What Trusted Firmware Project does

Trusted Firmware Project is an open governance community project that provides reference implementations of secure firmware for Arm-based processors and devices. Founded in 2018 and hosted by Linaro Limited's Community Projects Division, the project delivers a portfolio of eight software products covering trusted boot, Trusted Execution Environments (TEEs), Secure Processing Environments (SPEs), cryptographic libraries, and continuous integration infrastructure. The portfolio includes Trusted Firmware-A (TF-A) for Armv8-A/Armv9-A application processors, Trusted Firmware-M (TF-M) for Armv8-M/Armv8.1-M microcontrollers, MCUboot secure bootloader, OP-TEE TEE, Hafnium Secure Partition Manager, Mbed TLS and TF-PSA-Crypto cryptographic libraries, TF-RMM Realm Management Monitor for Confidential Computing, Trusted Services framework, and Rusted Firmware-A (RF-A) — a Rust-based implementation of TF-A BL31 for Armv9-A.

The project serves SoC developers, OEMs, embedded/IoT device manufacturers, and mobile/automotive/server OEMs who need specification-compliant secure firmware for Arm-based platforms. TF-M is specifically designed to enable PSA Certified Level 1 and Level 2 security certification, making it the de facto reference for IoT security compliance. The codebase is deployed in billions of devices across mobile, IoT, automotive, and server markets.

The project operates as a member-driven, member-funded nonprofit with no commercial revenue from the software itself. Organizations join at Diamond, Platinum, or General tiers to fund development, contribute code, and influence governance. The 10 current members include Arm and Google (Diamond); Linaro, STMicroelectronics, Renesas, NXP, and Qualcomm (Platinum); and Futurewei, Provenrun, Nordic Semiconductor, and Texas Instruments (General). Distribution is entirely through open source channels (Git/Gerrit repositories, GitHub mirrors, ReadTheDocs documentation) with free Open CI infrastructure for hardware validation.

Name

Trusted Firmware Project

Legal name

Linaro Limited

Website

https://trustedfirmware.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Trusted Firmware Project is an open governance community providing reference implementations of secure firmware for Arm processors, including TF-A, TF-M, MCUboot, and cryptographic libraries. It serves SoC developers, OEMs, and IoT manufacturers seeking PSA Certified-compliant security foundations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Embedded Systems Security Software

NAICS

Software Publishers (51321)

SIC

Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370), Services-Computer Programming Services (7371)

akta.pro primary industry

Confidential Computing & Hardware-backed Protection (TEE/HSM) (HDADAFAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Secure Elements & Trusted Execution Processors (TPM/TEE/Crypto MCUs) (HDAHAJAK), Security & Trusted Hardware ICs (Secure Element/TPM/Crypto) (HDAHABAF), Key Management, Encryption & Secrets Management (KMS/HSM/Vault) (HDABAHAG), Quantum-Safe Hardware & Embedded Security (TPM/secure elements/firmware) (HDAGAGAJ), Software Supply Chain & Dependency Security (SBOM, Signing) (HDADACAD)

Keywords

• Secure firmware
• Open source firmware
• Trusted execution environment
• Embedded security software
• Arm reference implementations

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Funding: The project is member-driven and member-funded. Organizations join at different tiers (Diamond, Platinum, General) to fund development and gain governance influence. No direct product revenue is generated from the open source code.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Trusted Firmware Project provides open source reference implementations of secure firmware for Arm-based processors and devices. Its portfolio includes Trusted Firmware-A (TF-A) for A-profile/Armv8-A/Armv9-A application processors, Trusted Firmware-M (TF-M) for M-profile/Armv8-M microcontrollers, Hafnium Secure Partition Manager, OP-TEE Trusted Execution Environment, MCUboot secure bootloader, Mbed TLS, TF-PSA-Crypto, Trusted Services framework, TF-RMM Realm Management Monitor, Rusted Firmware-A (RF-A), and Open CI infrastructure. These reference implementations serve as the foundation of Trusted Execution Environments (TEE) and Secure Processing Environments (SPE), enabling PSA Certified security compliance for SoC developers, OEMs, and embedded device manufacturers.

Product overview

The Trusted Firmware Project provides a suite of open-source reference implementations of secure software for Arm processors. The portfolio includes Trusted Firmware-A (TF-A) for application processors supporting A-Profile Armv8-A/Armv9-A architectures, and Trusted Firmware-M (TF-M) for microcontroller processors supporting M-Profile Armv8-M/Armv8.1-M architectures. Supporting products include TF-RMM for Realm Management in Confidential Computing, Hafnium as Secure Partition Manager for Secure-EL2, OP-TEE as Trusted Execution Environment, MCUboot as secure bootloader, and Mbed TLS with TF-PSA-Crypto for cryptographic services. Additional offerings include Trusted Services for secure partition deployment, Open CI for continuous integration infrastructure, and Rusted Firmware-A (RF-A) as a Rust-based implementation of TF-A. The projects form the foundations of Trusted Execution Environments (TEE) on application processors or Secure Processing Environments (SPE) on microcontrollers, enabling PSA Certified security for Arm-based devices.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• TF-A (Trusted Firmware-A): Reference implementation of secure software for Armv8-A and Armv9-A application processors, providing trusted boot and EL3 runtime firmware.
• TF-M (Trusted Firmware-M)
• MCUboot
• Hafnium
• OP-TEE
• Mbed TLS
• TF-PSA-Crypto
• Trusted Services
• RF-A (Rusted Firmware-A)
• TF-RMM (Realm Management Monitor)
• Open CI

Products and services

• Trusted Firmware-A (TF-A) Reference implementation of secure software for A-Profile Armv8-A and Armv9-A application processors providing trusted boot and runtime services at EL3, forming the foundation of Trusted Execution Environments (TEE) on application processors.
• Trusted Firmware-M (TF-M) Reference implementation of Platform Security Architecture (PSA) Secure Processing Environment (SPE) for Armv8-M and Armv8.1-M architectures (Cortex-M23, M33, M55, M85), enabling PSA Certified compliance for microcontrollers and IoT devices.
• MCUboot Secure bootloader for 32-bit microcontrollers supporting image signing, encryption, and swap/update strategies, providing a common foundation for building secure bootloader applications on embedded systems.
• TF-RMM (Realm Management Monitor) Reference implementation of the Arm Realm Management Monitor (RMM) specification for Realm Management Extension (RME) in Armv8-A and Armv9-A systems, enabling Confidential Computing with isolated Realm worlds.
• Hafnium Reference Secure Partition Manager (SPM) for systems implementing the Armv8.4-A Secure-EL2 extension, enabling multiple isolated Secure Partitions to run at Secure-EL1 with hypervisor-level security isolation.
• OP-TEE Trusted Execution Environment designed as companion to non-secure Linux kernel on Arm Cortex-A cores using TrustZone technology, implementing TEE Internal Core API v1.1.x and TEE Client API v1.0 per GlobalPlatform specifications.
• Mbed TLS Comprehensive cryptographic library and TLS 1.3 protocol stack implementing PSA Crypto APIs, providing cryptographic primitives, TLS/DTLS protocols, and X.509 certificate handling for secure communications.
• TF-PSA-Crypto Reference implementation of PSA Cryptography API specifications providing portable interfaces to cryptographic operations and key storage following PSA Certified framework requirements.
• Trusted Services Framework for developing and deploying device root-of-trust services for A-profile devices as Firmware Framework-A Secure Partitions, providing PSA Crypto, Storage, and Attestation Secure Partitions plus UEFI SMM services for Cortex-A devices.
• Open CI Cloud-based continuous integration infrastructure leveraging Gerrit, Jenkins, and LAVA for end-to-end integration and testing, validating code changes on physical hardware platforms and Arm Fixed Virtual Platforms in a dedicated hardware lab.
• Rusted Firmware-A (RF-A) Rust-based implementation of EL3 runtime firmware (BL31) for Armv9-A and later systems, providing a modern, memory-safe alternative to C-based TF-A BL31 with full architectural feature support.

Quantifiable outcome

• Trusted Firmware-A and TF-M are deployed in billions of devices across mobile, IoT, automotive, and server markets
• +1 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration11 records

Feature10 records

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core, general and project_partner.

• Qualcomm TechnologiescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 23 March 2026Joined as Platinum member in March 2026. Qualcomm contributes platform expertise for mobile, automotive, IoT, and compute markets. Focus on advancing open collaboration in secure firmware and platform security standards.
• ArmcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDiamond member and founding contributor to Trusted Firmware. Arm provides specification input, architectural guidance, and engineering contributions to TF-A, TF-M, Hafnium, and other projects. The project implements Arm's security specifications as preferred reference implementations.
• GooglecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDiamond member providing strategic direction and engineering contributions. Focus on Android ecosystem security requirements and platform security alignment.
• LinarocoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPlatinum member and host of Linaro Community Projects Division which provides administrative infrastructure, Open CI systems, and engineering coordination for Trusted Firmware. Linaro employees serve as project maintainers and contributors.
• STMicroelectronics (ST)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPlatinum member contributing STM32 platform support, extensive TF-M and TF-A validation, and product integration work for ST's STM32 microcontrollers.
• Renesas ElectronicscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPlatinum member contributing R-Car automotive processor support for TF-A and RZ embedded processor enablement.
• NXP SemiconductorscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPlatinum member providing LPC and i.MX platform support for TF-M, extensive validation on NXP Cortex-M microcontrollers.
• FutureweigeneralStrategic or Co-development PartnerGeneral member contributing to project development and ecosystem expansion.
• ProvenrungeneralStrategic or Co-development PartnerGeneral member providing security expertise and contributions to secure firmware implementations.
• Nordic SemiconductorgeneralStrategic or Co-development PartnerGeneral member and contributor to MCUboot project. Nordic contributes nRF connectivity MCU platform support and bootloader expertise.
• Texas InstrumentsgeneralStrategic or Co-development PartnerGeneral member contributing TI K3 platform support for TF-A including initial support for AM62L and expanded ARM64 processor enablement.
• BUGSENGproject_partnerTechnology or IntegrationProject partner providing ECLAIR code verification tools for static analysis and safety compliance (MISRA) across Trusted Firmware projects.
• CloudBeesproject_partnerTechnology or IntegrationProject partner providing CI/CD infrastructure tools supporting the Open CI build and test systems.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Arm Holdings: Spec owner and Diamond member of Trusted Firmware. Comparable as the upstream architecture authority whose specifications Trusted Firmware implements; not a direct competitor but a broader incumbent shaping the same security ecosystem.
• Green Hills Software: Commercial vendor of INTEGRITY RTOS and secure development tools for safety- and security-critical embedded systems. Comparable as a broader incumbent in the secure embedded/IoT firmware space competing for high-assurance deployments.
• Wind River Systems: Commercial embedded software vendor offering VxWorks and Wind River Linux with security/certification offerings for aerospace, automotive, and industrial. Comparable as a broader incumbent offering secure embedded software stacks that overlap with Trusted Firmware deployments.

Others

• Linaro: Host organization of the Trusted Firmware Project via its Community Projects Division. Comparable as the parent/effective operator providing administrative, CI, and engineering infrastructure; Linaro is Platinum member and the day-to-day steward of the project.
• PSA Certified: Industry certification scheme for secure silicon, RTOS, and devices. Comparable as the ecosystem enabler whose certification levels are implemented by Trusted Firmware, and whose adoption drives demand for TF-M across IoT vendors.

Emerging players

• Zephyr Project: Open source RTOS for connected, resource-constrained devices. Integrates with TF-M and shares overlapping members (Linaro, Nordic, NXP); comparable as Linux Foundation-hosted open governance project for embedded/IoT with secure firmware ambitions.
• Apache NuttX: Open source RTOS targeting resource-constrained environments with growing Arm ecosystem support. Comparable as an open-governance embedded OS project that increasingly integrates with Trusted Firmware for secure boot and PSA-level features.

Direct peers

• coreboot: Open source firmware project providing alternative boot firmware for x86 and Arm platforms. Comparable as a community-maintained reference firmware project serving silicon vendors and OEMs across architectures.
• OpenTitan: Open source project for silicon root of trust, with lowRISC as host. Directly comparable as an open-governance community delivering secure silicon/firmware foundations backed by major industry members (Google, NXP, Western Digital, etc.).
• EDK II / TianoCore: Open source reference implementation of UEFI firmware. Highly comparable as a vendor-neutral community project providing reference firmware for major hardware ecosystems, with similar open governance and corporate member sponsorship model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• GitHubgithub.com/TrustedFirmware
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/trustedfirmware-org

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Trusted Firmware Project