Imec Coordinates EU Chips Design Platform
May 9, 2025 | ImecEstimated reading time: 1 minute
A consortium of 12 European partners, coordinated by imec, has been selected in the framework of the European Chips Act to develop the EU Chips Design Platform. Funded by Chips JU, the platform will facilitate access to advanced semiconductor design infrastructure, training, and capital for fabless semiconductor startups, small and medium enterprises and research organizations. By providing the necessary resources, the initiative aims to democratize and foster semiconductor innovation across Europe, specifically for chip design.
The semiconductor industry is the backbone of modern technology, powering everything from smartphones to advanced medical devices. With the EU Chips Act, Europe is dedicated to increasing its global semiconductor market share. Next to the launch of European pilot lines that aim to develop key technologies for semiconductor innovation, the EU Chips Act has proposed the EU Chips Design Platform as a vehicle to support the growth of fabless chip companies in Europe.
The EU Chips Design Platform will enable fabless companies to access the resources they need quickly and efficiently via a cloud-based virtual environment, offering chip design resources, training, and capital. Coordinated by imec, twelve key European research players in the semiconductor ecosystem have joined forces in a consortium to create this design platform.
The platform aims to onboard the first startups and small and medium enterprises by early 2026, providing them with low-barrier access to European design capabilities, including route-to-chip fabrication, packaging, and testing. It will offer customized support to access commercial electronic design automation (EDA) tools, intellectual property (IP) libraries, EU Chips Act pilot line technologies, and access to design IP repositories, including open-source options. Additionally, the platform will feature a startup support program with incubation, acceleration, and mentoring activities next to financial assistance to help early-stage companies turn their innovative ideas into reality.
“The EU Chips Design Platform will provide crucial resources for startups and SMEs to accelerate their design journey and bring their business ideas to market faster. By reducing the barriers to access of design expertise, including EDA tools and IP, and drastically lowering chip design and fabrication costs and time-to-market, we will spark the growth of the European chip design industry,” stated Romano Hoofman, imec project coordinator.
Testimonial
"Our marketing partnership with I-Connect007 is already delivering. Just a day after our press release went live, we received a direct inquiry about our updated products!"
Rachael Temple - AlltematedSuggested Items
Synopsys, GlobalFoundries Establish Pilot Program to Bring Chip Design and Manufacturing to University Classrooms
09/05/2025 | GlobalFoundriesSynopsys, Inc. and GlobalFoundries (GF) announced a new collaboration to launch an educational ‘chip design to tapeout’ program for universities worldwide.
I-Connect007 Editor’s Choice: Five Must-Reads for the Week
09/05/2025 | Andy Shaughnessy, I-Connect007It’s almost fall here in Atlanta, and that means that the temperature is finally dropping. And it quit raining! It’s been raining since March, and I’m so over it, as the social influencers say. Last night we grilled out on the deck, and it wasn’t hot, and we didn’t get rained on. Life is good. It was a busy week in the industry. In this installment of my must-reads, we say goodbye to Walt Custer, the man who made PCB data points interesting for the rest of us.
American Standard to Participate in European Microwave Week 2025
09/05/2025 | American Standard CircuitsAnaya Vardya, President, and CEO of American Standard Sunstone Circuits has announced that his company will once again be taking part in European Microwave Week, Europe’s premier RF, microwave, radar and wireless event, to be held from September 21-26, 2025 at Jaarbeurs in Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Kris Moyer Discusses His Emerging Design Technologies Class
09/04/2025 | Marcy LaRont, I-Connect007Kris Moyer, a design instructor for the Global Electronics Association, will be teaching his advanced PCB design class this fall. If you’re ready to level up your design education, you won’t want to miss this interview. The PCB Design for Emerging Design Technologies course is designed to provide the skills necessary to create PCB/PBA designs that require cutting-edge emerging design technologies and comply with all necessary IPC standards, including new standards being developed in this area.
Synopsys Announces Expanding AI Capabilities for its Leading EDA Solutions
09/04/2025 | SynopsysSynopsys announced expanding Synopsys.ai™ Copilot generative AI (GenAI) capabilities for its industry-leading semiconductor design solutions, enabling semiconductor engineering teams to accelerate development timelines, support significantly more complex designs, and increase engineering velocity amidst a workforce shortage.