“Korea Serves as the Blueprint for Our Global Strategy”

 

Germany-based global embedded software development tools provider TASKING is positioning Korea as a key hub in its global strategy. During his first visit to the country, Houssem Ben Abderrahman, Chief Revenue Officer (CRO) of TASKING, met with AEM at the company’s Pangyo office on September 22 to discuss the company’s global growth plans — including its expansion beyond automotive into aerospace and defense, support for the RISC-V architecture, and the integration of static analysis and verification capabilities through the acquisition of LDRA. He noted that TASKING views the Korean market as an ideal blueprint for its worldwide strategy.

by BJ Yoon _ bjyun@autoelectronics.co.kr

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What are TASKING’s core business areas, key technologies, and solutions?
Ben Abderrahman    TASKING is a leading provider of embedded software development tools, with a strong focus on safety-critical applications across the automotive, industrial, aerospace, and defense sectors. Our business is structured around 3 main areas: Compiler toolchains, Debugging Solutions and Code Analysis & Testing. We are an end-to-end solution provider, offering full lifecycle support from requirements to deployment. 


What are TASKING’s main strategies for maintaining a competitive edge in the embedded software development tools market?
Ben Abderrahman    We have a multidimension strategy targeting both technological leadership and market positioning. 
•   Diversification: Historically, we are strong in AURIX based safety applications. Now we are working on expanding into non-AURIX architectures such as Arm and RISC-V, which are forecasted to drive future growth. This initiative includes strengthening our partnerships with companies like Renesas, NXP, TI, Synopsys, and others.
•   Toolchain Provider: We are evolving from a compiler only vendor to a full-stack provider for safety-critical embedded software. We want to become a one-stop shop for ISO-26262, DO-178C and IEC-61508 compliance, creating a high barrier to entry for competitors.
•   Segmented market focus: TASKING is targeting OEMs, tier-1s and key suppliers across verticals like automotive, aerospace & defense, industrial, robotics, and medical. The strategy includes direct sales teams with deep regional ties and partner-led channels for scale. In addition, we will be offering tailored packaging to simplify adoption in the different industries.


What value does TASKING’s technology offer for automotive and embedded software development?
Ben Abderrahman    TASKING’s toolchains are TÜV-certified and designed to meet stringent standards like ISO 26262 (functional safety) and ISO 21434 (cybersecurity), which are mandatory for automotive ECUs. Our debuggers offer intuitive interfaces and faster trace performance, while supporting different microcontrollers with one license. Jaguar Land Rover for instance reported reduced debug time and ownership costs, with improved productivity and safety compliance.
In addition to that, TASKING collaborates with AUTOSAR vendors like Elektrobit, ETAS, and Vector to ensure optimal trace configuration and instrumentation support for both Classic and Adaptive AUTOSAR applications.


In your view, what are the most important trends in the automotive software and embedded systems market?
Ben Abderrahman    Among the various trends, I consider the following to be the most significant currently.
•    Software-Defined Vehicles (SDVs) & Centralized Architectures. Zonal Controllers (ZCUs) and Central Control Units (CCUs) are replacing distributed ECUs, enabling better scalability. This centralization demands new software paradigms that support hardware virtualization. 
•    Growing adoption of RISC-V and Arm as Instruction Set Architectures (ISAs). These architectures require toolchains to adapt and extend support. 
•    Complexity vs. Productivity Gap: Software complexity is growing faster than development productivity. This gap increases the need for advanced compilers, debuggers and automated testing solutions.


What role does TASKING play in the era of SDVs (Software-Defined Vehicles), including autonomous and electric vehicles?
Ben Abderrahman    TASKING plays a foundational role in enabling SDVs by providing a certified toolchain that supports:
•   Multi-core performance optimization
•   Hardware abstraction
•   Safety-critical software development up to ASIL D
The TASKING toolchain is designed to support the layered software architecture of SDVs, which decouples hardware from software and enables modular, service-oriented development.


What is your perspective on the impact of AI and cybersecurity on automotive software development?
Ben Abderrahman    AI is reshaping automotive software development across multiple dimensions, such as improving automation, reducing manual effort and bringing embedded software testing to the next level. Nowadays penetration testing tools incorporate AI to stimulate real-world hacking scenarios and optimize model robustness. Cybersecurity is no longer optional, it’s foundational to automotive software development. Atack trees and layered security models are now standard in development workflows. 


How do you assess the impact of AI and machine learning on automotive software development and compiler optimization, and how is TASKING leveraging these technologies?
Ben Abderrahman    AI and ML are reshaping automotive software development in several keyways. AI is used to improve code generation efficiency and detect bugs and anomalies earlier in the development cycle. It’s also used to automate regression testing and compliance checks for standards like ISO 26262. This is especially critical in the development of autonomous and electric vehicles, where deterministic behavior and performance guarantees are essential.
TASKING is actively leveraging AI and ML across its product portfolio and strategic roadmap. This includes:
•    Multi-core performance optimization
•    Predictive analysis for compiler behavior
•    Automated qualification and verification workflows


What technological innovations differentiate TASKING’s latest compiler and toolchain from existing solutions?
Ben Abderrahman    TASKING introduced a new capability called Inspector that automatically     detects whether customer code is impacted by known compiler issues. 
This simplifies ISO 26262 compliance and reduces product liability risks.
The latest compiler toolchain also offers flexible memory control, which is crucial for performance and determinism in embedded systems. It also includes qualified runtime and floating-point libraries, and a comprehensive Safety & Cybersecurity Manual.


What are the most important factors TASKING considers in the future development of its toolchain?
Ben Abderrahman    While several factors are worth noting, the following currently hold the greatest strategic importance.
•    Safety and Certification: Continued focus on ISO 26262 ASIL D and IEC 61508 SIL3 compliance. 
•    Support for Emerging Architectures: Expansion to newer Arm profiles and support of next-gen automotive MCU’s
•    Security-Driven Evolution: Enhancing compiler capabilities to detect vulnerabilities like buffer overflows and use-after-free errors.
•    Customer-Centric Innovation: Focus on making our tools intuitive and easy to integrate, especially for developers working in safety-critical environment
•    Integration of verification and analysis tools


Following the acquisition of LDRA, how will static analysis and software verification technologies be integrated with TASKING’s existing toolchain, and what added value can this integration bring to your customers?
Ben Abderrahman    Following TASKING's acquisition of LDRA, the integration of static analysis and software verification technologies is set to significantly enhance TASKING’s toolchain, particularly for safety- and mission-critical embedded software development. In the future developers will be able to invoke LDRA’s analysis and testing capabilities directly within TASKING’s environment. The new integrated toolchain will provide a more intuitive workflow with fewer configuration challenges and better tool interoperability.





How do you evaluate the importance of RISC-V in the embedded systems and automotive industries?
Ben Abderrahman    RISC-V is rapidly emerging as a transformative force in both the embedded systems and automotive industries, offering a compelling alternative to proprietary architectures: RISC-V’s open-standard, license-free instruction set architecture (ISA) is particularly well-suited for embedded applications due to several key advantages: Customizability, cost efficiency due to no licensing fees, and fast growing ecosystem.


Compared to toolchains for Arm and other architectures, what differentiates TASKING’s support for RISC-V in terms of features and technical strengths?
Ben Abderrahman    TASKING’s RISC-V compiler was developed in close relationship with major chip vendors, allowing developers to evaluate the impact of architectural changes on performance, code size, power consumption, and silicon area. This level of ISA configurability is not typically available in other toolchains, which are bound by proprietary constraints. Built-in static analysis ensures compliance with MISRA and CERT coding guidelines, reducing the need for additional qualification efforts. TASKING supports virtual prototyping via integration with major virtualizations solutions, enabling early software development before silicon availability. TASKING also collaborates with leading IP and silicon vendors like Synopsys, Andes, Infineon, and others, ensuring early support for automotive-grade RISC-V platforms. Our RISC-V toolchain is clearly positioned to support next-generation embedded and automotive systems, especially where custom silicon, early development, and certification are critical.


What support can TASKING provide to existing customers who are transitioning to RISC-V?
Ben Abderrahman    The TASKING tools are built on the Viper compiler framework, which allows rapid retargeting and optimization for different microarchitectures, minimizing migration complexity. Furthermore, TASKING provides manuals and migration guides tailored for safe and secure tool usage.
The documentation includes best practices for adapting existing codebases to RISC-V, optimizing for performance, and ensuring compliance. 


How do recent strategic moves such as the LDRA acquisition and expanded RISC-V support align with TASKING’s long-term vision?
Ben Abderrahman    Those recent strategic moves are tightly aligned with our long-term vision to become a certification-ready toolchain provider for safety-critical applications across automotive, aerospace, and other embedded sectors. 
The LDRA acquisition helps to offer an end-to-end development and verification platform, covering the entire lifecycle from coding to compliance. It also expands our reach into aerospace and defense, where LDRA is strong.
TASKING’s investment in RISC-V support reflects our commitment to vendor independence and architectural flexibility. It will help positioning TASKING as a leader in next-gen embedded development, while supporting the shift toward custom silicon and software-defined architectures. It will also enable cross-industry adoption, from automotive to industrial and medical systems. 


What are the key technology areas or markets that TASKING aims to focus on moving forward, and what preparations are being made to support this?
Ben Abderrahman    TASKING continues to invest in compilers, debuggers, static and dynamic testing, and safety libraries tailored for safety-critical applications. These tools are deeply integrated into customer workflows and support long product lifecycles. In addition to that we are exploring AI-enhanced software development and testing, including virtualized environments that support hardware abstraction and simulation. 


What is the next crucial step for TASKING to grow in the global market, and how do you view the role of the Korean market in this strategy?
Ben Abderrahman    To grow in the global market, TASKING’s next crucial step involves deepening its presence in high-growth regions and aligning its offerings with emerging technology trends, particularly in automotive, industrial automation, robotics and aerospace & defense. TASKING must tailor its approach to each region, choosing between joint ventures, subsidiaries, or licensing models depending on regulatory complexity and market maturity. Building strong local alliances with OEMs, Tier 1 suppliers, and semiconductor companies is essential for gaining market access and credibility. Korea is a global leader in semiconductors, automotive electronics, and smart infrastructure, aligning perfectly with TASKING’s embedded software focus. Korean firms are increasingly adopting AI, EV platforms, and autonomous systems, creating demand for high-performance, safety-compliant software tools. We see the Korean market as the ideal blueprint for our global strategy.

AEM(오토모티브일렉트로닉스매거진)

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