European Commission allocates €525 million to chip design startups and SMEs

The European Commission will mobilise €525 million so that European startups and SMEs can design their own semiconductors without bearing the full cost of tools, intellectual property and fabrication from the first day, ecosistemastartup.com reports ecosistemastartup.comecosistemastartup.comecosistemastartup.comOpen source ↗. Of the total, €440 million goes to direct grants and €85 million to the digital infrastructure of the new European Chip Design Platform. The initiative was presented by Henna Virkkunen, Executive Vice-President of the European Commission.

Grant ceilings and platform resources

An early-stage startup can apply for up to €100.000 for proof-of-concept prototypes, while a more mature company can apply for up to €16 million to bring a chip toward commercialisation. These are support ceilings, not guaranteed amounts. The platform works as a single window: instead of each company negotiating separately with design software vendors, owners of intellectual property blocks and foundries, access is concentrated in one programme.

The resources include electronic design automation (EDA) tools, reusable intellectual property blocks, access to manufacturing capacity, and technical and commercial training. Applicants also get support with the application process through the European network of Chip Competence Centres. The cloud part of the project, known as EuroCDP, is operated by a consortium led by imec, the Belgian microelectronics research centre. It is backed by the Chips Joint Undertaking and by tools from international EDA and IP providers. According to EE News Europe, 20 startups already take part in the business development programmes linked to the platform.

Funding sources and context

Of the €525 million, €285 million comes from the EU budget and €240 million from the states participating in the Chips Joint Undertaking, the public-private partnership of European institutions, countries and industry ecosistemastartup.comecosistemastartup.comecosistemastartup.comOpen source ↗. The announcement is part of the European Chips Act and of the Chips Act 2.0 update proposal presented in June 2026.

The Commission states that European companies account for less than 1% of global revenue in the fabless segment, meaning companies that design chips and have them made by third parties. Europe is present in the sector through ASML in advanced lithography equipment and through Infineon, STMicroelectronics and NXP as semiconductor suppliers. The Commission's argument is that a fab needs customers with chips ready for production, and Virkkunen said Europe cannot improve its position in the global semiconductor industry without progress in design.

The source notes two limits. The platform gives access to design tools from international providers, and much of the global advanced production infrastructure remains outside the EU. In addition, €525 million is a fraction of what the large international designers handle.