Snowball

What Snowball does

Snowball Digital Intelligence Technology Co., Ltd. is a Shanghai-headquartered, private company founded in 2013 by the core team from NXP Semiconductors' Secure Service division. It operates two product platforms — OnBoard™ IoT Security (OBIS) and OnBoard™ Mobile Credentials — built on shared cryptographic infrastructure comprising PKI, KMS, Secure Element Management System (SEMS), and Hardware Security Modules (HSMs), including factory-deployed EdgeHSM appliances built on EAL5+ secure elements. The platforms govern the full lifecycle of device identities, firmware, SBOMs, provisioning records, and mobile credentials for IoT OEMs, transit authorities, vehicle OEMs, mobile OEMs, and access control operators, with documented production deployments including 1M+ Matter devices per month for a top European OEM, 3M+ digital car keys for Chery across 20 vehicle models, and 60,000+ digital nol Cards issued for Dubai RTA in Samsung Wallet within three months of launch.

The company's revenue model combines platform licensing and recurring subscriptions for OnBoard™ products with professional services for certification support (Apple MFi, CCC, DESFire applets, SE integration). Pricing is quote-based with multi-year enterprise contracts; no public pricing exists. Snowball distributes primarily through direct enterprise sales targeting IoT OEMs, transit authorities, and vehicle OEMs, augmented by channel partnerships with mobile wallet ecosystems (Apple, Samsung, Xiaomi, OPPO, vivo, Lenovo), silicon vendors (NXP, Espressif, Silicon Labs, Qorvo, STMicroelectronics), and ODM/EMS manufacturing partners. The company holds ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO/IEC 27001, and CSA-certified Matter Non-VID Scoped Product Attestation Authority certifications (2023), and has raised approximately $12M across three disclosed rounds (2014, 2015, 2019) from Tengxun Touzi, Haitong Capital, and Huami. Total disclosed funding is $12M, with 100+ employees and operations spanning China, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Europe.

Name

Snowball

Legal name

Shanghai Snowball Digital Intelligence Technology Co., Ltd.

Website

https://snowballtech.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Snowball (Shanghai, founded 2013) builds OnBoard™ IoT Security and OnBoard™ Mobile Credentials platforms on PKI/KMS/HSM infrastructure, serving IoT OEMs, transit authorities, vehicle OEMs, and mobile OEMs with secure device provisioning, lifecycle governance, and mobile wallet credential issuance at production scale.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Shanghai

HQ country

China

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Platform Licensing and Subscription: OnBoard™ product line including OBIS (OnBoard™ IoT Security), Secure Infrastructure (PKI/KMS/HSM), SEMS (Secure Element Management System), and Mobile Credentials licensed through commercial agreements. Binding commitments established through executed commercial agreements.
2. Professional Services: Implementation, integration, and deployment services for OnBoard™ platforms including certification support (e.g., Apple MFi certification, CCC certification).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Snowball operates the OnBoard™ platform, comprising OnBoard™ IoT Security (OBIS) for governing firmware, SBOMs, product identities, and production records across the connected device lifecycle, and OnBoard™ Mobile Credentials for managing the provisioning, issuance, verification, and revocation of transit cards, access credentials, and digital car keys across Apple, Samsung, and Android wallet ecosystems. Both platforms are built on shared cryptographic infrastructure including PKI, KMS, SEMS, and EdgeHSM hardware security modules.

Product overview

Snowball operates two core OnBoard platforms built on shared security infrastructure (PKI, KMS, SEMS, EdgeHSM): OnBoard IoT Security (OBIS) unifies firmware, SBOMs, product identities, and production records into an operational trust chain for secure manufacturing, provisioning, lifecycle governance, and CRA/PSTI compliance at scale; OnBoard Mobile Credentials governs mobile credential lifecycle for transit cards, access credentials, and digital car keys across Apple and Android wallet ecosystems. The IoT Security platform includes sub-products for Matter device provisioning, Google Cast provisioning, Factory Provisioning, Secure Update/OTA, SBOM/Vulnerability management, and Compliance/Disclosure automation. The Mobile Credentials platform includes OnBoard Transit, OnBoard Access Credential, and OnBoard Digital Car Key. Supporting infrastructure includes DESFire applets, Cloud HSM on AWS EU, and the Credential Data Preparation System.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• OnBoard™: The product platform brand covering OnBoard™ IoT Security (OBIS) and OnBoard™ Mobile Credentials, which includes OnBoard™ Transit, OnBoard™ Access Credential, and OnBoard™ Digital Car Key.

Quantifiable outcome

• 4 months from engagement to commercial launch for Dubai nol Card Samsung Wallet integration
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration8 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

15 partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.

• NXP SemiconductorscoreTechnology or IntegrationSnowball was founded by the core team from NXP's Secure Service division and operates as a strategic partner of NXP, focusing on digital credential and device trust infrastructure.
• ApplecoreTechnology or IntegrationStrategic partnership enabling Apple Wallet integration for transit, access, and digital car key credentials. Apple requires MFi certification for CarKey implementations.
• SamsungcoreTechnology or IntegrationSamsung wallet integration partner for nol Card transit credentials in Samsung Wallet and broader mobile credential services.
• Dubai Roads and Transport Authority (RTA)flagshipTechnology or IntegrationFlagship case study: Dubai nol Card launched in Samsung Wallet with 60,000+ digital cards in 3 months, commercial launch in 4 months.
• EspressifcoreTechnology or IntegrationSilicon partner for Matter and IoT device provisioning across Espressif SoC platforms.
• Silicon LabscoreTechnology or IntegrationSilicon partner providing SoC platforms for connected devices with secure provisioning integration.
• QorvocoreTechnology or IntegrationSilicon partner for connected device solutions with OBIS integration for secure provisioning.
• STMicroelectronicscoreTechnology or IntegrationSilicon partner (ST) for secure element and microcontroller solutions integrated with OnBoard™ platforms.
• XiaomicoreTechnology or IntegrationMobile OEM partner for digital car key and credential wallet integration across Xiaomi device ecosystem.
• OPPOcoreTechnology or IntegrationMobile OEM partner for credential wallet integration across OPPO device ecosystem.
• vivocoreTechnology or IntegrationMobile OEM partner for credential wallet integration across vivo device ecosystem.
• LenovocoreTechnology or IntegrationMobile OEM partner for credential ecosystem integration across Lenovo device portfolio.
• Chery AutomobileflagshipTechnology or IntegrationFlagship case study: Digital car key platform across 20 production vehicle models, supporting CCC/ICCOA/ICCE standards, 10 mobile OEM ecosystems, 8 SE chip variants. Over 3 million digital car keys issued.
• Niu TechnologiescoreTechnology or IntegrationApple Wallet Key integration for electric scooter access — tap to unlock without app or network. EU data compliance with keys hosted on AWS EU. 6-month time to launch.
• European Matter OEMflagshipTechnology or IntegrationFlagship case study: 1M+ Matter devices per month across 5 ODM factories in 3 countries, zero keys exposed, 21 products in production, serving 50+ markets.

Scale indicators19 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• HID Global: HID Global is a leading provider of identity and mobile credential solutions, including transit ticketing (notably the Dubai RTA nol Card program that Snowball also supports via Samsung Wallet), access credentials, and digital car keys. Both companies compete directly in mobile wallet-based credential issuance for transit and enterprise access, and both support DESFire/MIFARE-based physical-to-mobile credential migration paths.
• IDEMIA: IDEMIA is a global leader in digital identity, secure elements, and mobile credentials, providing transit ticketing solutions, digital car keys (with CCC standard implementations), and government ID infrastructure. IDEMIA directly competes with Snowball in mobile wallet-based transit credential issuance and digital car key PKI services, serving overlapping transit authorities and vehicle OEM customers.
• GlobalSign: GlobalSign is a PKI and digital identity provider with strong IoT device identity and certificate management offerings for connected device manufacturers. GlobalSign directly competes with Snowball's OnBoard IoT Security (OBIS) for IoT OEM PKI provisioning contracts, and both serve similar smart home, industrial IoT, and connected product customer segments.

Broad incumbents

• Thales Digital Identity & Security: Thales DIS (formerly Gemalto) is a broad incumbent offering PKI, HSM (Luna HSM), mobile credential platforms, secure elements, and digital identity solutions for transit, automotive, and IoT. While overlapping with Snowball's credential lifecycle and HSM business, Thales operates across a much broader portfolio including payment cards, government IDs, and enterprise security at significantly larger scale.
• Entrust: Entrust provides PKI, certificate management, HSM, and identity verification solutions for enterprises and governments. Its PKI and certificate lifecycle management capabilities compete directly with Snowball's Secure Infrastructure (PKI/KMS/SEMS) layer, while its broader portfolio spans payment security and identity verification outside Snowball's core focus.
• DigiCert: DigiCert is a major PKI and digital certificate provider serving IoT device manufacturers with device identity certificates and lifecycle management. DigiCert's IoT Trust Manager and PKI services compete with Snowball's OnBoard Secure Infrastructure for IoT OEM credential provisioning, though DigiCert operates at much larger scale across SSL/TLS, enterprise PKI, and document signing.

Others

• Infineon Technologies: Infineon provides secure elements, TPMs, and hardware security modules that underpin IoT device credential provisioning — including the EAL5+ secure elements used in Snowball's EdgeHSM appliances. As a silicon vendor and ecosystem partner, Infineon is both a critical enabler for Snowball's hardware security architecture and a strategic alternative in OEM silicon selection decisions.
• NXP Semiconductors: NXP is Snowball's founding silicon partner, providing secure element technology (EAL5+ SE) that underpins Snowball's EdgeHSM and Mobile Credentials products. NXP is both an enabler (silicon supplier, strategic partner) and adjacent competitor in secure service offerings for IoT and mobile credential ecosystems, particularly in automotive secure elements and embedded SE platforms.

Emerging players

• Keyfactor: Keyfactor provides PKI-as-a-Service, certificate lifecycle automation, and IoT identity management for connected device manufacturers. As an emerging PKI specialist with focus on IoT and machine identity, Keyfactor competes in adjacent whitespace to Snowball's OBIS platform, particularly for North American and European IoT OEMs seeking certificate management at scale.
• WISeKey: WISeKey is a Swiss-based cybersecurity company providing PKI, secure elements, and IoT identity solutions, including Matter device attestation services. As a smaller, publicly-traded emerging player in IoT PKI and digital identity, WISeKey competes in overlapping whitespace with Snowball's OnBoard IoT Security offering for European and connected device customers.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/snowballtechnology
• Xx.com/tech_snowball

Compliance12 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds3 records

Investors3 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Snowball