Europe’s semiconductor strategy has, for years, been dominated by one word: fabs. Billions of euros have flowed into new manufacturing capacity, and rightly so — but is silicon production alone enough to make Europe a true semiconductor leader?
In his latest article for EE Times, EnSilica CEO Ian Lankshear argues that it isn’t. The world’s most successful chip companies don’t necessarily own the biggest factories — they own the IP, the customer relationships, and the system-level expertise that turn silicon into products people actually need. For Europe to compete on that level, it needs to build not just fabs, but semiconductor champions.
Drawing on examples from France, the UK, and Spain, Ian sets out where Europe’s real competitive advantage lies — in application-specific silicon for sectors like automotive, aerospace, defense, and industrial automation — and what genuine technological sovereignty actually requires beyond the question of where a wafer is made.
Read the full article on EE Times to see why the next phase of Europe’s chip strategy needs to look far beyond the fab: Beyond the Fab: Building Europe’s Next Generation of Semiconductor Champions
