BRUSSELS (Nov 4): The European Union will invest €525 million ($590 million) in chip startups ​to help them scale up faster, EU ‌tech chief Henna Virkkunen said on Wednesday, part of a push to help Europe catch up with the ​United States and China.

The European Commission and ​EU countries will provide €440 million in grants to ⁠startups to help them meet the cost ​of developing chips for commercial use, while another €85 ​million will help fund a European Chips Design Platform.

"We know that Europe can't strengthen our position in the global ​semiconductor industry if we don't succeed in chip ​design," Virkkunen, the European Commission’s executive vice-president for tech sovereignty, ‌security ⁠and democracy, said at the platform's launch.

"Fostering a vibrant design ecosystem in turn will create demand for manufacturing facilities and also strengthen the entire ​value chain ​in Europe," ⁠she said.

According to the Commission, European chip design companies account for less ​than 1% of global revenue in ​this segment.

The ⁠platform will give startups access to chip design tools, design support services, intellectual property blocks and ⁠access ​to manufacturing capacity.

The chip industry ​is booming due to strong demand linked to AI.

Uploaded by Siow Chen Ming