A 12-member European consortium has been commissioned to develop the EU Chips Design Platform, a cloud-based initiative aimed at bolstering the continent’s semiconductor design capabilities. Coordinated by Belgium’s imec and funded through the European Union’s Digital Europe programme, the platform is a central component of the European Chips Act, which seeks to enhance the EU’s global semiconductor market share.
The platform is designed to provide fabless semiconductor startups, small and medium-sized enterprises , and research organisations with streamlined access to advanced chip design infrastructure, training, and capital. By offering a virtual environment equipped with electronic design automation tools, intellectual property libraries, and access to pilot line technologies, the initiative aims to lower entry barriers and foster innovation across Europe.
Romano Hoofman, imec’s project coordinator, emphasised the platform’s potential to accelerate the design journey for startups and SMEs, enabling them to bring business ideas to market more swiftly. He highlighted the reduction of barriers to design expertise and the significant decrease in chip design and fabrication costs and time-to-market as key benefits.
The consortium includes prominent research institutions such as the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission , Germany’s Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft and Leibniz Institute for High Performance Microelectronics , Silicon Austria Labs, Fondazione Chips-IT in Italy, the Spanish National Research Council , the International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory in Portugal, Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands, Tampere University in Finland, the Czech Technical University in Prague , and AGH University of Krakow in Poland.
TU/e plays a pivotal role in representing the integrated photonics ecosystem, particularly supporting startups and SMEs aiming to enhance product performance with photonic integrated circuits . The university is committed to making PICs more accessible, aligning with the platform’s broader goal of democratizing semiconductor innovation.
The platform is scheduled to onboard its first startups and SMEs by early 2026, offering low-barrier access to European design capabilities, including chip fabrication, packaging, and testing. It will also provide customized support for accessing commercial EDA tools, IP libraries, and open-source design repositories. Additionally, a startup support program will offer incubation, acceleration, mentoring, and financial assistance to help early-stage companies realise their innovative ideas.