Openchip, a company specialising in the design and commercialisation of high-performance, energy-efficient chips, has secured a €115m investment from the Spanish Society for Technological Transformation (SETT), an entity attached to the Ministry for Digital Transformation and Public Administration. The transaction was authorised today by the Spanish Council of Ministers.
The investment will enable Openchip to accelerate the development of high-performance, energy-efficient chips for artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing (HPC) applications. It is also expected to create highly skilled jobs in semiconductor design and strengthen Spain’s innovative semiconductor ecosystem.
The transaction aims to reinforce Europe’s strategic autonomy in critical technologies by supporting the development of open, energy-efficient chip architectures. It also seeks to expand the presence of Spain and Europe in the microelectronics industry while strengthening the continent’s technological and industrial capabilities.
Catalan government joins the shareholder base
SETT’s investment complements and is coordinated with the approval granted last week by the Government of Catalonia (Generalitat de Catalunya) to acquire a stake in Openchip.
Under the agreement, Openchip’s registered headquarters, operational centre and business activities will remain in Catalonia. The Catalan government will also hold a seat on the company’s board of directors.
The investment is intended to consolidate a strategic project for the development of a European semiconductor industry, foster technological expertise and create highly qualified employment in the region.
Open and energy-efficient chips
Openchip was founded in 2021 through an initiative led by Catalan engineering group GTD and the Barcelona Supercomputing Center – National Supercomputing Center (BSC-CNS).
The company currently employs around 300 people and develops processors and accelerators based on the open RISC-V architecture. Its solutions are designed to deliver high computing performance with lower energy consumption, helping reduce the power requirements of data centres and supercomputing infrastructure.
Openchip operates under a fabless model, focusing exclusively on semiconductor design while outsourcing manufacturing to specialised foundries. This approach enables the company to concentrate its resources on research, development and commercialisation rather than operating its own fabrication facilities.
Financing through Next Tech
SETT is making the investment through the Next Tech facility, financed by Spain’s Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan. The programme is designed to support start-ups and scale-ups operating in deep-tech sectors.
SETT also manages two additional investment facilities aimed at strengthening Spain’s technology ecosystem: PERTE Chip, focused on microelectronics and semiconductors, and Spain Audiovisual Hub, which promotes the digitalisation and competitiveness of the audiovisual industry.
About Openchip
Openchip is a European systems company developing a unique portfolio of RISC-V-based accelerators, infrastructure hardware and full-stack software for next-generation AI and HPC applications. Headquartered in Barcelona with a growing European footprint, the company brings together leading silicon and software engineering talent with a strong focus on AI. Its end-to-end optimised products are designed to advance Europe’s digital sovereignty while delivering world-class performance for the continent’s most demanding computing workloads. For more information, visit Openchip’s website.
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