Catalonia lends Openchip another EUR 15m as its EUR 250m funding round stalls

The Catalan government has approved an urgent participative loan of EUR 15 million for Openchip & Software Technologies, a Barcelona company that designs high-performance microprocessors for computing, artificial intelligence and data infrastructure, Expansión and elEconomista reported on Tuesday 10 November. A participative loan is a form of subordinated debt that sits between a normal loan and equity.

Openchip confirmed the loan in a statement, saying it would cover operating needs and keep its research and development programmes running while it works on a private funding round. The financing is a bridge, not a replacement for the private capital the company still hopes to raise.

Why the company needed the money

Openchip had been preparing a funding round of around EUR 250 million. A large part of it was meant to come from the Spanish state. In June, the Spanish cabinet approved an investment of about EUR 116 million through the Sociedad Española para la Transformación Tecnológica (SETT), the state vehicle that invests in strategic technology companies. The SETT was to take a stake of about 16.5%, subject to conditions, elEconomista reports.

That plan has now stalled. Company sources told Expansión that the SETT "will not participate in Openchip's capital for the moment". Spain's digital transformation ministry told elEconomista last week that the SETT is evaluating the involvement of more investors, because it cannot invest in a company on its own and always invests alongside co-investors.

Reports differ on the role of the construction and infrastructure group ACS, which had been in talks to take a large stake. elEconomista reported on 4 November that ACS had paused negotiations to acquire up to 51% of Openchip, citing sources close to the group who pointed to unresolved administrative and permit questions. La Vanguardia, citing government sources, wrote on 10 November that the private financing from ACS remained intact and that the delay was caused by the SETT's withdrawal. What is clear from all reports is that the round has not closed and that Openchip says it is talking to companies and potential investors about different ways to fund its growth.

The Catalan government steps in again

The Catalan economy and finance department granted the loan, the Catalan news agency ACN reported on Tuesday in a report carried by Via Empresa. The government said Openchip operates in a sector it considers strategic for industrial competitiveness, technological sovereignty and European digital autonomy, and that the money would secure the continuity of its R&D programmes.

It is not the first time Catalonia has supported the company. Earlier this year it lent Openchip EUR 35 million in two loans of EUR 25 million and EUR 10 million, which now fall due at the end of 2027, and approved a plan to take a 5% stake by converting part of that debt, according to elEconomista. With the new loan, Catalan government funding for the company reaches EUR 50 million. Neither the company nor the government disclosed the interest rate or repayment terms. La Vanguardia reports, citing people familiar with the matter, that the loan is conditional on GTD, Openchip's main shareholder, contributing another EUR 15 million.

Who Openchip is

Openchip was founded in 2021. At the end of 2025 it was owned by the Catalan engineering group GTD, with about 54%, and the Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC-CNS), with about 46%. It is chaired by Tobías Martínez, the former chief executive of Cellnex, and led by chief executive Cesc Guim.

The company designs chips but does not manufacture them, leaving production to specialised foundries. In the summer it presented BER10, an open chip based on the RISC-V architecture that it describes as its first sovereign European processor. Volume production is expected around 2028. Openchip has no revenue yet. It has received large public grants, including about EUR 111 million from Spain's PERTE Chip programme as part of a European IPCEI project, and reported a small profit of about EUR 650,000 for 2025, which Expansión attributes to the activation of tax credits.

What it means for European founders and investors

Openchip's situation shows both the strength and the fragility of Europe's push for its own chips. Public money has carried the company a long way, from EU-backed grants to regional loans and a planned state equity stake. But public investors such as the SETT often need private partners to commit alongside them, and when a private anchor hesitates, the whole structure can stall.

For deep tech founders, the lesson is to build a funding plan that does not depend on a single anchor investor, public or private. Chip design needs years of investment before revenue, and a delay in one large cheque can force a company to rely on bridge loans. Europe has several other AI hardware start-ups competing for the same pool of capital, including Dresden's Sparxity, which recently closed its Series A.

For investors, Openchip remains one of the few European companies designing high-performance RISC-V processors, with strong backing from Barcelona's supercomputing community. Whether a new private partner joins, and on what terms, will decide whether the planned EUR 250 million round can be revived.

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