SEALSQ joins ECHONET Consortium as PKI Services provider to Strengthen IoT Security in Smart Home and Energy Networks in Japan

Geneva, Switzerland/ Tokyo , Japan , March 30, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --

SEALSQ Corp. (NASDAQ: LAES) ("SEALSQ" or "the Company"), which focuses on the development and sale of hardware and software products for semiconductors, PKI, and post-quantum technologies, today announces it has joined the ECHONET Consortium, a leading international standardization body for smart home and energy management systems. The ECHONET Consortium plans to significantly enhance its ECHONET Lite security framework with public key infrastructure (PKI) technology, and SEALSQ aims to contribute to enhancing the identity, authentication, and reliability of ECHONET Lite devices by providing its INeS (Identity Network Security) PKI platform services to Consortium members.

As smart homes, energy systems, and connected devices continue to scale rapidly, the need for robust, interoperable, and future-proof security mechanisms has become critical. By integrating PKI in its architecture, the ECHONET Consortium aims to ensure secure communications and scalable trust management for newly introduced devices. SEALSQ aims to contribute to this initiative by providing its INeS PKI platform, designed specifically for large-scale IoT and embedded environments. INeS enables secure device onboarding, certificate lifecycle management, authentication, and cryptographic trust.

“Security will become a foundational requirement for the long-term success of smart energy and home automation systems,” said a spokesperson from the ECHONET Consortium. “By reinforcing our specifications with PKI-based device identity, we are enabling ECHONET members to deploy solutions that are secure by design, scalable, and resilient against evolving cyber threats.”

The market opportunity of this strategic activity is substantial. According to Grand View Research (2024), the global smart home market — of which ECHONET Lite ecosystem represents a significant segment — is projected to grow from $127.8 billion in 2024 to $537.3 billion by 2030, at a CAGR of 27.0%, with security and access control constituting its largest product category. The global IoT security market, of which PKI-based device authentication is a foundational pillar, is separately forecast to reach $141.8 billion by 2030 at a CAGR of 26.8% (Grand View Research, 2024), driven in part by mandatory security-by-design regulation including Japan’s JC-STAR cybersecurity framework and the EU Cyber Resilience Act. These figures positions SEALSQ–at the intersection of two high-growth sectors, offering a compelling commercial opportunity for standards-compliant PKI services across millions of connected home and energy devices worldwide.

SEALSQ's efforts to contribute to the ECHONET Consortium should further strengthen SEALSQ's established position in the smart home and smart energy IoT fields. SEALSQ already actively supports the Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA) for Matter smart home products, serving as an approved Product Attestation Authority (PAA) that provides Device Attestation Certificates (DACs) and Product Attestation Intermediates (PAIs) to enable seamless interoperability, secure onboarding, and compliance for Matter-certified devices worldwide.

Additionally, SEALSQ is a member of the Wi-SUN Alliance, delivering certified PKI services and digital certificates for Wi-SUN-based smart grid, smart city, and utility applications. Complementing these consortium engagements, SEALSQ brings a proven heritage in PKI for energy-sector deployments: through WISeKey’s root certificate authority infrastructure, SEALSQ has supported smart metering and Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) programs requiring secure device authentication and national regulatory compliance — requirements that closely mirror those of the ECHONET ecosystem. Together, these engagements position SEALSQ as a trusted leader in scalable, post-quantum-ready PKI solutions across the major global standards for connected homes, energy management, and IoT ecosystems.

“ECHONET plays a pivotal role in defining the future of smart home and energy interoperability,” said Gweltas Radenac, IoT Security Director SEALSQ. “We are proud to support ECHONET members with the INeS PKI platform, delivering secure and trusted device identities that protect ecosystems today and prepare them for tomorrow’s threats, including post-quantum risks.”

In parallel, the security enhancement aligns with the ECHONET Lite protocol, widely adopted in Japan for smart home and energy management applications and referenced within the JC-STAR cybersecurity framework in Japan. By reinforcing ECHONET Lite implementations with PKI, the Consortium supports stronger compliance with Japan’s evolving cybersecurity requirements, enabling trusted interoperability among certified devices while improving resilience against impersonation, unauthorized access, and large-scale IoT attacks.

The INeS platform is engineered to support constrained devices, high-volume manufacturing, and long operational lifecycles—key requirements for ECHONET -based deployments. It also enables seamless integration with secure elements, hardware roots of trust, and cloud infrastructures, ensuring end-to-end security from chip to cloud.

By adopting PKI as a core security mechanism the ECHONET Consortium is committed to cybersecurity, trust, and interoperability, empowering its members to deliver future-ready smart home and energy solutions worldwide.

About ECHONET Consortium

The ECHONET Consortium is an organization that promotes the communication protocol “ECHONET Lite” for home appliances and housing facilities, which are essential elements of smart homes, enabling them to cooperate with each other. The Consortium standardizes ECHONET Lite, supports the commercialization of compliant devices, and fosters collaboration with related industries to promote the widespread adoption of smart homes.

In addition to the ECHONET Lite standards, the Consortium advances the formulation of ECHONET Lite AIF (Application Interface) specifications to regulate device behavior, as well as “ECHONET 2.0” to create new added value, contributing to the realization of a prosperous and sustainable society under “Society 5.0” and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

With approximately 250 managing, general, associate and academic members from the home appliances, electricity, electronics, energy, residential, IT industries, and academic/research fields, the ECHONET Consortium drives international standardization efforts, including ISO/IEC and IEC alignments, to support secure, interoperable, and energy-efficient smart home and energy management ecosystems worldwide.

About SEALSQ:

SEALSQ is a leading innovator in Post-Quantum Technology hardware and software solutions. Our technology seamlessly integrates Semiconductors, PKI (Public Key Infrastructure), and Provisioning Services, with a strategic emphasis on developing state-of-the-art Quantum Resistant Cryptography and Semiconductors designed to address the urgent security challenges posed by quantum computing. As quantum computers advance, traditional cryptographic methods like RSA and Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC) are increasingly vulnerable.

SEALSQ is pioneering the development of Post-Quantum Semiconductors that provide robust, future-proof protection for sensitive data across a wide range of applications, including Multi-Factor Authentication tokens, Smart Energy, Medical and Healthcare Systems, Defense, IT Network Infrastructure, Automotive, and Industrial Automation and Control Systems. By embedding Post-Quantum Cryptography into our semiconductor solutions, SEALSQ ensures that organizations stay protected against quantum threats. Our products are engineered to safeguard critical systems, enhancing resilience and security across diverse industries.

For more information on our Post-Quantum Semiconductors and security solutions, please visit .

Forward-Looking Statements

This communication expressly or implicitly contains certain forward-looking statements concerning SEALSQ Corp and its businesses. Forward-looking statements include statements regarding our business strategy, financial performance, results of operations, market data, events or developments that we expect or anticipate will occur in the future, as well as any other statements which are not historical facts. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, no assurance can be given that such expectations will prove to have been correct. These statements involve known and unknown risks and are based upon a number of assumptions and estimates which are inherently subject to significant uncertainties and contingencies, many of which are beyond our control. Actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Important factors that, in our view, could cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements include SEALSQ's ability to continue beneficial transactions with material parties, including a limited number of significant customers; market demand and semiconductor industry conditions; and the risks discussed in SEALSQ's filings with the SEC. Risks and uncertainties are further described in reports filed by SEALSQ with the SEC.

SEALSQ Corp is providing this communication as of this date and does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements contained herein as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.