The Essentials
SiPearl is among the five founding members of the European Fabless Semiconductor Association (EFSA), the first pan-European association dedicated to chip designers who outsource their manufacturing. The initiative aims to give greater weight to European start-ups, SMEs, and mid-market firms in a sector where Europe accounts for less than 1% of the global fabless market.
- Unified representation: the association intends to advocate for its members’ interests with European institutions, notably on industrial policies, funding, and semiconductor-related programs.
- Shared resources: it plans to pool information on markets and technologies, facilitate access to investors and industrial customers, and negotiate common services, such as licenses for design tools.
- Five founding members: SiPearl, Axelera AI, Quside, Semidynamics and VSORA launch this non-profit organization under Belgian law.
- A growth objective: open to European fabless companies, the EFSA aims to reach more than 50 members within three years. Its launch is supported by the Horizon Europe VOICES project.
The European Fabless Semiconductor Association, the first pan-European association dedicated to companies that design chips without owning fabrication facilities, was officially launched from Brussels.
Axelera AI, Quside, Semidynamics, SiPearl and VSORA are the five founders. Philippe Notton, founder and CEO of SiPearl, chairs the board of directors.
Fabless companies design chips and delegate fabrication to foundries. They currently account for more than 60% of the non-memory semiconductor market, but Europe weighs in at less than 1% of the global fabless market.
The association aims to provide a common voice for European fabless start-ups, SMEs, and mid-sized companies, around four pillars:
- representation to European institutions (Chips Joint Undertaking, DG CONNECT, DG GROW),
- shared monitoring of public policies, funding, markets and technologies,
- facilitating connections with investors and industry players seeking European chips,
- mutualized services, such as bundled licenses for design tools.
Five Founders, Including SiPearl
The association will be an international non-profit association (AISBL) under Belgian law, and its establishment is supported by the Horizon Europe VOICES project, coordinated by Quside.
Paul de Bot, who spent more than a decade at TSMC, where he led its European activities, serves as the inaugural president for the incubation phase. The association is open to fabless companies across Europe and aims to surpass 50 members within three years.
Philippe Notton explains that SiPearl, since its creation, has worked closely with European institutions and public authorities in the countries where the company operates, to advocate for the cause of a fabless SME. He sees this as a natural reason why SiPearl has taken a particularly active role in establishing the association.
