Tropic Square
Tropic Square is a Prague-based semiconductor company that designs TROPIC01, the world's first transparent auditable RISC-V secure element chip, serving hardware wallet, IoT, and digital identity customers.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2020
- HeadquartersPrague, Czechia
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What Tropic Square does
Tropic Square is a Czech semiconductor company founded in 2020 and headquartered in Prague, operating as a spin-off of SatoshiLabs (creator of the Trezor hardware wallet). The company designs and manufactures TROPIC01, the world's first transparent, auditable secure element chip built on RISC-V architecture, providing cryptographic key management, digital identity, secure data storage, and tamper-resistant protection against physical, fault injection, and side-channel attacks. The company positions its value proposition around open architecture — providing full chip documentation without NDAs and inviting independent security researchers to audit and stress-test the design — directly challenging the security-through-obscurity model of legacy secure element vendors.
The company monetizes through hardware sales of TROPIC01 chips manufactured by UMC in Taiwan, sales of development kits for prototyping (Raspberry Pi, Arduino, Mikroe, USB-C platforms), and white-label customization services including application firmware, boot ROM, and full hardware modifications. Distribution combines direct website sales with global shipping, an EPS Global partnership for secure provisioning and enterprise distribution, and direct enterprise sales for volume and customization deals. Customer segments span hardware cryptocurrency wallets (anchor use case via Trezor Safe 7), IoT and embedded systems manufacturers, digital identity providers, and industrial/critical infrastructure applications. A C SDK (libtropic) is published as open source on GitHub alongside platform examples for STM32, ESP32, and Linux.
Tropic Square firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Tropic Square
- Legal name
- Tropic Square s.r.o.
- Website
- https://tropicsquare.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2020
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Tropic Square is a Prague-based semiconductor company that designs TROPIC01, the world's first transparent auditable RISC-V secure element chip, serving hardware wallet, IoT, and digital identity customers.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Tropic Square industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Secure Element Semiconductor
- NAICS
- Hardware Manufacturing (33251)
- SIC
- Electronic Connectors (3678)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Security & Trusted Hardware ICs (Secure Element/TPM/Crypto) (HDAHABAF)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Secure ICs, Smart Cards & Trusted Hardware (HDAHAAAJ)
Keywords
Where Tropic Square is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Prague
- HQ country
- Czechia
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Tropic Square business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- TROPIC01 Chip Sales: Sale of TROPIC01 secure element chips for integration into customer products. Chips are manufactured at UMC in Taiwan and sold globally with next-day delivery available.
- Development Kits: Sale of development boards and devkits for TROPIC01 evaluation and prototyping. Available for Raspberry Pi, Arduino, Mikroe, and USB-C platforms.
- Chip Samples: Engineering samples available for testing and evaluation by selected individuals and companies.
- White-label Customization: Customization services for application firmware, boot ROM code, and full hardware modifications for specific third-party requirements. White-labeled product option with no Tropic Square logo.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Multi-year contract | Enterprise Direct Sales |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels8 records
Tropic Square product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Tropic Square designs and manufactures TROPIC01, the world's first transparent and auditable secure element chip built on RISC-V architecture. The chip provides tamper-resistant cryptographic key management, digital identity, secure data storage, and hardware root of trust for IoT devices, hardware crypto wallets, and critical infrastructure. The company also offers development kits and the libtropic SDK for prototyping and integration.
Product overview
Tropic Square is a semiconductor company developing open-architecture secure elements for hardware security applications. The company's flagship product is TROPIC01, the world's first transparent and auditable secure element chip built on RISC-V architecture. TROPIC01 serves as a hardware Root of Trust for embedded systems, providing cryptographic key management, digital identity, and secure data storage. The product portfolio includes the TROPIC01 chip itself, the libtropic SDK (software development kit) for integration, and development kits for prototyping. The company is also developing TROPIC02 as the next-generation production chip. Tropic Square positions itself as a SatoshiLabs company focused on bringing auditable, open-source principles to hardware security.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- TROPIC01 Secure Element Chip TROPIC01 (TRuly OPen Integrated Circuit) is the world's first transparent, auditable secure element chip built on RISC-V architecture. It provides tamper-resistant protection against side-channel and physical attacks, serving as a hardware Root of Trust for IoT devices, crypto wallets, digital identity, and secure decentralized infrastructure. The chip is in volume production and ships globally without NDA requirements.
- TROPIC01 Development Kit Development kit for the TROPIC01 secure element enabling engineers to prototype and test secure element integration. Available in multiple form factors including USB-C version, Raspberry Pi, Arduino, and Mikroe platforms for evaluation and prototyping purposes.
- libtropic SDK libtropic is the software development kit for TROPIC01, providing C library with examples for platform implementations including STM32, ESP32, Linux, and Model. Version 4.0.0 includes hardened firmware updates, ECDSA API improvements, and expanded MCU support for integrating TROPIC01 into customer products.
- White-label Customization Services Customization services for application firmware, boot ROM code, and full hardware modifications for specific third-party requirements. White-labeled product option available with no Tropic Square branding for OEM customers with custom security needs.
Quantifiable outcome
- 300+ developer kits distributed at Embedded World 2025
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Tropic Square
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Tropic Square technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration1 record
Feature8 records
Tropic Square partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Seven partnerships are on record, tiered strategic and core.
- CCAT Project ConsortiumstrategicActive associated partner in EU-funded Cybersecurity Certification and Assessment Tools project. €4.2 million Horizon Europe grant coordinated by Masaryk University. Involved in requirement phase and testing of open-source security assessment tools including SCRUTINY and sec-certs.
- filancorecoreIntegration of TROPIC01 with filancore's Ankrypt IoT client and SDK for self-sovereign identity solutions. TROPIC01 serves as hardware Root-of-Trust for storing device identity keys, enabling decentralized identity without traditional PKI. Targets automotive, defense, and supply chain industries.
- EPS GlobalcorePartnership for secure IC programming and global distribution of TROPIC01 chips. EPS Global operates 22 secure programming centers globally and is certified in VDA 6.3, ISO 9001, ISO 27001, and ISO 14001. Key to operational security of Tropic Square's PKI infrastructure used to ensure authenticity of each TROPIC01 chip.
- IoT Security FoundationstrategicCorporate membership in the global association committed to ensuring security and reliability of IoT devices. Aligns with IoTSF's mission to inform the public and ensure ongoing safety of IoT systems while aligning product lifecycle with EU's Cyber Resilience Act.
- SatoshiLabscoreParent company and founding partner. Tropic Square was established by Evžen Englberth and Jan Pleskač together with SatoshiLabs, creators of Trezor hardware wallets.
- United Microelectronics Corporation (UMC)coreTaiwanese semiconductor foundry manufacturing TROPIC01 chips. Tropic Square licenses IP cores for analog and mixed signal designs including power supplies, TRNG, PUF, and memories from third-party suppliers.
- TrezorcoreFirst use case customer integrating TROPIC01 into Trezor Safe 7 hardware wallet. Trezor's experience discovering a vulnerability in a vendor's security chip during prototyping led to the founding of Tropic Square.
Scale indicators7 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights7 records
Tropic Square competitors and assessment
Company assessmentOthers
- NXP Semiconductors: One of the dominant suppliers of secure element chips (SmartMX, EdgeLock) used in payment cards, e-passports, and hardware wallets. Directly comparable to Tropic Square in secure element category but operates across a vastly broader semiconductor portfolio with deep certifications and enterprise relationships.
Broad incumbents
- Infineon Technologies: Major secure element and TPM vendor (OPTIGA family) serving automotive, industrial, IoT, and payment markets. Comparable as a secure element supplier with strong certification stack (Common Criteria, FIPS), but Tropic Square differentiates via open auditable architecture versus Infineon's closed design approach.
- STMicroelectronics: Produces STSAFE secure elements for authentication, brand protection, and crypto wallets. Comparable product category, but STMicroelectronics serves much larger volumes across general-purpose semiconductors and lacks Tropic Square's open-source auditable positioning.
- Microchip Technology: Supplies CryptoAuthentication and CEC1702 secure elements used widely in IoT and embedded security. Directly comparable in use case (IoT root-of-trust) but operates as a broad MCU/analog powerhouse with significantly larger R&D and global distribution.
- Maxim Integrated (Analog Devices): Supplies DeepCover secure authenticators and secure microcontrollers for IoT, medical, and industrial applications. Comparable secure element category with strong embedded systems presence but operates as a broad analog/mixed-signal incumbent without open-source positioning.
- Renesas Electronics: Provides secure MCU and security IC families (RX, RA, Synergy) with hardware crypto accelerators and secure boot. Comparable in IoT and industrial secure element category, but Renesas is a broad automotive/industrial MCU giant with much larger scale.
Direct peers
- WISeKey: Provides secure elements and PKI-based identity solutions for IoT, payment, and crypto asset applications. Closely comparable in offering (secure element + digital identity), with similar positioning around hardware-rooted trust, though WISeKey leans on managed PKI rather than fully open-source.
- Ledger (Donjon): While Ledger is best known as a hardware wallet vendor, its Donjon security lab extensively tests secure elements and competes in the same end-customer wallet space as Trezor (Tropic Square's parent ecosystem). Highly comparable in market focus on auditable hardware security for crypto wallets.
Emerging players
- OpenTitan (lowRISC / Google): Open-source silicon root-of-trust project producing transparent secure silicon designs, backed by Google, lowRISC, and others. Closest philosophical peer to Tropic Square's 'open auditable security' positioning, though currently focused on data center and infrastructure deployments rather than IoT/wallets.
- Silex Insight: Provides security IP cores (crypto accelerators, PUF, secure boot) and collaborates with EU programs including ORSHIN alongside Tropic Square. Comparable as a smaller player in hardware security, focused on IP rather than finished silicon but overlapping in target use cases and EU ecosystem.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Tropic Square social profiles
Digital presenceTropic Square compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance5 records
Tropic Square financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Tropic Square leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Tropic Square funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds2 records
Investors2 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Tropic Square 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 Tropic Square
What does Tropic Square do?
Tropic Square designs and manufactures TROPIC01, the world's first transparent and auditable secure element chip built on RISC-V architecture. The chip provides tamper-resistant cryptographic key management, digital identity, secure data storage, and hardware root of trust for IoT devices, hardware crypto wallets, and critical infrastructure. The company also offers development kits and the libtropic SDK for prototyping and integration.
Is Tropic Square a public or private company?
Tropic Square is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was Tropic Square founded?
Tropic Square was founded in 2020. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Tropic Square based?
Tropic Square is headquartered in Prague, Czechia, in the Europe region.
How does Tropic Square make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. TROPIC01 Chip Sales are the primary driver. The others are development Kits, chip Samples and white-label Customization.
Who are Tropic Square's main competitors?
NXP Semiconductors is listed as an others. Broad incumbents are Infineon Technologies, STMicroelectronics, Microchip Technology, Maxim Integrated (Analog Devices) and Renesas Electronics. Direct peers are WISeKey and Ledger (Donjon). Emerging players are OpenTitan (lowRISC / Google) and Silex Insight.
Does Tropic Square have an API?
No public API is recorded for Tropic Square.
What industry is Tropic Square in?
Tropic Square's product category is Secure Element Semiconductor. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HDAHABAF, Security & Trusted Hardware ICs (Secure Element/TPM/Crypto), with a secondary code of HDAHAAAJ, Secure ICs, Smart Cards & Trusted Hardware. Its NAICS code is 33251 and its SIC code is 3678.