The Government raises the loan to Openchip to €35M to maintain the Catalan microprocessor project
Avançsa also enters Aortyx's capital and a protocol is agreed to boost assistive robotics
BarcelonaThe Generalitat has authorized a new loan of 10 million euros to Openchip & Software Technologies, the Catalan company specialized in the design of high-performance microprocessors. The financing is added to the 25 million that the Generalitat already granted it in March, bringing public support to 35 million. The objective is to guarantee the continuity of the company's research and development programs while an investment round with private and institutional actors is closed.
The Government considers Openchip a strategic project for the Catalan economy and for European technological sovereignty. The company, born as a spin-off (derived project) from the Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC) and co-founded with the Catalan engineering company GTD, has been selected by the European Commission as an Important Project of Common European Interest (IPCEI) in the field of microelectronics. Founded in 2021, it develops high-performance chips for artificial intelligence applications, advanced computing, and data centers – the servers that power artificial intelligence.
The agreement provides that the Department of Economy and Finance and Avançsa (the public company for industrial promotion and location in Catalonia) will monitor the economic and financial situation of the company during the term of the loan. In addition, the Government reserves the possibility that the first credit of 25 million may be convertible, that is, that it can be transformed into shareholding. The agreement also covers a possible guarantee from the Catalan Finance Institute of up to an additional 20 million euros.
Aortyx, the public bet in health
Following the same line of commitment to high added value technology companies, the executive has authorized Avançsa to invest 1.5 million euros in Aortyx, a Barcelona-based company founded in 2018 that works on a bioabsorbable patch to repair the aorta in cases of aortic dissection – a tear in the inner layer of this artery that can have fatal consequences – without the need for open surgery. The contribution, which equates to a 7.52% stake in the capital, reflects the Catalan government's desire to bring innovations from the health sector born in Catalan research centers to the market.
Completing the day, the executive council has approved the subscription of the protocol for the Open Laboratory of Assistive Robotics (LabORA), an initiative that brings together administrations, research centers, technology companies, and entities from the care sector with the aim of making Catalonia a benchmark hub for robots that support daily life. The protocol is signed by, among others, the Generalitat, the Barcelona City Council, the CSIC, the UPC, Eurecat, i2CAT, PAL Robotics, and the Parc Sanitari Pere Virgili. The initiative is part of the Catalonia AI 2030 Strategy.