The Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA) has launched a new certification scheme for the smart home ecosystem, allowing silicon vendors to have their hardware and software development kits certified as Matter Compliant Platforms for the first time.
The initiative builds on the CSA’s long-running Zigbee Compliant Platform programme, which has helped manufacturers worldwide streamline product development and certification.
The new certification aims to reduce complexity and cost for device makers while ensuring a more consistent and reliable Matter experience across products.
Espressif Systems, Nordic Semiconductor, NXP Semiconductors, and Silicon Labs are among the first to achieve Matter Compliant Platform certification, with Realtek Semiconductor Corporation expected to follow. Their early participation underscores the growing commitment of chipmakers to supporting the Matter standard, which aims to ensure interoperability among connected devices.
Matter, a smart home connectivity standard supported by major technology firms including Apple, Amazon, Google, and Samsung, continues to evolve rapidly with each release introducing new device types, features, and security updates. Integrating these changes can be resource-intensive for manufacturers.
The new certification programme seeks to address this by validating key platform-level components — such as commissioning, networking, and security — before they reach device makers. Products built on certified platforms can inherit these pre-approved components, significantly reducing the scope of testing required for their own certification.
In effect, manufacturers can redirect resources toward developing product-specific features and differentiation, while relying on a trusted, pre-certified Matter foundation.
For silicon vendors, platform certification offers a mark of credibility and compliance with the CSA’s rigorous interoperability standards. Certified platforms can be supplied as complete kits, modules, or reference designs, helping customers accelerate their path from prototype to production.
Device makers, meanwhile, stand to benefit from faster development cycles, lower certification costs, and simpler recertification processes. Updates to certified platforms may not require full re-testing, particularly when combined with the CSA’s Rapid Recertification and Matter FastTrack Recertification programmes.
Consumers are expected to see the benefits through a faster pace of innovation and a wider choice of Matter-compatible devices that offer more reliable and secure performance. As more device makers adopt certified platforms, the standard’s reach across brands and product categories is likely to expand more rapidly.
The CSA said the certification covers specific hardware–software combinations, ensuring that key Matter functions such as Bluetooth Low Energy discovery, Thread and Wi-Fi integration, encryption, and secure messaging are thoroughly validated.
The launch of the Matter Compliant Platform Certification programme represents another step in the CSA’s efforts to bolster trust and interoperability within the smart home ecosystem. By moving certification to the platform level, the Alliance aims to drive efficiency across the supply chain and accelerate the availability of high-quality, Matter-compatible products on the market.
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