What is the Connectivity Standards Alliance?

Hidden with little fanfare within every Matter smart home update and news about new devices is mention of the CSA, or the Connectivity Standards Alliance to afford it its full title.

But what is the Connectivity Standards Alliance? What does it do, who is involved, and what is their expertise?

What is the CSA?

So, let’s get the first question out of the way: the Connectivity Standards Alliance is global organization that develops and promotes open standards for IoT (Internet of Things) and smart home devices.

Founded in 2002, the CSA was initially known as the Zigbee Alliance, and changed its name in 2021 following the establishing of the Matter standard. Currently, it maintains both the Matter and the Zigbee standards.

The CSA consists of various personnel and organizations, with a membership of 500 companies. Some big names are involved including the key tech giants that support Matter: Amazon, Apple, Google, Ikea, and Samsung SmartThings. In addition, Yandex and Comcast are major players in the CSA.

What does the CSA do?

The CSA works in various ways to advance the Matter smart home platform. Primarily, it does the following:

• Develop standards – Matter and Zigbee are managed via a collaborative process.

• Certify products – Alliance Lab Testing ensures that products are interoperable, regardless of which manufacturer developed them. Apple, Google, and Samsung SmartThings have all accepted certification from the CSA for Works With Matter, as has Amazon.

• Promote adoption – The Alliance constantly promotes Matter (as well as Zigbee) in social media posts, videos, events, white papers, and other mediums. Driving the growth of Matter smart homes and IoT is a worldwide project, and personnel from the CSA make appearances at many major tech industry events.

However, there is a lot more to it than this. For example, a big focus of the Connectivity Standards Alliance is on collaboration, working with stakeholders to evolve IoT technology.

Who is running the Connectivity Standards Alliance?

Tobin Richardson is the President and CEO of the Connectivity Standards Alliance. But this is a big job, relying on people from across the tech industry. For example, the Chairman of the Board of Directors is Musa Unmehopa (who appeared in a video explaining how the CSA supports smart home brands). However, Unmehopa is also Head of Wireless Standards & Regulations at Signify (previously known as Philips Lighting).

Meanwhile, the CSA includes representatives of all the main tech companies that are involved. So, people from Silicon Labs, Verizon, and Midea are present on the Board of the Connectivity Standards Alliance.

In addition, the CSA comprises subgroups. These are regional boards that focus on local interests, known as the Europe Interest Group (EUIG), Member Group China (CMGC), and the Japan Interest Group.

Which tech companies are involved with the CSA?

The full list of companies that are CSA members is long, and changes regularly. Various membership types are available, Associate, Adopter, Participant, and Promoter. Adopter and Participant membership tiers were confirmed in early 2025.

You’re probably more familiar with Promoter members, such as:

• Amazon

• Apple

• Google

• Samsung SmartThings

• Comcast

• IKEA

• Huawei

• Schneider Electric

• Infineon Technologies

• LG Electronics

• Lutron Electronics

• Midea

• Nordic Semiconductor

• NXP Semiconductors

• Resideo

• Siemens

• Signify

• Silicon Labs

• Somfy Group

• STMicroelectronics

• Tuya

• Verizon

But any company producing Matter tech is a member on some level. So, Aqara, Govee, and many other companies are also involved, collaborating to reach the specification targets to make smart home and IoT technology work more effectively and efficiently.

The Connectivity Standards Alliance governs Matter

When you put all of this together, it becomes clear that the CSA isn’t just a talking shop. It’s a glue that manages collaboration and cooperation… real life interoperability, if you like.

By setting targets for features and integrations, and bringing in more tech companies, the CSA isn’t just outlining a bi-annual specification for Matter. It is governing the standard, and by extension, the direction and evolution of the smart home.

Features are approved by the CSA, as are testing and the resulting Matter certification. Without the CSA, the smart home would still be a disparate collection of Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Z-Wave, Thread, and Zigbee devices. Thanks to the CSA, we have Matter, and smart home technology is slowly being drawn together.

It’s still early in the development of the Matter standard, but the Connectivity Standards Alliance’s role in it is vital.