The European Commission has launched the European Chip Design Platform, a €525 million initiative to help a new generation of European companies design semiconductors. The platform, known as EuroCDP, was unveiled on 4 November by Henna Virkkunen, the Commission's Executive Vice-President for Tech Sovereignty.

The aim is to give small chip designers the tools, funding and manufacturing access they need to turn ideas into silicon, without first having to raise a fortune. European firms currently earn under one per cent of global revenue from chip design, a weakness Brussels wants to correct.

What the money covers

Of the €525 million, €440 million is earmarked for grants to chip developers, while €85 million will fund cloud infrastructure, support services and open-source design tools. The EU budget contributes €285 million, with participating member states providing the remaining €240 million through the Chips Joint Undertaking.

Start-ups developing early prototypes can apply for grants of up to €100,000, while more established chip design companies can qualify for as much as €16 million to support commercial development. The platform also offers access to design software, reusable intellectual property blocks, engineering support and manufacturing capacity.

Why Europe needs it

The platform sits under the EU Chips Act, which aims to raise the bloc to a 20 per cent share of global semiconductor production by 2030, up from roughly nine per cent in 2020. Rather than competing only on factory capacity, the design platform targets the start of the value chain, where Europe's presence is weakest.

A consortium led by Belgian research centre Imec runs the platform, bringing together 12 partners across Europe. Around 20 start-ups are already taking part in training to prepare their technologies for commercial markets, and the platform is scheduled to run until 2028.

Sources: TechStrong Semi and The European Sting.