ZeroC
ZeroC is a Florida-based software company focused on open-source frameworks for building distributed applications and remote procedure call systems.
Last updated August 31, 2026
Overview
ZeroC is a software company headquartered in Jupiter, Florida, founded in 2002 by Marc Laukien. The company develops tools for software engineers rather than consumer-facing applications, with a focus on communications infrastructure for distributed systems. Its work is centered on frameworks that allow software components and services to communicate across processes, machines, and networks. The company's principal product is Ice, an open-source framework for developing distributed applications. Ice provides a structured approach to communication between components that may be written in different programming languages or deployed on separate systems. It is intended for developers building service-oriented, networked, and otherwise distributed software, and is made available through public source-code repositories together with binary packages distributed through common software channels. ZeroC also develops IceRPC, an open-source remote procedure call framework built around the QUIC transport protocol. By using QUIC as its transport foundation, IceRPC addresses modern requirements for efficient and resilient network communication while remaining focused on developer use cases. The product broadens ZeroC's technology portfolio from a mature distributed-application framework toward a newer RPC implementation aligned with contemporary internet transport infrastructure. Both Ice and IceRPC are developed publicly on GitHub. This open-source development model gives the projects a transparent code base and allows developers to obtain source code, follow project activity, and use packaged binaries where available. ZeroC's business identity is therefore closely associated with developer infrastructure, networking middleware, open-source distribution, and the practical engineering challenges of connecting software components. The available reference material does not identify a public-company listing, parent corporation, major consumer brand partnerships, detailed revenue information, or a broad corporate portfolio beyond Ice and IceRPC. ZeroC is best characterized as a specialist enterprise and developer-technology brand whose value proposition is technical infrastructure for distributed computing rather than end-user software.
History
ZeroC was founded in 2002 by Marc Laukien in the United States and established its base in Jupiter, Florida. From its beginning, the company concentrated on software-development infrastructure rather than consumer products. Its principal area of activity has been distributed computing: enabling applications whose components communicate across process, machine, or network boundaries. The company's central technology is Ice, a framework for building distributed applications. Ice belongs to a class of middleware that abstracts some of the complexity involved in connecting software components. Such systems can support applications composed of services or modules that need to exchange data and invoke functionality remotely. ZeroC's focus on this layer of the software stack places it in the developer-tools and enterprise-infrastructure segment. ZeroC distributes Ice as open-source software and supports its development through a public GitHub presence. The project is accompanied by binary packages available through common software repositories, giving users options beyond compiling directly from source. This distribution approach combines the inspectability and collaborative characteristics of open-source development with practical installation paths for engineering teams. The company later added IceRPC to its portfolio. IceRPC is an open-source RPC framework that uses QUIC as its transport. QUIC is a modern network transport protocol designed for efficient, secure, and resilient communication, and its use gives IceRPC a contemporary technical orientation. The addition of IceRPC shows ZeroC continuing to address the communication needs of distributed software while offering a framework distinct from its established Ice platform. Both products are developed on GitHub, making public source repositories an important part of ZeroC's product delivery and community-facing identity. The available reference material does not provide a detailed chronology of product releases, ownership changes, acquisitions, financial performance, executive appointments, marketing campaigns, or controversies. Accordingly, ZeroC's documented history is best understood through its founding, its development of Ice, and its subsequent work on IceRPC. The company remains associated with open-source distributed-systems tooling and developer infrastructure.
- 2002ZeroC is founded
Marc Laukien founded ZeroC in the United States, with the company based in Jupiter, Florida.
Products and positioning
A specialist developer-infrastructure company providing open-source frameworks for distributed applications and modern remote procedure call communication.
IceDistributed application framework
Ice is ZeroC's principal open-source framework for building distributed applications. It supplies developer-oriented infrastructure for communication between software components that may run in separate processes, on different machines, or across networks. The framework is developed publicly on GitHub, and binary packages are available through common software repositories. Ice is aimed at engineering teams that need structured middleware for service-oriented and networked applications.
IceRPCRemote procedure call framework
IceRPC is an open-source RPC framework developed by ZeroC and designed to operate over the QUIC transport protocol. It provides infrastructure for applications whose components need to invoke operations and exchange information across a network. Its QUIC-based design places the project within a newer generation of network communication tooling, while its public GitHub development model keeps the implementation accessible to developers and organizations evaluating open-source RPC technologies.
Flagship businesses
- Ice
- IceRPC
Sources
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