What ARM mbed does

ARM mbed is a free, open-source IoT operating system and developer tooling platform maintained by Arm Limited, a UK-based semiconductor IP company. The platform's core product is Mbed OS, an open-source operating system purpose-built for Arm Cortex-M microcontrollers, providing a C++ application API, a built-in security stack (Mbed TLS and Mbed Crypto), storage components, and connectivity support across BLE, WiFi, Cellular, and LoRaWAN. It is complemented by three development environments: Keil Studio Cloud (a zero-install browser-based IDE with WebUSB flash and debug), Mbed Studio (a downloadable desktop IDE), and Mbed CLI (a command-line tool for editor and automation integration). The platform also encompasses a hardware ecosystem through the Mbed Enabled program, certifying hundreds of development boards, modules, and components, and provides the Mbed HDK for building Mbed-compatible production hardware.

ARM mbed serves professional IoT engineers, embedded systems developers, and hardware manufacturers building connected devices for smart cities, industrial monitoring, consumer IoT, and prototyping use cases. Its go-to-market is product-led and community-led: the OS, IDEs, security libraries, code examples, and forum are free, with monetization occurring upstream through Arm's Cortex-M IP licensing and downstream through Arm's commercial Keil toolchain. Distribution is global and self-serve via web and desktop channels, with hardware partners extending reach into OEM and production environments.

The business is not a standalone revenue-generating entity. Arm has announced an End of Life timeline for Mbed, with the os.mbed.com site scheduled for archival in July 2026. Production deployments documented in case studies include Aaeon (Taipei smart street lighting at 4,000+ nodes scaling to 25,000), See.Sense (smart bike lights for road safety), and Agora (cellular industrial asset monitors). The platform's strategic role has been ecosystem support for Arm's broader microcontroller IP and Keil franchise rather than direct monetization.

Name

ARM mbed

Legal name

Arm Limited

Website

https://mbed.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

ARM mbed is a free, open-source IoT operating system and developer toolchain (Mbed OS, Keil Studio Cloud, Mbed Studio, Mbed CLI, Mbed TLS) for Arm Cortex-M microcontrollers, serving professional IoT engineers and hardware OEMs building connected devices.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

IoT Operating System and Embedded Development Platform

NAICS

Computer Systems Design and Related Services (54151), Computer and Peripheral Equipment Manufacturing (33411), Computer Systems Design Services (541512)

SIC

Services-Computer Integrated Systems Design (7373), Computer Communications Equipment (3576)

akta.pro primary industry

IP Enablement, Characterization & Porting Services (HDAHAFAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Design Services & ASIC/SoC Implementation (EDA-Adjacent) (HDAHAFAL), Hardware/Chip Design IP Cores (Processor, Interface, Analog, Security) (HDAHAFAF)

Keywords

• IoT operating system
• Embedded development tools
• Microcontroller firmware
• Cortex-M development
• TLS cryptography library

Headquarters

HQ city

Cambridge

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Open Source Platform (Free): ARM mbed operates as a free open-source platform providing IoT operating system and development tools. The platform is maintained by Arm as part of its ecosystem strategy to drive adoption of Arm Cortex-M processors and grow the broader Arm developer community.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

ARM mbed provides a free open-source IoT operating system (Mbed OS) for Arm Cortex-M microcontrollers, along with a suite of development tools (Keil Studio Cloud browser IDE, Mbed Studio desktop IDE, Mbed CLI) and an SSL/TLS and cryptography library (Mbed TLS and Mbed Crypto). The platform also includes multi-stack connectivity (BLE, WiFi, Cellular, LoRaWAN), the Mbed Enabled hardware certification program, the Mbed HDK for production hardware design, and a component database of libraries and code examples for professional IoT developers.

Product overview

ARM Mbed is a free open source IoT operating system platform with a modular architecture. The core product is Mbed OS, an open source OS for Cortex-M devices, complemented by a suite of development tools including Keil Studio Cloud (browser-based IDE), Mbed Studio (desktop IDE), and Mbed CLI (command line interface). Security and connectivity capabilities are provided through Mbed TLS and Mbed Crypto (TLS stack and crypto library) along with connectivity options for BLE, WiFi, Cellular, and LoRaWAN. The hardware ecosystem includes boards, modules, and components, supported by the Mbed HDK for reference designs. The platform provides free development tools, thousands of code examples, and support for hundreds of microcontroller development boards, with over 4,675 compilations in the last 7 days indicating active developer usage.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Mbed OS: Open source operating system for Cortex-M devices
• Keil Studio
• Mbed Studio
• Mbed CLI
• Mbed TLS and Mbed Crypto

Products and services

• Mbed OS Open source operating system for Cortex-M devices that provides a well-defined C++ API for application development, built-in security stack, storage components, multiple connectivity options (BLE, WiFi, Cellular, LoRaWAN), device management, and machine learning capabilities. Targeted at professional IoT engineers and embedded systems developers building connected devices.
• Keil Studio Cloud Browser-based IDE for Mbed OS development with code highlighting, WebUSB flash and debug, and version control integration. Provides zero-installation development environment accessible from any modern browser, intended for IoT developers and embedded systems engineers.
• Mbed Studio Desktop IDE for application and library development, providing a single environment to create, compile and debug Mbed programs. Targeted at developers who prefer a downloadable full-featured IDE over the browser option.
• Mbed CLI Command line interface that integrates Mbed functionality into preferred editors and automation setups, enabling scripted and CI/CD workflows for Mbed OS development.
• Mbed TLS and Mbed Crypto Comprehensive SSL/TLS solution and cryptographic library with intuitive API, readable source code, and a minimal, highly configurable code footprint for embedding SSL/TLS and cryptographic capabilities in software and embedded products. Targeted at developers needing security primitives in resource-constrained devices.
• Mbed HDK Hardware Development Kit providing reference designs, schematics and board layouts to develop production hardware and Mbed-compatible development boards. Targeted at hardware manufacturers and OEMs building certified Mbed hardware.
• Mbed Components Database Online component database hosting libraries for sensors, actuators, radios, inputs, middleware and IoT services. Used by IoT developers to find reusable libraries for common hardware components.

Quantifiable outcome

• 4,675 compilations in the last 7 days
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature7 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Keil (Arm subsidiary)coreTechnology or IntegrationKeil provides Keil Studio Cloud, a modern zero-installation browser-based IDE for Mbed development. This is an internal Arm partnership integrating Keil's development tools with the Mbed platform.
• Mbed Enabled Hardware PartnerscoreTechnology or IntegrationMbed Enabled program identifies hardware products compatible with Mbed OS. Includes development boards for Arm Cortex processors and MCUs, modules with MCU/connectivity/memory, and components including sensors, actuators, radios, and middleware. The program validates Mbed compatibility across hundreds of hardware products from various manufacturers.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• Zephyr Project: Linux Foundation-hosted open-source RTOS for resource-constrained devices, the most direct substitute for Mbed OS targeting Cortex-M and similar microcontrollers with an actively maintained roadmap.
• Azure RTOS (ThreadX): Microsoft's embedded RTOS family acquired with Express Logic, competing directly with Mbed OS in industrial and IoT device firmware stacks.
• FreeRTOS: AWS-maintained market-leading open-source RTOS for microcontrollers, serving the same IoT device developer segment as Mbed OS and rapidly absorbing market share.

Broad incumbents

• Espressif ESP-IDF: Espressif's IoT development framework for ESP32/ESP8266 chipsets, competing with Mbed in the broader Wi-Fi/BLE IoT prototyping and product segment.
• STMicroelectronics STM32Cube: ST's vendor-specific firmware and middleware ecosystem for the STM32 Cortex-M family, a direct alternative for embedded developers previously choosing Mbed OS.
• Nordic Semiconductor nRF Connect SDK: Nordic's proprietary SDK built on Zephyr for its Cortex-M wireless SoCs; competes with Mbed in Bluetooth/cellular IoT firmware stacks.

Emerging players

• RIOT OS: Open-source IoT-focused OS emphasizing low-power devices and IoT connectivity stacks, directly competitive with Mbed OS for constrained device development.
• Contiki-NG: Open-source IoT OS for networked embedded systems with a long history in low-power wireless, comparable to Mbed OS in connected sensor use cases.
• Apache NuttX: Apache-governed RTOS with POSIX compliance gaining traction in IoT and embedded use cases overlapping with Mbed's target market.

Others

• Arm Keil MDK: Arm's professional IDE/toolchain family that overlaps with Keil Studio Cloud as a sibling Arm offering for embedded and Mbed-class development.

Market position

Strengths2 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/armmbed
• YouTubeyoutube.com/c/ArmSoftwareDevelopers
• Facebookfacebook.com/ARMmbed

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 ARM mbed