Perseus’ CPU & MCU Hypervisor Secures Pacesetting ISO 26262 ASIL-D Certification – Accelerates Progress In SDV Era

Automotive virtualization and cyber security developer Perseus has obtained ISO 26262:2018 Automotive Functional Safety Certification at the highest level, ASIL-D.
According to Perseus (www.cyberperseus.com), it is the first hypervisor developer globally to receive ASIL-D certification for both its CPU and MCU hypervisor. Its solutions for both architectures are now proven to meet the most stringent safety requirements demanded by the automotive industry, while offering its partners unprecedented flexibility to integrate hypervisors into their automotive technology stack.

Perseus’ announcement follows recent pledges by major OEM brands to adopt hypervisors to accelerate SDV development and boost in-vehicle cyber security.

Significance of the Certification
This certification marks Perseus’ successful completion of a core qualification required to supply to global automakers and their suppliers. As the first globally (we believe) to achieve ASIL-D certification for both CPU and MCU architectures, Perseus now gains a decisive market advantage. The certification opens doors with new partners, accelerates technology integrations with existing partners and enables faster and more efficient deployment of hypervisors for new chipsets as they are released. These factors make Perseus an obvious choice for automotive developers that intend to use hypervisors.

Statements
Jangseop Lee, CEO, DNV Korea, stated, “By achieving ISO 26262 ASIL-D certification, Perseus has demonstrated an exceptional level of technical capability and process maturity. This certification confirms that Perseus’ hypervisor technology meets the most stringent safety requirements defined by the global automotive functional safety standard.”
Sangbum Suh , CEO, Perseus, said, “We are committed to supporting our automotive in the SDV era. This certification is an important milestone to that end – validating the safety and reliability of Perseus’ hypervisor technology. It will accelerate collaboration with our existing partners and open new opportunities with global automakers and key suppliers.”

About Perseus
Perseus, led by CEO Sangbum Suh (PhD), is an automotive software developer that enhances the performance, reliability and safety of vehicle systems with their market leading hypervisor-based virtualization technology.

The Perseus hypervisor can be applied without modifying existing platform structures or application code and provides automatic failover to backup systems in the event of faults, ensuring stable and safe operation in the automotive context.

Perseus is contracted to ship its first commercial product with a global top three automotive brand in 2026. Its recent ISO 26262: 2018 ASIL-D certification is expected to accelerate Perseus’ path to market.

Perseus is an official partner of Arm (UK), Renesas Electronics (Japan), Infineon Technologies (Germany) and NXP (Netherlands) and is an active member of SOAFEE that advances development of the Software-Defined Vehicle (SDV) ecosystem.

Perseus is also co-developing a virtual functional safety verification platform with Germany’s Fraunhofer Institute for Experimental Software Engineering (IESE). The platform will reduce the cost and time required to validate new technologies for the automotive sector.
Perseus has been recognized by the Korean government as one of the nation’s leading deep-tech companies. It is carrying out four national R&D projects supported by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, and the Ministry of Science and ICT.

After receiving seed investment just one month after founding, Perseus recently secured approximately US$8 million in Series A funding. Cumulative investment as of 2025 stands at US$12 million.
Dr. Suh began developing ARM-based lightweight virtualization technology in 2007 and developed the Tizen software platform in Samsung Electronics, before founding Perseus in 2016. Perseus hypervisor enables multiple operating systems to run securely on a single System-on-Chip (SoC), improving system security, boot speed, and resource efficiency while minimizing power consumption and computing hardware overheads. Hypervisors are now recognised as an essential technology to enable the further, rapid and safe development of automotive software architectures in the SDV era.

What is a Hypervisor and Why it Matters
Many existing vehicle models already carry over 2,000 SoCs (system on chip) that are required to run the rapidly increasing number of in-vehicle systems. As the SDV era progresses this number is set to at least triple. At that stage in-vehicle system architecture becomes unmanageably complex, inefficient, and expensive. In addition, increased system complexity becomes a critical cyber security risk that the industry – upon which road users rely for their physical safety – can not afford to take.
Hypervisors are the solution to this complex challenge. They enable multiple operating systems to run from a single chip using virtualization technology. As such, Hypervisors are set to become an essential technology to enable future system development. It is not a case of whether or not Hypervisors will be required, but rather how quickly they will be adopted. Many OEMs are already publicly bought into their adoption in future fleets and now with ISO 26262 ASIL-D certification for both CPU and MCU architectures, Perseus is prepared to meet the demand.

About ISO 26262:2018 ASIL-D
ISO 26262 is an international standard for the functional safety of automotive electrical and electronic (E/E) systems, established by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).
ASIL (Automotive Safety Integrity Level) is classified from A (lowest level) to D (highest level).
Perseus was awarded ASIL-D for both its CPU and MCU hypervisor. ASIL-D is the most stringent level and this gives Perseus a market leading position among hypervisor developers globally.
To achieve this certification, Perseus underwent comprehensive technical and procedural verification by an independent certification body – in this case, DNV (Det Norske Veritas). Assessments included identification of safety-critical components, establishment of a Functional Safety Management System (FSMS), full traceability throughout the safety lifecycle including fault injection and redundancy validation, and an independent Functional Safety Assessment (FSA).