EuroCDP: Building Europe’s Go-To Platform for Chip Design

Romano Hoofman

In today’s fast-evolving semiconductor landscape, Europe needs more than just technological excellence—it needs accessibility, speed, and community. That’s the vision behind the European Chips Design Platform (EuroCDP): to become the go-to place for anyone in Europe looking to design and bring a chip to market.

At its core, EuroCDP is a distributed design platform. It brings together central coordination and a network of Design Enablement Teams (DETs), offering startups, SMEs, and innovators everything they need—from idea to silicon. Whether you’re building your first ASIC or scaling up a fabless business, EuroCDP aims to lower the barriers that have traditionally slowed down chip innovation.

Lowering Barriers, Accelerating Access

EuroCDP is designed to simplify and accelerate access to essential design tools, IP blocks, and fabrication services. One of the biggest hurdles for startups isn’t just cost—it’s time. Negotiating licenses for EDA tools or IP can take months. EuroCDP solves this by offering pre-negotiated agreements, allowing new companies to get started immediately. The goal isn’t just affordability—it’s speed to execution.

A Platform for All Designers

While our initial focus is on startups and SMEs, the long-term vision is broader. EuroCDP aims to serve the entire design community—from early-stage ventures to established large enterprises. Even those who’ve “graduated” from the platform can continue to benefit from its marketplace, DET services, and peer community.

Ultimately, EuroCDP is more than a platform—it’s a community. A place where designers can meet, collaborate, and share challenges. Think of it as the “coffee chat” space for IC design in Europe—where a startup founder might exchange ideas with an an experienced engineer from a leading chip design company.

We’re just getting started. But with the right partnerships, the right tools, and a shared commitment to innovation, EuroCDP can become the backbone of Europe’s chip design future.

Supporting the Full Journey

Beyond tools and infrastructure, EuroCDP is building tailored startup support programmes, including incubation and acceleration tracks. These are designed specifically for chip design ventures—something that’s still rare in Europe. While other initiatives like Silicon Catalyst exist, EuroCDP is unique in its focus on nurturing fabless chip startups from the earliest stages until they are ready to commercialise their product. In addition to the business-focused startup programs, technical training will also be developed and made available to the community.

We’re not just supporting companies that already exist—we’re helping create them. That means engaging with universities, encouraging entrepreneurship, and helping researchers turn ideas into ventures. EuroCDP fills a clear gap: where previous initiatives focused on academia, EuroCDP bridges the space between research and commercialisation.