French Chip Designer NanoXplore Secures €20M to Boost Defence Chips…

Team S · 2026-01-12T13:05:28.000Z

NanoXplore, a French fabless semiconductor company, has raised €20 million in a strategic funding round aimed at accelerating its expansion into defence electronics and reinforcing European electronic sovereignty by developing security-focused components and supporting targeted external growth across the continent. The investment underscores Europe’s increasing emphasis on building homegrown capabilities in critical microelectronics and reducing reliance on non-European technologies in sectors such as defence, space and high-reliability systems. The €20M funding round was backed by MBDA, a leading European defence company, and the Defence Innovation Fund a sovereign investment vehicle managed by Bpifrance aligning industrial expertise with strategic public-sector support. MBDA brings deep insight into the operational needs of European armed forces, while Bpifrance’s involvement reflects its mandate to strengthen the French and EU defence industrial base. The capital will be deployed to develop next-generation secured FPGAs and ultra-low-power chips tailored for land, air and naval defence systems, as well as to pursue strategic acquisitions of complementary expertise and companies across Europe, broadening NanoXplore’s product portfolio and industrial footprint. Founded in 2013 and led by CEO Édouard Lepape, NanoXplore designs and supplies radiation-hardened FPGAs (Field-Programmable Gate Arrays) programmable integrated circuits capable of operating in extreme environments such as space and defence applications. The company also recently introduced NG-ULTRA, a state-of-the-art rad-hard SoC FPGA, and champions a 100% European supply chain that keeps its products “ITAR-free” meaning they are not subject to U.S. defence export regulations. NanoXplore’s circuits are already embedded in major European space programmes such as Galileo and Copernicus, providing a sovereign alternative to non-European components. With this fresh funding, NanoXplore aims to accelerate its diversification from space into defence, enhancing product development capabilities and reinforcing Europe’s strategic independence in high-tech microelectronics a priority increasingly highlighted in the context of geopolitical technology competition. The company’s growth plans also include targeted acquisitions that deepen its technological expertise and strengthen Europe’s supply chains for critical electronic components. #NanoXplore, #EuropeanTechSovereignty, #DefenceTech, #ChipDesign, #Microelectronics, #FPGA, #StrategicFunding, #MBDA, #Bpifrance, #DefenseInnovation, #EuropeanStartups, #TechInvestment, #Innovation, #TechIndependence, #SecurityChips, #SpaceTech

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French Chip Designer NanoXplore Secures €20M to Boost Defence Chips… | Newnex