96Boards
96Boards is an open hardware specification initiative, operated by Linaro Limited, that defines standardized ARM-based development board form factors and expansion interfaces. It serves developers, IoT companies, robotics OEMs, and automotive integrators through a royalty-free ecosystem of compatible boards built by silicon and OEM partners.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2015
- HeadquartersCambridge, United States
- Headcount251–500
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What 96Boards does
96Boards is an open hardware specification initiative that defines standardized platforms for low-cost, small-footprint ARM-based development boards and system-on-modules. Established in 2015, the specification defines mechanical form factors (85x54mm for Consumer Edition, 100x85mm for Enterprise/extended editions), standardized expansion buses (40-pin low-speed and 60-pin high-speed headers), and interface specifications that allow compatible baseboards, mezzanine accessories, and peripherals from multiple vendors to interoperate. The platform spans five editions — Consumer Edition (CE) for mobile, embedded, and digital home; Enterprise Edition (EE) for networking and servers; IoT Edition (IE); SoM Edition (SE) for embedded end-products; and Auto Edition (AE) for automotive applications including ADAS — alongside a mezzanine accessory line covering vision, audio, sensors, and serial connectivity. Silicon partners including Qualcomm, Samsung, and Rockchip supply SoCs (QRB2210/QRB5165, Exynos 850, RV1126, RK3568) that power compliant boards built by OEMs such as WinLink and BeiQi Technology.
The business model is explicitly non-commercial at the specification level: 96Boards itself sells no hardware, charges no royalties to compliant manufacturers, and lists no pricing on its website. Compatible boards reach end customers through a distributed network of channel partners including Arrow Electronics, SeeedStudio, Amazon, AliExpress, Thundercomm, PlusFour, and FabToLab. Revenue accrues indirectly to Linaro Limited — the UK private limited company (company number 07180318, registered at Harston Mill, Cambridge) that owns and operates 96Boards.org — through its ARM consortium membership model funded by leading semiconductor companies. The target customer base spans consumer/hobbyist developers, IoT and embedded systems companies, robotics OEMs, enterprise/networking integrators, and automotive developers, reached primarily through community-led developer relations, documentation, OpenHours community sessions, and digital content channels rather than direct sales.
96Boards firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- 96Boards
- Legal name
- Linaro Limited
- Website
- https://96boards.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2015
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 251–500 employees
- Short description
- 96Boards is an open hardware specification initiative, operated by Linaro Limited, that defines standardized ARM-based development board form factors and expansion interfaces. It serves developers, IoT companies, robotics OEMs, and automotive integrators through a royalty-free ecosystem of compatible boards built by silicon and OEM partners.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
96Boards industry classification
Industry- Product category
- ARM Development Boards & Embedded Computing Hardware
- NAICS
- Computer Terminal and Other Computer Peripheral Equipment Manufacturing (334118), Current-Carrying Wiring Device Manufacturing (335931)
- SIC
- Computer Peripheral Equipment, Nec (3577), Electronic Connectors (3678)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Motherboards & Chipset Platforms (HDACAGAB)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Backplane, Mezzanine & Board-to-Board Interconnects (HDAHAOAC), Network Hardware Components (ASICs/NICs/Transceivers) (HDABAFAN)
Keywords
Where 96Boards is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Cambridge
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
96Boards business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Hardware Sales (Third-Party): 96Boards itself does not sell hardware directly. Compatible boards are manufactured and sold by third-party companies (Qualcomm, WinLink, BeiQi Technology, SeeedStudio, Arrow Electronics, etc.) who pay no explicit royalties to 96Boards. Revenue flows to the silicon vendors and board manufacturers who build to the open specification.
- Linaro Consortium Membership: 96Boards is operated by Linaro Limited, a company whose primary business model involves consortium membership from leading semiconductor companies. Members fund Linaro to work on open source software for ARM-based processors, with 96Boards serving as an engagement vehicle and reference platform.
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels7 records
Marketing channels9 records
96Boards product offering
Product offeringCore offering
96Boards is an open hardware specification initiative that defines standardized form factors, expansion buses, and interface specifications for ARM Cortex-A based single-board computers and system-on-modules. The specification enables cross-vendor compatibility across silicon providers including Qualcomm, Samsung, and Rockchip, with boards manufactured and sold by third-party companies through global distributors. The platform encompasses multiple editions for consumer, enterprise, IoT, SoM, and automotive applications, supported by mezzanine expansion boards for sensors, audio, vision, and serial interfaces.
Product overview
96Boards is an open hardware specification for low-cost, small footprint development boards based on ARM processors. The platform offers multiple editions: Consumer Edition (CE) for mobile/embedded/digital home, Enterprise Edition (EE) for networking/servers, IoT Edition (IE) for IoT applications, and SoM Edition (SE) for embedded end-products. The product portfolio includes development boards from vendors like Qualcomm, WinLink, and BeiQi Technology featuring various SoCs with integrated AI capabilities. Additionally, 96Boards provides mezzanine expansion boards including Vision Mezzanine for ADAS camera interfaces, Audio Mezzanine for audio processing, Sensors Mezzanine for sensor connectivity, and UART Serial Adapter for debugging. These products are supported by documentation, software builds, and community resources managed by Linaro.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Consumer Edition (CE): Targets the mobile, embedded and digital home segments.
- Enterprise Edition (EE)
- IoT Edition (IE)
- SoM Edition (SE)
- Auto Edition (AE)
- Mezzanine Products
Products and services
- Qualcomm Robotics RB2 Development Platform
Companies that use 96Boards
Customer profileSegments5 records
Ideal customer profiles5 records
96Boards technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration3 records
AI capability4 records
Feature7 records
96Boards partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.
- LinarocoreLinaro Limited operates 96Boards.org and maintains the 96Boards open specification. Linaro is a private limited company registered in England and Wales (company number 07180318) that brings together industry and open source communities to work on key projects, deliver tools, and provide common software foundations for ARM-based systems. The 96Boards initiative is a core Linaro activity.
- QualcommflagshipQualcomm provides the QRB2210 and QRB4210 Robotics SoCs powering the Qualcomm Robotics RB1 and RB2 Development Platforms. These platforms are compliant with 96Boards open hardware specifications and support a broad range of mezzanine-board expansions for rapid prototyping of robotics and IoT products.
- ThundercommcoreThundercomm serves as an authorized distributor and support provider for Qualcomm Robotics RB1 and RB2 development kits within the 96Boards ecosystem. They provide SDK Manager tools, downstream software versions, and technical support specifically for Qualcomm-based platforms sold through the 96Boards channel.
- SamsungcoreSamsung provides the Exynos 850 mobile processor for the WinLink E850-96Board, a 96Boards Consumer Edition Extended specification board. The Exynos 850 is manufactured on 8nm FinFET process with integrated NPU, enabling AI capabilities in a low-power form factor compliant with 96Boards standards.
- WinLinkcoreWinLink developed the E850-96Board, a 96Boards CE Specification V2.0 development board based on Samsung Exynos 850. WinLink manufactures and sells this board as an officially compatible 96Boards product, expanding the ecosystem with an NPU-enabled option.
- BeiQi TechnologycoreBeiQi Technology developed the TB-96AI-3586CE and TB-96AIoT-1126CE boards based on Rockchip RK3568 and RV1126 processors respectively. These boards follow 96Boards CE specifications and are sold through channels like Amazon and AliExpress, expanding AI-capable options in the ecosystem.
- SeeedStudiocoreSeeedStudio serves as a primary distributor for 96Boards mezzanine products including the Sensors Mezzanine and UART Serial adapter. They also offer the Grove Starter Kit for 96Boards, providing an ecosystem of compatible sensors and actuators for 96Boards-compliant baseboards.
- Arrow ElectronicscoreArrow Electronics is a major global electronics component distributor offering Audio Mezzanine and other 96Boards-compatible products. They provide professional distribution services, bulk purchasing options, and technical support for enterprise customers adopting 96Boards platforms.
Scale indicators1 record
Recent moves1 record
Expansion highlights5 records
96Boards competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Arduino: Open hardware specification for microcontroller/microprocessor boards with a comparable community/distributor-driven ecosystem model. Directly comparable in mission (open-spec developer boards) and a benchmark for 96Boards' Arduino Shield integration on its Sensors Mezzanine.
- Khadas: ARM-based single-board computer and edge-AI dev kit maker competing in the same hobbyist/embedded/AI developer market as 96Boards-compatible boards. Comparable product overlap in NPU-enabled SBCs and developer-facing GTM.
- Raspberry Pi Foundation: The dominant open-spec ARM-based single-board computer ecosystem. Directly comparable to 96Boards' Consumer/IoT Editions in target customer (developers, embedded OEMs), form factor philosophy (standardized boards with ecosystem peripherals), and educational/community-led GTM.
- BeagleBoard.org (BeagleBone): Open-source ARM-based SBC platform with similar philosophy to 96Boards (open specifications, community-driven design, Linux-focused developer boards). Highly comparable in technical positioning and target developer audience, originally originated from the same Texas Instruments ecosystem.
- Radxa (Rock 5, etc.): Maker of ARM SBCs using the same Rockchip silicon (RK3588, etc.) that powers several 96Boards CE products. Direct competitor in the developer SBC space with similar price points and community positioning.
Broad incumbents
- Qualcomm Technologies: Provider of the QRB2210/QRB4210 SoCs powering 96Boards' flagship Robotics RB1/RB2 platforms. Acts simultaneously as a key silicon partner of 96Boards and a broad incumbent competing for the same IoT/edge-AI/robotics design wins that 96Boards targets.
- NVIDIA (Jetson): Provider of the Jetson line of AI-focused edge-computing developer kits, which is the primary incumbent competing against 96Boards' AI/robotics boards (Robotics RB1/RB2, TB-96AIoT, TB-96AI). Comparable in robotics/edge-AI target customer, but NVIDIA is a broad semiconductor incumbent rather than an open spec.
- NXP Semiconductors (i.MX ecosystem): Major ARM SoC vendor whose i.MX RT/8M/9 families compete with the silicon at the heart of 96Boards-compatible boards. Closely comparable as a silicon-level peer and a partner/customer for many 96Boards editions.
Emerging players
- Renesas Electronics (RZ Family): ARM-based SoC and SoM vendor addressing industrial, IoT, and edge-AI applications with the RZ/V series (NPU-enabled). Increasingly overlapping with the 96Boards SoM/IoT Editions as Renesas expands its SMARC and SoM offerings.
Others
- Avnet / element14 (Premier Farnell): Global electronics distributors that stock Raspberry Pi, BeagleBone, Arduino, and other competing SBC platforms alongside 96Boards-compatible products. Directly comparable as the distribution infrastructure competing for the same developer/OEM channel relationships.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
96Boards social profiles
Digital presence96Boards financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
96Boards leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
96Boards funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
96Boards 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 96Boards
What does 96Boards do?
96Boards is an open hardware specification initiative that defines standardized form factors, expansion buses, and interface specifications for ARM Cortex-A based single-board computers and system-on-modules. The specification enables cross-vendor compatibility across silicon providers including Qualcomm, Samsung, and Rockchip, with boards manufactured and sold by third-party companies through global distributors. The platform encompasses multiple editions for consumer, enterprise, IoT, SoM, and automotive applications, supported by mezzanine expansion boards for sensors, audio, vision, and serial interfaces.
Is 96Boards a public or private company?
96Boards is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was 96Boards founded?
96Boards was founded in 2015. It employs 251 to 500 people.
Where is 96Boards based?
96Boards is headquartered in Cambridge, United States, in the North America region.
How does 96Boards make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Hardware Sales (Third-Party) is the primary driver. The others are linaro Consortium Membership.
Who are 96Boards's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Arduino, Khadas, Raspberry Pi Foundation, BeagleBoard.org (BeagleBone) and Radxa (Rock 5, etc.). Broad incumbents are Qualcomm Technologies, NVIDIA (Jetson) and NXP Semiconductors (i.MX ecosystem). Renesas Electronics (RZ Family) is listed as an emerging player. Avnet / element14 (Premier Farnell) is listed as an others.
Does 96Boards have an API?
No public API is recorded for 96Boards.
What industry is 96Boards in?
96Boards's product category is ARM Development Boards & Embedded Computing Hardware. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HDACAGAB, Motherboards & Chipset Platforms, with a secondary code of HDAHAOAC, Backplane, Mezzanine & Board-to-Board Interconnects. Its NAICS code is 334118 and its SIC code is 3577.