The company was created in June 2019 by industry veteran Philippe Notton to bring to life the joint project of the 27 members of the European Processor Initiative (EPI), the consortium selected by the European Union to support the development of the European microprocessor. Based on a roadmap that is closely aligned with the European Union’s goals, the company is targeting a commercial launch in 2022 for its first range of microprocessors.

In the space of a few months, its CEO and founder has built the solid foundations that will support SiPearl’s development: a powerful ecosystem bringing together its 26 partners within the European Processor Initiative consortium; a leadership team with complementary areas of expertise and proven track records; best-in-class industrial and technological suppliers; and €6.2m of European subsidies to launch its development, which will be followed by a major round of fundraising.

Since December 2018, the joint project has involved more than 200 engineers working each day to develop the basic software and hardware technological components. Working closely with its partners, SiPearl will integrate them with its own technologies and those of best-in-class global suppliers to bring to life the European microprocessor combining supercomputing power with energy efficiency and backdoor-free security.

Drawing on his French and international network, Philippe Notton is putting in place a team of 10 executives with proven track records and complementary areas of expertise (research and development, IT architecture, semiconductors, high performance computing, automotive, etc.). Their appointments will be officially announced during the first half of this year.

SiPearl operates with as a fabless company and has chosen to initially entrust its production to the Taiwan-based group TSMC.

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