Barcelona has taken the jackpot. The CEO of Cisco, chuck robbins, announced this Thursday the opening of a microchip design center in Barcelona. The initiative is part of the Strategic Project for economic recovery and transformation (PERTE) “Chip” promoted by the Government and that has more than 12,000 million euros of budgetwhich makes it the strategic project with the largest endowment.
The announcement was made after a meeting between the manager and the Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, at the Palacio de la Moncloa. It is the first installation of this type of multinational in Europeaccording to a statement from the company.
The EU is promoting the development of a market for its own chips that allow for independence from suppliers from other countries. Taiwan is the leading superpower in this regard. Tensions with China threaten the normal supply of this component, more than it already is today due to the reduction in production
Robbins and Sánchez had already held previous meetings in which what is now an official announcement was polished. They took place at the Davos forum last May and in July of last year.
The European Union has been promoting the development of its own microchip market for a long time, allowing for independence from suppliers from other countries. Taiwan is the leading superpower in this regard. The tensions with China threaten the normal supply of this component, more than it already is today due to the reduction in production.
“Spain is becoming a key player in achieving the EU’s objective of reaching the 20% of the global chip market in 2030. We have approved the Perte de microchips and we have the roadmap, the reforms and the incentives to attract talent and consolidate the current Spanish ecosystem”, Sánchez highlighted.
The new Cisco project will be located in the innovation center that the technology company has in Barcelona, in what, according to Robbins, means a “reaffirmation” of the technological commitment with the digitization ecosystem of Spain and Europe.
Intel also bets on Barcelona
The company has highlighted the complexity of the microchip supply chain and the need to take an “active role” in decongesting it.
In addition to Cisco, Intel has also committed to opening an innovation laboratory in Barcelona with an investment of 200 million euros in alliance with the Barcelona Supercomputing Centre, to which they will add another 200 million public euros.
