Cisco chose Barcelona to locate its first chip design center for Europe and the announcement was made by the chair and chief executive officer of Cisco in a discussion with the Prime Minister of Spain H.E. Pedro Sánchez.
Cisco, the American telecommunications multinational company announced on Thursday its decision to launch a center for the design of next-generation semiconductor devices in Spain. The telecommunications firm chose Barcelona to locate its first chip design center for Europe. The announcement was made by the chair and chief executive officer of Cisco in a discussion with the honorable Prime Minister of Spain, H.E. Pedro Sánchez.
The new design center will be located in the urban Innovation Center of Barcelona, where the firm already had an innovation point. The project is a part of the Strategic Project for Economic Recovery and Transformation (PERTE) of semiconductors and microelectronics promoted by the central executives. The government in the month of May took steps toward reindustrializing Spain as the economic Ministers approved PERTE which is endowed with up to 12,250 million euros of public investment until 2027 with a boost from European funds.
PERTE aims to promote all the phases of semiconductor production in Spain, which is a key sector in the aerospace industry, automotive industry telecommunications, health equipment, and industrial automation. The initiative was to improve the strength and competitiveness of semiconductor applications and technology to aid the country to achieve dual transitions of green and digital. The official statement released by the company states that the EU Chips Act lays the groundwork for a new revolutionary ecosystem in the EU, that helps in connecting designs, research, and testing capabilities that will facilitate economic growth and create job opportunities.
The government has highlighted that the prime minister and CEO of Cisco had met in the previous year and in May 2022 to secure the investment. Pedro Sánchez stated that Spain is on its way, advancing to become an important component in aiding the European Union to attain its objective of reaching 20% of the world’s chip market by the year 2030 and the decision now taken is in line with the European Union’s strategy of having its own microchip industry as these are vital for the development of technological products.
The main aim is to prevent the supply of semiconductors from being trapped and forcing the automobile factories to close for days. “The dedication of companies like Cisco will help strengthen our innovation ecosystem and be at the forefront of technological, industrial, and social progress,” says Pedro Sánchez.
Cisco highlighted the importance of the microchip supply chain and the urgent need to take steps to relieve it. Chuck Robbins stated that technology has the ability to improve the socio-economic conditions of countries and move further towards an inclusive society. “Semiconductors are essential to so much innovation, and our advances in this field help overcome the performance, economic, and power consumption limitations of current infrastructure” the company’s chief executive officer said. He also added that Cisco is proud in being a part of addressing the semiconductor supplies with the development of the new design center and help in building the internet of the future.
About Cisco
Cisco was founded in 1984 by a group of computer scientists from Stanford University. Since the company’s establishment, Cisco engineers have been leaders in the development of Internet Protocol (IP)-based networking technologies. The company employs more than 70,000 employees worldwide, this tradition of innovation continues with industry-leading products and solutions in the company’s essential expansion areas of switching and routing, as well as in cutting-edge technologies such as storage area networking, IP telephony, optical networking, security, home networking, and wireless technology. Along with its products, Cisco provides a broad range of service offerings, including advanced services and technical support. The company specializes in Data Centers, Virtualization Networking, Unified Computing Systems Wireless Security, Cloud, Collaboration, and Unified Communication