Firmware, cloud and AI for connected products

Firmware you won't have to rebuild.

Documented, reviewed and tested on your actual hardware, so the next engineer who opens the repo doesn't start over. One team from the sensor to the map.

Start a Discovery Sprint See it on a real device ↓

Two weeks. If the Sprint isn't worth it, you don't pay.

119 projects delivered · ★ 5.0 on Clutch · Top Rated Plus on Upwork

Connected products and map platforms we helped build

Multotec NESS Fertigation Hawk-Eye StructureIQ Rehinged

Built on

  • Mapbox
  • PostGIS
  • ESP32
  • FreeRTOS
  • ThingsBoard
  • AWS

The expensive part of firmware isn't the code.

It's the seam.

Hardware, firmware and cloud usually come from three vendors, with one founder holding them together. The bugs don't live inside any of them. They live in the gaps.

It's the rebuild.

The last vendor leaves firmware with no documentation and no tests. The next engineer can't trust it, so they start over, and you pay for the same board twice.

It's certification.

Most teams design the product first and find out what FCC, CE and RoHS want afterwards. Moving a radio after layout isn't a sprint.

One team from the sensor to the map.

Few engineers work on both sides of the firmware and cloud line, so most connected products get stitched together from two or three vendors. We cover the whole path, so nobody gets to blame the other one.

Firmware and embedded

C and C++ on FreeRTOS, on ESP32 and STM32, nRF, Zephyr. OTA updates and secure boot from the first commit, and a hardware-in-the-loop rig that tests every build on a real board, and stays with you when the project ends.

Firmware and embedded →

Edge AI and AI features

Models that run on the device when the decision can't wait for the cloud, as on Multotec's ESP32. And AI agents and LLM features inside the product your users touch.

See Multotec's edge AI →

Connectivity and platforms

MQTT and BLE plus LoRaWAN, cellular and Matter. AWS backends and IoT platforms you own outright, like the one that replaced ThingsBoard for NESS, with no per-device fee for the life of the product.

IoT platforms →

Geospatial and maps

PostGIS pipelines, Mapbox front ends and field maps your users act on. When a map bill gets out of hand, we trace it back to what the device sends.

Geospatial and maps →

Built AI-native

Specs written before code, AI agents in the daily workflow, and a tech lead who reviews every pull request before it merges. AI speeds up the work; it never skips the review or the test on real hardware.

"They use AI in a very clever way to help improve [their] quality and time."Koko Tuinstra, CEO, Georama · Clutch, verified

Multotec · industrial mining · edge AI

The board decides what's worth sending.

Multotec industrial mining site
Multotec fleet dashboard showing cyclone sensor status and vibration charts

Mining equipment runs where connectivity is limited and every byte sent costs something. Streaming raw vibration data to the cloud and deciding there is slow and expensive. So for Multotec, we moved the decision onto the device.

A model running on the ESP32 itself reads vibration patterns and decides which telemetry is worth sending. The cloud gets the readings that matter, not the noise.

On the board

The model runs on the ESP32.

Vibration patterns are read on the device, in C++ on FreeRTOS, so the decision doesn't wait for a round trip to the cloud.

Over the air

OTA from the first commit.

Firmware and models can be updated across the fleet without anyone driving out to a site.

On the dashboard

The fleet in one view.

A ThingsBoard fleet dashboard shows every device and the events it chose to send.

One team wrote the firmware, put the model on the board and built the fleet view, so nobody had to stitch three vendors together.

"They listen to the problem and deliver software that works at a fair cost."James Trace, R&D Head of Engineering, Multotec · Clutch, verified

Have a device that should decide on its own? Start a Discovery Sprint →

Proof, not promises.

NESS Fertigation precision agriculture

NESS Fertigation · Precision agriculture

From a generic platform to one they own.

NESS's field controllers ran on ThingsBoard, a generic IoT platform with per-device fees. We rebuilt it as their own multi-tenant platform: remote fertigation scheduling, real-time alarms when pressure drops or a sensor fails, and field maps showing every farm at a glance. NESS owns the code. Phase two is under way.
Hawk-Eye remote-sensing agriculture

Hawk-Eye · AgTech remote sensing

Thousands of field images, searchable in milliseconds.

Visual and far-infrared imagery streams in from remote fields and becomes plant-stress, thermal and soil-trend views growers use to guide irrigation, with years of crop history searchable in milliseconds. A grower using it told Itri he wished it had existed 20 years ago.

"I could say what I needed, and ByteNana turned it into code."Jim Etro, CEO, Itri Corporation
Web GIS city map

Rehinged · Web GIS, San Diego

Inside the client's team.

Our engineers worked inside Rehinged's team on Web GIS, geoprocessing, data orchestration and DevOps, on the client's hours and sprint cadence.

"We were impressed with their flexibility and skills."James Sagar, CEO, Rehinged

View all case studies →

What clients say.

★★★★★

"ByteNaNa's programmers firmware skills are very strong and they are willing to go the extra mile to make it work. It's a pleasure working with them."

James Trace, TraceX · Upwork review
★★★★★

"The team at ByteNana is top tier. They always know how to accomplish whatever programming project I throw at them. They're easy to work with and always friendly. I highly recommend!"

Trey, CEO, Aceminot · Upwork review
★★★★★

"They were enthusiastic and a good listener."

Marty Dugan, Head of Business Development, Structure IQ · Clutch
★★★★★

"The application is running, has clients, and is making money."

Silvia Travesani, Principal, Spry Elephant · Clutch, verified
★★★★★

"They delivered exactly what was asked of them."

Koko Tuinstra, CEO, Georama · Clutch, verified
★★★★★

"The ByteNana team has done a wonderful job on a complex project with a lot of dynamic parts. They've scaled up and down quickly with different types of resources for different GIS and engineering requirements."

James Sagar, CEO, Rehinged · Upwork review
★★★★★

"ByteNana can do anything and everything and has always exceeded our expectations."

MK Dodson, Operations Manager, Peregrine Land · Clutch, verified
★★★★★

"These databases allow our inside sales team to reach out to prospective customers and grow our business. Bruno is responsive, professional, and delivers on exactly what's agreed upon."

Kavon A., CEO, Total Energy Solutions · Upwork review

Part-time or full-time · retainer or hourly

A tech lead inside your team, or a fractional CTO above it.

Some teams already have engineers and need someone to run them: we place a tech lead inside your team. Others need someone to own the decisions: a fractional CTO. Both come part-time or full-time, on a monthly retainer or by the hour.

Staff augmentation · runs the work

Tech Lead, in your team

Joins your team and leads your firmware or software engineers week to week, inside the direction you or your CTO set. Your repo, your tools, your sprint cadence.

  • Code review and merge standards
  • Sprint planning and the weekly update
  • Architecture calls within the agreed direction
  • The interview loop for your next hires

For: founders with a technical cofounder, or engineers with no one steering them. Need more hands too? Engineers can join alongside.

Sets the direction

Fractional CTO

Owns your technical direction and answers for it in front of your board.

  • Architecture and build-or-buy decisions
  • A technical roadmap with risks named upfront
  • Hiring plan and your first technical hires
  • Technical due diligence for your next raise
  • Oversight of every vendor, including us

For: non-technical founders, from pre-seed to Series A.

Nathan Matos Almeida

Nathan Matos Almeida, CTO

Nearly a decade in embedded systems. C and C++, FreeRTOS, ESP32, on-device ML.

"Nathan is a great team player and contributor. His skills helped improve the product in many ways."Stevan, CTO, Toradex · Upwork review
"He developed a driver for custom hardware with very little guidance. He proposed and implemented a serial protocol that made it very easy for us to interface with the hardware."Jonas, client on Upwork
Book a leadership call with Nathan

On a ByteNana build, your tech lead is on the first call, and stays to the last.

This is the team behind a Discovery Sprint or a build we run for you. Every build comes with its own tech lead, included.

Tech lead

On every call from the first one. Designs the architecture, reviews the code, holds the quality bar and watches the project so risks surface early. If an engineer changes, the tech lead stays.

Engineers

Write the code inside the architecture the tech lead sets. Five or more years in production, and they pass our technical assessment before touching your repo. Matched to your stack, and swapped if the fit is wrong.

Co-founder

Bruno Das Neves, CEO, owns scope, contract and anything that isn't working. You talk to the tech lead about the work and to Bruno about everything else.

Start with two weeks. No lock-in after that.

  1. Discovery Sprint · 2 weeks · US$ 1,500 US$ 900 through the end of 2026

    Within 48 hours of the first meeting you get a clickable prototype. By the end of the two weeks, your tech lead hands you the architecture, the stack decision and a build estimate you can take to your board. If you don't see value in what it delivers, you don't pay. If you sign a build or retainer within 30 days, the full fee comes off it.

    Start your Discovery Sprint

  2. Build

    Your tech lead plus the engineers your stack needs, on a monthly retainer, or at a fixed price once the Sprint has locked the scope. Two-week sprints and a weekly update: what moved, what stalled, what's next, with risks raised early.

  3. Or join your team

    Prefer to keep the work in-house? A tech lead inside your team, or a fractional CTO above it. See technical leadership →

  4. Keep it healthy

    After launch: monitoring, security and dependency updates, bug triage and fast response when something breaks.

Featured sprints

Two weeks, one clear deliverable, money back if it isn't worth it.

2 weeks · US$ 1,500 US$ 900

Discovery Sprint

A clickable prototype within 48 hours, then the architecture, the stack decision and a build estimate you can take to your board.

Start a Discovery Sprint →

2 weeks

Board-Up Sprint

We bring up firmware on your board: drivers, connectivity and OTA running on your hardware, plus a written list of what's left before the pilot.

Start a Board-Up Sprint →

2 weeks

Maps-Cost Audit

We trace your Mapbox or Google Maps bill back to the calls, refresh rates and device data that drive it, and hand you a prioritized plan to cut it.

Start a Maps-Cost Audit →

2 weeks

CRA-Readiness Sprint

For products sold in the EU: an SBOM from your build, a secure-boot and update review, and a gap list against the Cyber Resilience Act.

Start a CRA-Readiness Sprint →

How we take the risk off you

Eight things in every engagement, in writing.

Two-week risk-free start

On a retainer, not happy within your first two weeks? Cancel and pay nothing. Once per client.

No minimum

Month to month, with 30 days' notice to stop.

Replacement in 10 days

If an engineer is out, we backfill within 10 business days and waive the fee for the gap.

Fit swap

Ask for a different engineer once a quarter, no questions asked.

30-day defect warranty

On code we delivered and you haven't modified.

You own the code

All custom code and IP we build for you, under the SOW.

No black boxes

Weekly demos and full repo visibility from the first week.

Delivery, not time off

Local holidays are built into the rate, and planned time off comes off your invoice.

Need engineers or a tech lead inside your own team instead? Staff augmentation →

Questions, in the order they get asked.

Doesn't firmware need someone physically at the bench?

Part of it does, and we'll tell you which part. Ship us a dev board and we work it remotely, with live debug sessions on your hardware during your working day. Our team works from Brazil, 1 to 2 hours ahead of New York, so when something needs hands, your hardware person runs the test while we drive, or one of us takes an overnight flight and lands with no jet lag.

Why not just hire someone?

Do it, and we'll help. A firmware search usually takes months, and the milestone you promised your board slides right while it runs. We keep the roadmap moving and hand your hire documented, reviewed code instead of a blank slate.

Do I need a tech lead or a fractional CTO?

If you have engineers and someone already owns the technical direction, a tech lead inside your team. If the technical decisions currently land on you, a fractional CTO. If you can't tell, the Sprint answers it.

How fast can you start?

On a Sprint, you see a clickable prototype within 48 hours. On a build or in your team, a short matching call, then onboarding into your repo and tools within days, and engineers are usually producing within about two weeks.

We tried a cheap shop and got burned.

Cheap partners underscope to win, bill the missing work as change orders after signature and hand over firmware with no documentation. We quote the scope we believe, in writing, and the architecture is yours whether you hire us or not.

Do you know our domain?

Mining, precision agriculture, remote sensing, and geospatial and field mapping, each with a named client and the stack we shipped. If yours isn't on that list, say so on the call and we'll tell you whether we're a fit.

Do we have to sign a long contract?

No. Retainers run month to month with 30 days' notice, and if you're not happy within your first two weeks, cancel and you pay nothing.

Who owns the code?

You do: all custom code and IP we build for you, from the first commit. Contracts are in US dollars.

What does it cost?

The Discovery Sprint is US$ 1,500, and US$ 900 through the end of 2026. Everything after it is quoted from the Sprint, because quoting firmware before reading the hardware is guessing.

From the blog.

Practical guides on firmware, geospatial software and nearshore delivery, with a source for every number.

Macro photograph of a dark circuit board with chips and capacitors

Firmware11 min read

Firmware Development Services: What Hardware Startups Actually Need to Buy in 2026

Read article →
Tweezers placing a microchip onto a green circuit board

Embedded engineering10 min read

Zephyr vs FreeRTOS in 2026: Choosing Without Repainting Your Firmware in 18 Months

Read article →
Earth seen from orbit with a spacecraft in the frame

Geospatial10 min read

Geospatial Software Development: The Layer Where Teams Actually Get Stuck

Read article →

View all articles →

Tell us what the device has to do.

Send the hardware, the constraints and the deadline. A tech lead reads it and replies with what we'd do first, starting with a two-week Discovery Sprint you don't pay for if it isn't worth it.

Start your Discovery Sprint Or book a call about technical leadership →