Historical programming period — scheme no longer open to new applications
SiPearl: developing a European microprocessor with the EIC Accelerator
Île-de-France
How a young French company specializing in microprocessors for supercomputers obtained a 2,5 M€ European grant and a 15 M€ investment from the EIC fund to develop a strategic technology for European digital sovereignty.
Funding obtained
€2,500,000
Total project cost
€3,582,501
Funding rate
70%
Instrument
Grant
The company
SiPearl (SiPearl SAS, SIREN 851434365) is a French company founded on June 3, 2019, headquartered in Maisons-Laffitte (Yvelines), stemming from the European consortium European Processor Initiative (EPI).
Its ambition is to design European processors dedicated to High Performance Computing (HPC), intended in particular for medical and scientific research, artificial intelligence, climate modeling, industrial simulation, energy management, and strategic applications requiring the processing of sensitive data.
The project addresses an industrial and geopolitical challenge: reducing Europe's dependence on foreign technologies in semiconductors and computing infrastructure. SiPearl employs more than 190 staff spread across France (Maisons-Laffitte, Grenoble, Massy, Sophia Antipolis), Germany (Duisburg), and Spain (Barcelona).
The initial need
Designing a European microprocessor for high performance computing requires considerable resources: highly skilled engineering teams, advanced design tools, prototyping, and then industrialization. SiPearl needed financing capable of supporting both upstream R&D (reducing the cost and timelines of designing future generations of chips) and the scale-up of a deeptech company whose product had not yet been commercialized.
- Finance the research and development of a microprocessor architecture.
- Reduce the costs and timelines of designing future generations of chips.
- Strengthen equity to support costly industrialization.
- Demonstrate the viability of a European alternative in strategic semiconductors.
The funded project
The European project financed is called HELIOS — Highly Efficient and Lightweight Input/output Open Silicon (CORDIS, project no. 190183836). It covers the development of a new platform architecture designed to accelerate the design of European microprocessors, in particular to improve input/output components and integrate advanced design technologies, in order to reduce the development costs of future generations of processors.
An important distinction: HELIOS is the financed project documented in CORDIS. It should not be confused with Rhea, the first microprocessor developed by SiPearl, nor should all of Rhea's development expenses be considered covered by this agreement.
- Development of the HELIOS architecture.
- Improvement of the microprocessor's input/output components.
- Integration of advanced design technologies.
- Reduction of the costs and timelines for developing future processors.
Funding plan
Total cost
€3,582,501
Public funding
€2,500,000
Other known funding
€15,000,000
The total cost (3 582 501 €) and the grant (2 500 000 €) relate only to the HELIOS project (CORDIS). CORDIS also indicates a net European contribution of 2 119 768,92 € for the coordinator SiPearl, distinct from the gross contribution of 2,5 M€ shown at project level. The 15 000 000 € equity investment from the EIC fund (announced in addition, see below) constitutes a separate financial operation, not included in this total project cost.
The scheme used
Horizon Europe program, EIC Accelerator instrument (blended finance) — call HORIZON-EIC-2021-ACCELERATOROPEN-01, HELIOS agreement no. 190183836. The EIC Accelerator combined a non-dilutive grant of 2,5 M€ with an equity investment of up to 15 M€, made by the EIC Fund.
Results and outcomes
- Achieved
On June 14, 2022, the European Commission announced the first direct equity investment by the EIC fund in a company, amounting to 15 M€ in SiPearl, in addition to the 2,5 M€ grant (i.e., 17,5 M€ announced in total since December 2021).
2022-06-14 — source
- Achieved
In October 2023, SiPearl won its first flagship contract: its Rhea1 processor will power JUPITER, Europe's first exascale supercomputer, whose contract was awarded to the consortium led by Eviden (contract announced by the EuroHPC Joint Undertaking on October 3, 2023).
2023-10-03 — source
- Achieved
SiPearl completed its Series A round with a 23 M€ extension in December 2023, bringing the total raised in 2023 to approximately 113 M€ (according to the company's April 2024 press release), following an initial closing of 90 M€ in April 2023.
2023-12-01 — source
- Achieved
On July 8, 2025, SiPearl announced the final closing of its Series A at 130 M€ (with Cathay Venture, the EIC Fund, and France 2030), intended to industrialize the Rhea1 processor and finance R&D for future generations. The company simultaneously announced the tape-out of Rhea1.
2025-07-08 — source
- Achieved
On November 18, 2025, SiPearl announced that its Rhea2 processor had been selected to equip a scalar partition of Alice Recoque, France's future exascale supercomputer (a project led by an Eviden/AMD consortium on behalf of GENCI and CEA).
2025-11-18 — source
- Stated objective
On July 28, 2026, the European Commission announced the selection of SiPearl among six companies chosen for the EIC STEP Scale Up program. The program provides for an equity investment of between 10 M€ and 30 M€ per company, subject to due diligence: the individual amount for SiPearl has not been made public at this stage and should therefore not be presented as confirmed at 15 M€.
2026-07-28 — source
Results are distinguished by nature (achieved, stated objective, forecast, estimate) — never presented as certain without this distinction.
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Sources and transparency
- CORDIS — HELIOS Project (190183836) — Commission européenne — CORDIS
Confirms the agreement, the budget (2,5 M€ / 3 582 501 €), the Horizon Europe / EIC Accelerator Blended Finance program, and the beneficiary SiPearl.
- EIC — First major equity investment by the EIC Fund (14/06/2022) — European Innovation Council
Confirms the 15 M€ investment from the EIC fund in SiPearl, in addition to the 2,5 M€ grant.
- EuroHPC JU — Procurement contract JUPITER signed (03/10/2023) — EuroHPC Joint Undertaking
Confirms the JUPITER contract and the role of SiPearl's Rhea1 processor.
Bloomberg — Chipmaker SiPearl Raises €130 Million in EU Sovereign AI Push (08/07/2025) — BloombergConfirms the final closing of the Series A at 130 M€ (Cathay Venture, EIC Fund, France 2030) and the Rhea1 tape-out.
- Eviden/AMD — Alice Recoque, France's first exascale supercomputer (November 2025) — Eviden
Confirms the selection of SiPearl's Rhea2 processor for a partition of the Alice Recoque supercomputer.
- EIC — The EIC selects new European scale-ups for STEP Scale Up investments (28/07/2026) — European Innovation Council
Confirms the selection of SiPearl among six companies for the EIC STEP Scale Up program — without a published individual amount, hence the absence of a third quantified financial operation.
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