The Barcelona-based company Openchip expects to close 2024 with 100 employees

To avoid falling behind in the technological battle, leading infrastructures like the Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC) believe that tools also need to be designed here. This is where Openchip emerges, a public-private company based in the Catalan capital that aims to design and commercialize microchips with a European seal. The Barcelona engineering firm GTD and the BSC share the capital, with 54% and 46%, respectively.

Born in 2021, after the pandemic highlighted Europe's technological dependence, Openchip is headquartered at the supercomputer's facilities, where it already has a staff of 70 employees. This year it expects to close with 100 professionals in Barcelona and plans to reach 200 by next year. It also has offices in Italy, Poland, and Germany.

The joint-venture will be responsible for designing and commercializing microprocessors, but manufacturing will be outsourced to third parties, always within European territory. The sectors they will focus on are security, meteorology, health, and automotive, with the aim of accelerating research. "Once designed, developed, and produced, our products and services will have a multiple positive impact on society. Furthermore, we are committed to the growth and recapitalization of local talent, fostering skill development and boosting innovation in our communities," says its CEO, Francesc Guim, who trained at the BSC and worked at Intel. Therese Jamaa, former general director of GSMA, the Mobile organizers, is also part of the team.

Openchip has been selected by the European Commission as an Important Project of Common European Interest (IPCEI), a tool designed to foster projects in strategic sectors such as microelectronics. In addition to the IPCEI qualification, the company received 111 million euros through the Next Generation funds. Along with Adamo Telecom, Seat, and Telefónica, it has been one of the main beneficiaries of European funds this year in Catalonia.