How can Switzerland protect its place in future technology as the chips inside our phones, cars, and medical devices become ever more complex? In 2024, ETH Zurich, EPFL, and CSEM, with support from the State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI), launched the SwissChips initiative. Its goal is simple: help Switzerland stay strong in semiconductor and chip design by supporting research, training experts, and building better tools and labs.
“Midway through its 2024-26 mandate, SwissChips is delivering concrete results in talent development, technical progress, prototyping access for ETH Zurich, EPFL, CSEM and Swiss universities, and sharing national competence, infrastructure and global visibility,” explains Dragan Manic, Deputy VP, Integrated & Wireless Systems, CSEM.
Through SwissChips, CSEM drives innovations that make electronics smarter and more efficient. Teams bring machine learning and AI-driven chip design to edge devices using ultra-low-power chips operating on minimal energy, including from ambient sources. This enables Internet of Things systems to learn and respond locally without constant internet access and while keeping sensitive data on the device. CSEM also develops wireless power transfer for battery-free medical implants and wearables, and builds future wireless and sensor platforms for reliable communication. These efforts include next-generation, quantum-resilient security to withstand future computing threats, post-quantum encryption, high‑frequency mmWave sensing, and advanced imaging technologies used in medical and industrial contexts.
Midway through its 2024-26 mandate, SwissChips is delivering concrete results in talent development, technical progress, prototyping access for ETH Zurich, EPFL, CSEM and Swiss universities, and sharing national competence, infrastructure and global visibility.
The impact is tangible. Thanks to SwissChips, engineers, researchers, and students can now access state-of-the-art design tools and national-scale prototyping infrastructure. Swiss universities and research institutions share previously separate capabilities, accelerating collective progress. More than a dozen chip prototypes have already been designed, built, and validated, supported by over twenty scientific publications and technical workshops. Among the highlights is a breakthrough in resilient power amplifiers for next-generation wireless infrastructure. It will be presented by CSEM Doctoral Student Mohsen Ghorbanpoor at ISSCC 2026, the world’s top chip design conference.
By bringing together Switzerland’s IC‑design research leadership, expertise, and infrastructure, the initiative strengthens the country’s capacity to deliver high‑quality technology solutions, support industry and society, and respond confidently to a global landscape increasingly shaped by major chip‑strategy efforts in the EU, the US and China.
Discover on CSEM’s semiconductors page how advanced ASIC design, photonic and MEMS components, and embedded software create high-performance, energy-efficient systems. Or contact us through our form to explore collaboration opportunities.