providers.
| Company | Best for | Key difference | Rating | Compare |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lemberg Solutions | Connected devices needing firmware and electronics together. | Electrical engineering, firmware, cloud and an in-house hardware lab under one contract, with NXP, Microchip and ST partner status | 4.8 | Full comparison |
| Witekio | Linux-class devices needing BSPs and long-term maintenance. | Two decades of BSP and Yocto work, now backed by Avnet's silicon relationships | 4.5 | Full comparison |
| Promwad | Hardware startups heading for volume production. | Combined PCB, FPGA and firmware design with manufacturing preparation, delivered from EU entities | 4.4 | Full comparison |
| Byte Lab | EU buyers wanting firmware plus low-volume boards. | ST and Nordic design partner that also offers low-volume manufacturing in-house | 4.3 | Full comparison |
| Bluefruit Software | Regulated devices where test evidence matters. | Test-driven embedded development with documented quality practices for medical and industrial products | 4.3 | Full comparison |
| ByteSnap Design | UK companies needing electronics and firmware from one... | Small UK team covering PCB design, Linux and Android bring-up, and MCU firmware | 4.3 | Full comparison |
| Punch Through | Bluetooth LE products with companion mobile apps. | Bluetooth LE firmware and mobile apps built by the same team, with deep radio-level debugging experience | 4.3 | Full comparison |
| Integra Sources | Budget-conscious startups needing low-level drivers. | Kernel, driver and MCU firmware work from a small team with low hourly rates | 4.2 | Full comparison |
| Sirin Software | US buyers wanting Ukrainian embedded Linux rates. | US contracting entity with a Ukrainian embedded Linux and firmware team | 4.2 | Full comparison |
| Cardinal Peak | US consumer and media devices needing onshore engineers. | US-based device engineering with audio and video depth, now backed by FPT | 4.2 | Full comparison |
| Embien Technologies | Automotive and semiconductor firmware at Indian rates. | Renesas partner with its own reusable protocol stack libraries (RAPIDSEA) | 4.1 | Full comparison |
| Timesys | Linux devices facing SBOM and security compliance. | Embedded Linux services combined with Vigiles vulnerability tracking | 4.1 | Full comparison |
| Softeq | Storage and memory firmware, US-contracted IoT builds. | Deep NAND, SSD and storage-controller firmware experience alongside full IoT product teams | 4.1 | Full comparison |
| Mistral Solutions | Defence and aerospace embedded programmes in India. | Board design, BSPs and rugged systems for defence and aerospace, with TI partnership | 4.1 | Full comparison |
| MistyWest | Deep-tech startups at proof-of-concept stage. | Electrical, mechanical and firmware design for early hardware, aimed at manufacturability | 4.0 | Full comparison |
| Developex | Peripheral makers needing firmware plus configuration apps. | Firmware combined with drivers and companion desktop or mobile apps for consumer hardware | 4.0 | Full comparison |
| Indeema Software | IoT products needing device-to-cloud development. | Hardware, firmware, cloud and app teams under one IoT-focused vendor | 4.0 | Full comparison |
| eInfochips | Large device programmes needing many engineers. | Thousands of embedded engineers and broad chip-vendor partnerships, backed by Arrow | 4.0 | Full comparison |
| Tata Elxsi | Automotive and medical OEMs needing compliance at volume. | Large, process-heavy embedded practices for automotive and medical compliance | 4.0 | Full comparison |
| Ignitarium | Chip makers and edge AI device builders. | Firmware and drivers tied closely to semiconductor design and edge AI | 3.9 | Full comparison |
| rinf.tech | EU buyers wanting nearshore embedded capacity. | EU-based embedded and automotive engineering with multicore and NPU firmware experience | 3.9 | Full comparison |
| L&T Technology Services | Global OEMs outsourcing whole embedded programmes. | Very large engineering services capacity with embedded, VLSI and testing under one contract | 3.9 | Full comparison |
| Intellias | Automotive OEMs needing in-vehicle software teams. | Large automotive and navigation software practice with HERE and TomTom experience | 3.9 | Full comparison |
| Spyrosoft | EU automotive and EV-charging embedded teams. | Polish delivery for embedded HMI, EV charging and embedded security testing | 3.9 | Full comparison |
| GlobalLogic | Enterprises bundling embedded into larger programmes. | Global delivery capacity with embedded work attached to large digital programmes | 3.8 | Full comparison |
| Luxoft | Automotive cockpit and ADAS software programmes. | Automotive embedded and cockpit software practice inside DXC | 3.8 | Full comparison |
| Beningo Embedded Group | In-house teams needing architecture and process coaching. | Founder-led firmware architecture reviews and training from a widely published author | 3.8 | Full comparison |
| Very | US companies building a first connected product. | Product-strategy-led IoT development with Nerves and Elixir experience | 3.8 | Full comparison |
| Elinext | Firmware bundled with app and web development. | Generalist developer that can add firmware to a broader software project | 3.7 | Full comparison |
| ScienceSoft | Healthcare IoT platforms with light firmware needs. | Healthcare IT and IoT platform experience, with security testing in-house | 3.7 | Full comparison |
Dojo Five FAQ
What is Dojo Five?
Small Saint Paul team that treats firmware like modern software, with automated builds and tests on every commit
How much does Dojo Five charge?
Dojo Five uses time & materials, fixed project pricing. Minimum engagement is not publicly disclosed. A discovery call is required to get project-specific quotes.
What tech stack does Dojo Five use?
Dojo Five works with C, C++, Zephyr, FreeRTOS, Nordic nRF, STM32, Docker, GitLab CI, Ceedling, Unity. Primary industries served include Medical devices, Consumer electronics, Industrial IoT.
Is Dojo Five right for enterprise?
Product teams wanting firmware with CI and test automation. 11–50 team size. Key consideration: No in-house PCB or electrical design, so hardware has to come from you or another partner.
What are the best Dojo Five alternatives?
The best alternatives to Dojo Five depend on your use case. Top options are:
- Lemberg Solutions: electrical engineering, firmware, cloud and an in-house hardware lab under one contract, with nxp, microchip and st partner status
- Witekio: two decades of bsp and yocto work, now backed by avnet's silicon relationships
- Promwad: combined pcb, fpga and firmware design with manufacturing preparation, delivered from eu entities
Compare Dojo Five with other Firmware Development service providers
Dojo Five vs Lemberg Solutions Dojo Five vs Witekio Dojo Five vs Promwad Dojo Five vs Byte Lab Dojo Five vs Bluefruit Software Dojo Five vs ByteSnap Design Dojo Five vs Punch Through Dojo Five vs Integra Sources Dojo Five vs Sirin Software Dojo Five vs Cardinal Peak Dojo Five vs Embien Technologies Dojo Five vs Timesys Dojo Five vs Softeq Dojo Five vs Mistral Solutions Dojo Five vs MistyWest Dojo Five vs Developex Dojo Five vs Indeema Software Dojo Five vs eInfochips Dojo Five vs Tata Elxsi Dojo Five vs Ignitarium Dojo Five vs rinf.tech Dojo Five vs L&T Technology Services Dojo Five vs Intellias Dojo Five vs Spyrosoft Dojo Five vs GlobalLogic Dojo Five vs Luxoft Dojo Five vs Beningo Embedded Group Dojo Five vs Very Dojo Five vs Elinext Dojo Five vs ScienceSoft
Verify all details directly with Dojo Five before making a decision.