This represents a significant step for developers seeking to adopt the Zephyr Real-Time Operating System (RTOS) in commercial, safety-critical embedded applications, backed by a professional-grade toolchain with advanced debugging capabilities and long-term support.

“The latest release of our toolchain for Arm version 9.70 extends the IAR platform with production-grade support for Zephyr,” said Thomas Andersson, Chief Product Officer at IAR. “This allows developers to combine the strengths of an open-source RTOS with our safety-certified toolchain and its advanced debug and code analysis capabilities and build scalable, secure, and standards-compliant embedded systems.”

Hosted by the Linux Foundation, Zephyr RTOS is recognized for its lightweight design, scalability, and community-driven innovation, making it ideal for a wide range of embedded and IoT systems. IAR became a member of the Zephyr Project in January 2025 and has steadily contributed to the community ever since. With IAR’s platform, developers now gain a streamlined development experience that blends open-source flexibility with commercial-grade reliability.

“Zephyr RTOS is built to meet the growing demand for dependable, flexible RTOS solutions across embedded and IoT markets. With IAR’s reputation in supporting high-reliability development and optimization, this collaboration helps bridge the gap between open innovation and the stringent requirements of commercial deployment, particularly for safety-critical applications," said Kate Stewart, Vice President of Dependable Embedded Systems at The Linux Foundation.

The Zephyr 4.1 release and later can now be built using IAR’s toolchain for Arm, with verified support across targets from leading silicon vendors including NXP, ST, and Nordic, as well as QEMU-based environments. The IAR platform adds value through a highly optimizing compiler, RTOS-aware debugging, and advanced code analysis capabilities. It enables modern embedded workflows with CI/CD integration, giving developers deeper insights into task scheduling, system behavior, and overall runtime performance during development.

Developers targeting safety-critical domains will benefit from IAR’s TÜV-certified toolchain. Support for functional safety standards such as ISO 26262, IEC 61508, and IEC 62304 is expected to follow shortly, enabling teams to align with regulatory requirements. Combined with continuous integration capabilities and advanced diagnostics, the platform is built to accelerate development and strengthen confidence in safety-critical applications.

For more information on the IAR platform support for Zephyr RTOS, please visit www.iar.com/webinars or www.zephyrproject.org.