Overview
Hex-Rays SA develops binary analysis and reverse engineering software for the cybersecurity market from Rue Rennequin Sualem in Liege. Ilfak Guilfanov created IDA in 1990; DataRescue commercialised it as IDA Pro in 1996, and Guilfanov founded Hex-Rays in 2005, with the company taking over IDA development in January 2008. The product line covers IDA Pro, IDA Home, IDA Free, IDA Classroom and IDA Pro OEM, alongside decompilers, the Private Lumina add-on, the Teams add-on and training courses. IDA disassembles code across more than 60 processor architectures and produces pseudocode for further analysis. Documented use cases include malware analysis and digital forensics, vulnerability research and penetration testing, dynamic analysis and debugging, automotive security, interoperability and intellectual property protection. Revenue passed 20 million EUR in 2020, after average annual growth of 23% over the preceding decade. In October 2022 a consortium led by Smartfin, with co-investors SFPIM and SRIW, acquired the company; terms were not disclosed and Guilfanov reinvested in the new structure. Guilfanov and the employees are today the largest shareholders of Smartsec SA, the parent company of Hex-Rays SA. Guilfanov is founder and CTO. The team numbers more than 50 developers, engineers and analysts, and three IDA releases shipped during 2025.
Funding history
- 2022 buyout: Consortium led by Smartfin with co-investors SFPIM and SRIW acquired Hex-Rays; terms undisclosed and founder Ilfak Guilfanov reinvested
Stated facts & numbers
- Founded: 2005
- Headquarters: Liege, Belgium
- Founder and CTO: Ilfak Guilfanov
- Employees: 50+
- Products: IDA Pro, IDA Home, IDA Free, IDA Classroom, IDA Pro OEM, decompilers, Private Lumina add-on, Teams add-on, training
- Customer logos: Microsoft, Apple, Google, FireEye, SANS
- Revenue (2020): more than 20M EUR
- Owners: Smartsec SA, held by Guilfanov and employees with Smartfin, SFPIM, Wallonie Entreprendre and Philippe-Alexandre Leroux
- Enterprise number: BE 0873.473.914
- Head of engineering: Arnaud Diederen
Key people
In the news
- The 2026 IDA Plugin Contest is officially open! Got an idea for a plugin that could make reverse engineering faster, smarter, or just more fun? Now's your shot. Submissions are open through November 30, with winners announced mid-January. Build with C, C++, Python, or idalib. And since our SDK is now open-source, IDA Free users can jump in too. Up for grabs: cash prizes up to $5K, free IDA licenses, recognition in the community, and more. Full rules + prize breakdown: https://lnkd.in/g4-78Gy6
- IDA Pro fall training season is coming... Register for our upcoming Intermediate, Malware, Decompiler and Programming online sessions by September 30 to get: For individuals: • 30% OFF one training* • 40% OFF two or more trainings* For corporations or agencies: • 15% OFF one training* • 20% OFF two or more trainings* Explore the schedule: https://lnkd.in/gHjYfCFW Questions or ready to register? Contact training@hex-rays.com *Cannot be combined with any other promos or discounts. Offer expires September 30, 2026.
- Some of us download movies, grab a snack, or doom scroll while we wait for our flights... Duncan had his local model reverse a live ransomware sample over IDA's upcoming MCP while he was in the air. All for about 8 cents in electricity. If you wanna play with stuff like this but don't have IDA, it's now easier than ever to get started. IDA Home, our hobbyist tier, includes idalib. 👇 Read on and you can grab yourself an IDA Home discount
- We have 10 seats left for our Malware Village (World Cyber Health) workshop at DEF CON on Saturday. Follow the Execution: A DLL Sideloading Teardown Intro in IDA. All skill levels welcome. 📍 Malware Village, Hall 2 📅 Sat Aug 8, 12:55–14:05 (Reg closes Sat. morning) 👉 Sign Up: https://lnkd.in/e_2YNpSg
- We're heading to DEF CON this week and still have seats available for our workshop at Malware Village (World Cyber Health). Details below! "Follow the Execution: A DLL Sideloading Teardown Intro in IDA" 📍 Malware Village, Hall 2 🗓️ Sat Aug 8, 12:55–14:05 🎫 Reg closes Fri Aug 6, 11:59pm 👉 Sign Up: https://lnkd.in/dVnC9vmf
- In this new world of hacking, how do we optimize the way information is relayed and validated in an agent-human hacking environment?" Zion Leonahenahe Basque explores how LLMs killed the old decompiler-collaboration playbook — and what could replace it. 👉 Check out our latest guest blog: https://lnkd.in/eDRU_YEX
- idalib is now available in IDA Home. That means hobbyists and enthusiasts can now call IDA's analysis engine as a library — running headless analysis, automating workflows, and integrating IDA into their own tools — without needing an IDA Pro license. To celebrate, we're offering 30% off IDA Home until August 14th.* Use promo code HOME30 at checkout. 👉 If you've been on the fence, now's a good time. https://lnkd.in/epUTzeCe *Offer not available for corporations, agencies or resellers.
- Vegas in August means one thing for reverse engineers: Hacker Summer Camp. Hex-Rays will be at Blackhat, Security BSides Las Vegas, and DEF CON 34 — with demos, a workshop, and two open US roles. Highlights: a private beta demo of our new Malware Analysis Add-On, a hands-on DLL sideloading workshop (40 seats, register now), and a live look at Teams' new Git-native workflow. 👉 Find the full rundown and where to catch us: https://lnkd.in/gcyihJPS
Open roles
- Product OwnerLiege · May 14, 2026
Backers
Smartfin
Belgian VC firm focused on tech and deep tech, founded and led by Jurgen Ingels.
Related profiles
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