SPRIND and NADI launch €40M challenge to reinvent European chip design

Germany's SPRIND and the Netherlands' NADI launched the AI-Native Chip Design Challenge with €40 million in funding. The programme aims to cut chip development timeframes from years to weeks and strengthen Europe's sovereign AI capabilities. It runs in two stages over 20 months: seven teams at €2.6 million each, then three teams at €7 million each.

• Total funding is €40 million, mostly from SPRIND with NADI covering the rest
• Stage 1 runs November to July 2027: seven teams at €2.6 million each
• Stage 2 runs a full year: three teams at €7 million each plus coaching
• Goal is to cut chip design from years to weeks for Europe's sovereign AI