zeroRISC
ZeroRISC commercializes production-grade open-source silicon root-of-trust technology built on OpenTitan, delivering post-quantum cryptography, factory provisioning, and device lifecycle management to OEMs and semiconductor manufacturers across IoT, automotive, data center, and mobile markets.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2023
- HeadquartersBoston, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What zeroRISC does
ZeroRISC is a Boston-based private company founded in 2023 by Dominic Rizzo, creator of the OpenTitan project. The company commercializes open-source silicon root-of-trust (RoT) technology, offering an Integrity Management Platform spanning three lifecycle stages: Build (design-time silicon IP and silicon-native CI), Provision (factory provisioning for verifiable supply-chain integrity), and Manage (below-OS fleet management). The platform is built on the production-grade OpenTitan foundation and the Pavona open-silicon distribution, and incorporates a programmable Asymmetric Cryptography Coprocessor (ACC) with custom vector instructions and the Pavona Cryptolib for hardware-accelerated post-quantum cryptography (ML-KEM, ML-DSA, SLH-DSA), alongside first-order masking implementations for DPA resistance.
Underlying technical differentiators include 6-9x speedups for ML-KEM and ML-DSA relative to non-vectorized implementations, 36-75% increases in maximum operating frequency, and an open-source cryptographic stack co-developed with Max Planck Institute for Security and Privacy, Fraunhofer AISEC, and Academia Sinica. The platform is engineered from inception for FIPS 140-3, EU Cyber Resilience Act, and Common Criteria PP-0117/PP-0084 compliance.
ZeroRISC generates revenue primarily through commercial licensing of OpenTitan-based open-source silicon designs and a recurring Early Access Program for first commercial integrations. Nuvoton is the disclosed first commercial integration partner (February 2024), with Winbond as co-developer. The company targets four verticals: IoT/IIoT (CRA-ready vulnerability management), Automotive (15+ year post-quantum lifecycle), Data Center/Chiplet (primary segment, per-chiplet attestation), and Mobile/PC (certifiable RoT for carrier and payment markets). Distribution combines direct enterprise sales with the Pavona ecosystem hosted by GlobalPlatform, which has 12 founding members. Total disclosed funding is $15M across two seed rounds.
zeroRISC firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- zeroRISC
- Legal name
- ZeroRISC Inc.
- Website
- https://zerorisc.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2023
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- ZeroRISC commercializes production-grade open-source silicon root-of-trust technology built on OpenTitan, delivering post-quantum cryptography, factory provisioning, and device lifecycle management to OEMs and semiconductor manufacturers across IoT, automotive, data center, and mobile markets.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
zeroRISC industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Silicon Security & Semiconductor IP
- NAICS
- Computer Systems Design Services (541512), Security Systems Services (56162), Computer Systems Design and Related Services (54151)
- SIC
- Electronic Computers (3571), Communications Equipment, Nec (3669)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Security & Trusted Hardware ICs (Secure Element/TPM/Crypto) (HDAHABAF)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Confidential Computing & Hardware-backed Protection (TEE/HSM) (HDADAFAJ), Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) & NERC-CIP Compliance (HDADAJAC), Secure Elements & Trusted Execution Processors (TPM/TEE/Crypto MCUs) (HDAHAJAK), Industrial Protocol Security & Deep Packet Inspection (DPI) (HDADAJAH)
Keywords
Where zeroRISC is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Boston
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
zeroRISC business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Open-Source Silicon IP Licensing: Commercial licensing of OpenTitan-based open-source silicon designs for secure devices. Provides transparent, verifiable device security through open-source silicon independent of proprietary 'black box' solutions.
- Early Access Program: Commercial early access program for first commercial products based on OpenTitan-based open-source silicon. Nuvoton became the first commercial integration partner.
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels3 records
zeroRISC product offering
Product offeringCore offering
ZeroRISC commercializes an open-source silicon security platform built on OpenTitan, providing a layered Integrity Management Platform with three product stages: Build (design-time silicon IP, silicon-native CI, and post-quantum-ready hardware including the Asymmetric Cryptography Coprocessor), Provision (factory provisioning for verifiable supply-chain integrity), and Manage (below-OS fleet and device lifecycle management). The platform is delivered with the Pavona open-source silicon distribution, the Pavona Cryptolib, and is standards-aligned for FIPS 140-3, EU CRA, and Common Criteria certifications.
Product overview
ZeroRISC offers a unified Integrity Management Platform with three integrated modules—Build, Provision, and Manage—covering the complete device lifecycle from silicon design through manufacturing to field updates. Build provides design-time IP including the Enterprise Pavona Repo, silicon-native CI, and PQC-ready hardware; Provision enables verifiable supply-chain integrity during manufacturing; and Manage delivers fleet management below the OS. The platform is built on the open-source OpenTitan project and the Pavona distribution, incorporating post-quantum cryptography (ML-KEM, ML-DSA, SLH-DSA) through a programmable Asymmetric Cryptography Coprocessor and the Pavona Cryptolib library.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Pavona: Open-source silicon distribution providing production-grade post-quantum cryptography IP components and reference designs, launched by GlobalPlatform with ZeroRISC as a founding member.
- OpenTitan
Products and services
- Build Design-time silicon platform that lets chip developers design silicon like software, featuring version-controlled repositories with regular release cadence, silicon-native continuous integration for simulation, emulation, and software, and post-quantum-ready hardware IP including the Asymmetric Cryptography Coprocessor. Targeted at chip designers and OEMs building secure silicon products.
- Provision Factory provisioning solution delivering verifiable supply-chain integrity, enabling manufacturers to attest silicon authenticity from chip manufacturing through deployment. Targeted at device manufacturers and silicon integrators requiring multi-source, multi-region supply chain assurance.
- Manage Below-OS fleet management and lifecycle solution for deployed devices, including attestation and secure updates. Targeted at device manufacturers managing long-lived device fleets across IoT/IIoT, automotive, mobile/PC, and data center segments.
- Pavona Open-source silicon distribution hosted by GlobalPlatform, delivering production-grade post-quantum cryptography IP components and reference designs. Includes a modular composition engine for building secure-by-default silicon aligned with FIPS 140-3 and Common Criteria certification requirements. Targeted at chip designers and OEMs integrating certification-aligned roots of trust.
Quantifiable outcome
- 6-9x speedup for ML-KEM and ML-DSA algorithms on embedded silicon
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use zeroRISC
Customer profileSegments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
zeroRISC technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature7 records
zeroRISC partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- Fraunhofer AISECcoreCollaborative project achieving six to nine times performance improvements and 36-75% increases in maximum operating frequency for ML-KEM and ML-DSA post-quantum algorithms on embedded silicon.
- GlobalPlatformcoreGlobalPlatform hosts Pavona, the open-source silicon ecosystem. ZeroRISC participates in Pavona as a founding member. Pavona delivers production-grade post-quantum cryptography IP components and reference designs for embedded and high-performance systems including IoT, automotive, and AI applications.
- Max Planck Institute for Security and PrivacycoreMulti-year collaboration on post-quantum cryptography research. Contributed to developing Kyber (ML-KEM), Dilithium (ML-DSA), and SPHINCS+ (SLH-DSA). Joint work achieved 6-9x speedups for PQC algorithms on embedded silicon. MPI-SP joined Pavona as a founding member in 2026.
- Academia SinicacoreMulti-year collaboration on post-quantum cryptography research for open silicon platforms. Contributed to performance improvements of 6-9x for ML-KEM and ML-DSA on embedded silicon alongside 36-75% increases in maximum operating frequency.
- OpenTitan CoalitioncoreZeroRISC is a partner in the OpenTitan coalition and transitioned the OpenTitan project into commercialization. OpenTitan is the only production-grade open-source silicon root of trust foundation for ZeroRISC's platform.
- NuvotoncoreFirst commercial integration partner for OpenTitan-based products. Nuvoton and ZeroRISC made the first commercial chip based on open-source silicon RoT available through early access program. Building on OpenTitan project success.
- WinbondcoreCo-developing the first commercial OpenTitan-based Integrated Secure Execution Environment with ZeroRISC. Strategic semiconductor partner in the OpenTitan ecosystem.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
zeroRISC competitors and assessment
Company assessmentEmerging players
- Crypto4A Technologies: Provides FIPS-validated hardware security modules and PQC-ready HSMs. Overlaps with ZeroRISC's data center and IoT key-management use cases around hardware-backed crypto, though Crypto4A focuses on enterprise HSMs rather than embedded silicon IP.
- Synopsys: Provides security IP, cryptography cores, and EDA tools used by chipmakers designing secure silicon. Comparable through its cryptography IP portfolio, which competes with ZeroRISC's Pavona Cryptolib and ACC IP.
- Rambus: Sells security IP cores and hardware roots of trust to chipmakers and serves data center, automotive, and IoT security use cases. Competes with ZeroRISC's Build/IP offering as a paid IP alternative in the silicon trust stack.
- Microsoft Pluton: Hardware security subsystem shipping in PCs and IoT with integrated PQC roadmap. Overlaps with ZeroRISC's mobile/PC and data center TAM as a competing hardware-rooted platform for secure boot and attestation.
Broad incumbents
- STMicroelectronics: Major supplier of STM32 secure MCUs and STSAFE secure elements. Competes with ZeroRISC in IoT and automotive security with certified hardware roots of trust and a broad MCU ecosystem.
- Infineon Technologies (OPTIGA): Incumbent supplier of OPTIGA TPM and secure element ICs used in PCs, automotive, and IoT. Directly competes for the same root-of-trust sockets that ZeroRISC targets, but as part of a much broader semiconductor portfolio with established FIPS/Common Criteria certifications.
- NXP Semiconductors: Ships secure elements and EdgeLock TPM/SE products widely deployed in automotive, mobile, and IoT. Competes in ZeroRISC's primary verticals with certified secure ICs and a deep Tier-1 customer base.
Direct peers
- lowRISC: Steward of the original open-source silicon RoT project that ZeroRISC commercializes. Operates in the same OpenTitan ecosystem and shares the open-source silicon security mission; competing as the not-for-profit upstream alternative to ZeroRISC's commercial offering.
- Nuvoton Technology: First commercial integration partner for ZeroRISC's OpenTitan-based products. Comparable as a chipmaker commercializing secure silicon, with overlap in target customers for secure-boot and RoT silicon.
Others
- GlobalPlatform: Industry standards body that hosts the Pavona distribution in which ZeroRISC is a founding member. Comparable as the ecosystem steward shaping certification-aligned silicon security standards.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
zeroRISC social profiles
Digital presencezeroRISC compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance3 records
zeroRISC financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
zeroRISC leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles3 records
zeroRISC funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds2 records
Investors7 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
zeroRISC M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about zeroRISC
What does zeroRISC do?
ZeroRISC commercializes an open-source silicon security platform built on OpenTitan, providing a layered Integrity Management Platform with three product stages: Build (design-time silicon IP, silicon-native CI, and post-quantum-ready hardware including the Asymmetric Cryptography Coprocessor), Provision (factory provisioning for verifiable supply-chain integrity), and Manage (below-OS fleet and device lifecycle management). The platform is delivered with the Pavona open-source silicon distribution, the Pavona Cryptolib, and is standards-aligned for FIPS 140-3, EU CRA, and Common Criteria certifications.
Is zeroRISC a public or private company?
zeroRISC is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was zeroRISC founded?
zeroRISC was founded in 2023. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is zeroRISC based?
zeroRISC is headquartered in Boston, United States, in the North America region.
How does zeroRISC make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Open-Source Silicon IP Licensing is the primary driver. The others are early Access Program.
Who are zeroRISC's main competitors?
Emerging players on record are Crypto4A Technologies, Synopsys, Rambus and Microsoft Pluton. Broad incumbents are STMicroelectronics, Infineon Technologies (OPTIGA) and NXP Semiconductors. Direct peers are lowRISC and Nuvoton Technology. GlobalPlatform is listed as an others.
Does zeroRISC have an API?
No public API is recorded for zeroRISC.
What industry is zeroRISC in?
zeroRISC's product category is Silicon Security & Semiconductor IP. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HDAHABAF, Security & Trusted Hardware ICs (Secure Element/TPM/Crypto), with a secondary code of HDADAFAJ, Confidential Computing & Hardware-backed Protection (TEE/HSM). Its NAICS code is 541512 and its SIC code is 3571.