wolfSSL Inc.
wolfSSL Inc. develops a lightweight, portable embedded SSL/TLS and cryptography software stack (wolfSSL, wolfCrypt) with FIPS 140-3 and DO-178C DAL-A certifications, licensed to OEMs and embedded developers across IoT, automotive, aviation, government, and industrial markets.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2004
- HeadquartersBozeman, United States
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What wolfSSL Inc. does
wolfSSL Inc. is a privately held embedded security software company founded in 2004 (originally as yaSSL, rebranded to wolfSSL in 2013) and headquartered in the Seattle metropolitan area (Bothell, Washington). The company develops and licenses a lightweight, portable C-language TLS/cryptographic software stack optimized for resource-constrained and safety-critical environments, with the flagship wolfSSL embedded TLS library (up to 20x smaller than OpenSSL) and the wolfCrypt cryptography engine (FIPS 140-3 validated under Certificates #4718 and #5041, including the world's first SP800-140Br1 validated certificate, and DO-178C DAL-A certified for avionics). The product portfolio spans wolfMQTT, wolfSSH, wolfTPM, wolfBoot, wolfSentry IDPS, wolfHSM, wolfIP (deterministic TCP/IP stack), wolfGuard, wolfEngine, wolfProvider, wolfJSSE/JCE Java providers, wolfCLU, and dual-licensed cURL/tiny-curl, with post-quantum algorithm support (ML-KEM, ML-DSA/SLH-DSA per FIPS 203/204/205) under active development.
The business model is dual-license commercial plus open source: a GPLv3-licensed community distribution serves as the top-of-funnel, while revenue is generated through commercial perpetual licenses for proprietary deployments, four tiers of annual engineering support subscriptions, professional consulting and integration services, and cURL subscription packages covering non-mainstream OS and embedded environments. The go-to-motion is OEM-embedded: wolfSSL is designed into IoT, automotive, aviation, government, military, smart grid, industrial automation, and medical-device products, with reported use across more than 5 billion applications and devices globally. Distribution is anchored in direct download from wolfssl.com, GitHub repositories, a Yocto/OpenEmbedded meta-wolfssl layer for embedded Linux builds, and direct enterprise sales for support and licensing. Co-founders Todd Ouska (CTO) and Larry Stefonic continue to lead the firm, which is profitable and self-funded with no disclosed venture capital or institutional investors.
wolfSSL Inc. firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- wolfSSL Inc.
- Legal name
- wolfSSL Inc.
- Website
- https://wolfssl.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2004
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- wolfSSL Inc. develops a lightweight, portable embedded SSL/TLS and cryptography software stack (wolfSSL, wolfCrypt) with FIPS 140-3 and DO-178C DAL-A certifications, licensed to OEMs and embedded developers across IoT, automotive, aviation, government, and industrial markets.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
wolfSSL Inc. industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Embedded Cryptographic Libraries
- NAICS
- Software Publishers (5132), Custom Computer Programming Services (541511)
- SIC
- Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)
- akta.pro primary industry
- API Security & Service-to-Service Security (mTLS, Service Mesh Security) (HDABAHAN)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Network Security Services (Firewall/VPN/ZTNA/SASE Integration) (BPAEAEAG)
Keywords
Where wolfSSL Inc. is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Bozeman
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
wolfSSL Inc. business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Dual-Licensed Software (GPLv3 + Commercial): The majority of wolfSSL products are dual-licensed under both GPLv3 as open source and under standard commercial licensing. Commercial licenses generate revenue from enterprises that cannot use GPL-licensed software. This includes support packages, consulting services, and custom feature development.
- Support and Maintenance Packages: Annual support packages providing direct access to wolfSSL engineering team, including migration assistance, FIPS 140-3 deployment guidance, custom feature development, and platform porting/integration services. Four package tiers available.
- Consulting Services: Professional consulting services for IoT and network appliance security, including Open Source project support integration, custom development, and security assessments.
- cURL Subscription Packages: Subscription packages for cURL/libcurl/tiny-curl including support for non-mainstream operating systems (OS/390, VAX, HP/UX, AIX), embedded/RTOS environments, security integrations (Kerberos, LDAP, OAuth, HSM/TPM), and long-term service agreements.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Others | GPLv3 Open Source License |
| One time/ perpetual license | One time/ perpetual license | Commercial License |
| Subscription | Annual | Annual Support Packages |
| Subscription | Annual | cURL Subscription Packages |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels9 records
wolfSSL Inc. product offering
Product offeringCore offering
wolfSSL develops and sells lightweight, embedded SSL/TLS libraries and a cryptographic engine (wolfCrypt) optimized for resource-constrained environments including RTOS, bare-metal, and IoT systems. The software is dual-licensed under the open-source GPLv3 and commercial licenses, with FIPS 140-3 and DO-178C certified variants available for regulated industries such as government, defense, automotive, aviation, and industrial automation. Supporting products extend the offering into SSH, MQTT, TPM, secure boot, HSM integration, and a deterministic TCP/IP stack.
Product overview
wolfSSL Inc. provides a comprehensive portfolio of embedded security software products centered on the wolfSSL embedded TLS library and wolfCrypt cryptography engine. The wolfSSL embedded TLS library is a lightweight, portable C-language SSL/TLS library optimized for embedded, RTOS, and resource-constrained environments, supporting TLS 1.3 and DTLS 1.3, with an OpenSSL compatibility layer. wolfCrypt provides the underlying cryptographic engine with FIPS 140-3 validation. The product family includes specialized security modules: wolfMQTT (secure MQTT client), wolfSSH (lightweight SSH), wolfTPM (TPM 2.0 support), wolfBoot (secure bootloader), wolfSentry (intrusion detection/prevention), wolfHSM (hardware security module), wolfGuard (security module including Tailscale integration), wolfProvider (PKCS#11/CNG provider), wolfIP (deterministic TCP/IP stack), wolfEngine (OpenSSL engine), wolfCLU (command-line utility), and cURL/tiny-curl (secure data transfer). wolfSSL also provides language bindings: wolfSSL Java Interface (JSSE/JCE providers), wolfSSL C# Wrapper, and wolfSSL Android Client. wolfCrypt Post-Quantum adds quantum-resistant cryptography. wolfSSL products are dual-licensed under GPLv3 and commercial licensing. wolfCrypt holds FIPS 140-3 validation (Certificates #4718, #5041) and has been DO-178C DAL-A certified for avionics. The portfolio targets applications in smart grid, industrial automation, connected home, automotive, games, cloud services, government, military, aviation, and medical devices, securing over 5 billion applications and devices globally.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- wolfCrypt: Lightweight, embeddable cryptography engine with portability, modularity, security, and feature set focus. FIPS 140-3 and MISRA available.
- wolfMQTT
- wolfSSH
- wolfTPM
- wolfBoot
- wolfSentry
- wolfIP
- wolfHSM
- wolfGuard
- wolfJSSE
- wolfJCE
- wolfCLU
- tiny-curl
Products and services
- wolfSSL Embedded TLS Library
Quantifiable outcome
- wolfSSL is up to 20 times smaller than OpenSSL, enabling use in resource-constrained embedded environments
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use wolfSSL Inc.
Customer profileSegments6 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
wolfSSL Inc. technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration17 records
Feature14 records
wolfSSL Inc. partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- VORAGO TechnologiescorePartnership announced at SmallSat Symposium 2026 to develop radiation-hardened, cryptographically secure microcontrollers for space applications. The collaboration integrates VORAGO's radiation protection technology with wolfSSL's embedded cryptography to address security and reliability challenges in expanding space constellations, targeting longer mission lifespans and interconnected satellite infrastructure.
- IntelcorewolfSSL and Intel have published a white paper titled 'Applying wolfBoot to 11th Gen Intel Core Processors for Secure Boot', demonstrating wolfBoot integration with Intel processors and performance improvements using Intel AES-NI, AVX2, and AVX-512 instructions.
- Anthropic (Project Glasswing)corewolfSSL participates in Anthropic's Project Glasswing initiative, where Claude Mythos Preview AI model identified over 10,000 high-severity vulnerabilities including a critical flaw in WolfSSL (CVE-2026-5194, CVSS 9.1) that could allow attackers to forge certificates. 97 findings were patched upstream and 88 advisories issued.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
wolfSSL Inc. competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- OpenSSL Software Foundation: OpenSSL is the dominant open-source TLS/crypto library and the primary free alternative to wolfSSL. Both provide TLS, DTLS, and cryptographic primitives used in production systems; wolfSSL differentiates primarily on footprint and embedded/RTOs suitability, while OpenSSL dominates enterprise and cloud workloads.
- ARM (mbed TLS): ARM's mbed TLS (formerly PolarSSL) is a lightweight TLS library targeting embedded and IoT. It is the closest direct competitor to wolfSSL in the embedded/RTOs space, with similar footprint goals and developer audience.
- BoringSSL (Google): BoringSSL is Google's fork of OpenSSL used across Chrome, Android, and Google's cloud infrastructure. It is a direct competitor in the TLS library space with strong engineering resources and influences de facto standards that wolfSSL must remain compatible with.
- GnuTLS: GnuTLS is an open-source TLS/crypto library maintained by the GNU Project. It is a direct alternative to wolfSSL for organizations seeking a GPLv2-licensed TLS stack, especially in Linux distributions and open-source stacks.
Broad incumbents
- Entrust Corporation: Entrust is a broad incumbent in digital security and crypto, offering TLS/PKI, HSMs, and identity solutions. It overlaps with wolfSSL in FIPS-validated cryptography and government/defense certifications but offers a much wider portfolio.
- DigiCert: DigiCert is a leading certificate authority and TLS/PKI provider with deep enterprise and government presence. It is a broad incumbent adjacent to wolfSSL, especially where FIPS-validated workflows and post-quantum certificates are concerned.
- Sectigo: Sectigo is a large commercial CA and TLS/PKI vendor serving enterprises and IoT/device manufacturers. Its IoT-focused identity issuance overlaps with wolfSSL's OEM go-to-market for embedded secure communications.
- Utimaco: Utimaco is an incumbent provider of hardware security modules (HSMs) and FIPS-validated cryptographic solutions. wolfHSM and wolfCrypt compete and integrate with Utimaco's HSM ecosystem in government, payments, and industrial sectors.
Emerging players
- ISARA Corporation: ISARA is an emerging quantum-safe cryptography specialist offering PQC libraries and integration services. It overlaps directly with wolfSSL's wolfCrypt post-quantum offering for organizations preparing for quantum migration.
- Crypto4A: Crypto4A provides FIPS-validated, quantum-ready HSMs and crypto-agility platforms. It is an emerging player targeting the same regulated, post-quantum-ready embedded and enterprise security buyers as wolfSSL.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
wolfSSL Inc. social profiles
Digital presencewolfSSL Inc. compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance3 records
wolfSSL Inc. financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
wolfSSL Inc. leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
wolfSSL Inc. funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
wolfSSL Inc. 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 wolfSSL Inc.
What does wolfSSL Inc. do?
wolfSSL develops and sells lightweight, embedded SSL/TLS libraries and a cryptographic engine (wolfCrypt) optimized for resource-constrained environments including RTOS, bare-metal, and IoT systems. The software is dual-licensed under the open-source GPLv3 and commercial licenses, with FIPS 140-3 and DO-178C certified variants available for regulated industries such as government, defense, automotive, aviation, and industrial automation. Supporting products extend the offering into SSH, MQTT, TPM, secure boot, HSM integration, and a deterministic TCP/IP stack.
Is wolfSSL Inc. a public or private company?
wolfSSL Inc. is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was wolfSSL Inc. founded?
wolfSSL Inc. was founded in 2004. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is wolfSSL Inc. based?
wolfSSL Inc. is headquartered in Bozeman, United States, in the North America region.
How does wolfSSL Inc. make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Dual-Licensed Software (GPLv3 + Commercial) is the primary driver. The others are support and Maintenance Packages, consulting Services and cURL Subscription Packages.
Who are wolfSSL Inc.'s main competitors?
Direct peers on record are OpenSSL Software Foundation, ARM (mbed TLS), BoringSSL (Google) and GnuTLS. Broad incumbents are Entrust Corporation, DigiCert, Sectigo and Utimaco. Emerging players are ISARA Corporation and Crypto4A.
Does wolfSSL Inc. have an API?
Yes. wolfSSL provides native C APIs with OpenSSL compatibility layer, Java JSSE/JCE providers (JNI wrapper), C# wrapper, and JavaScript/web assembly bindings. wolfSSL API supports TLS 1.3 and DTLS 1.3, OCSP, CRL, PSK, mutual authentication, hardware cryptography acceleration, and session export capabilities. Developer documentation is at www.wolfssl.com/documentation/manuals/wolfssl.
What industry is wolfSSL Inc. in?
wolfSSL Inc.'s product category is Embedded Cryptographic Libraries. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HDABAHAN, API Security & Service-to-Service Security (mTLS, Service Mesh Security), with a secondary code of BPAEAEAG, Network Security Services (Firewall/VPN/ZTNA/SASE Integration). Its NAICS code is 5132 and its SIC code is 7372.