During 10–12 March 2026, the Estonian Chip Competence Center (ECCC), KIIP participated in embedded world 2026 in Nuremberg, one of the leading international events for embedded systems and semiconductor technologies. Through meetings with key industry players, research organizations, and European initiatives, ECCC explored current developments in chip design, AI hardware, and cybersecurity, while establishing contacts across the global semiconductor ecosystem.
At the event we explored the full semiconductor ecosystem, ranging from chip designers and AI hardware companies to design platforms, engineering service providers, and European initiatives. Discussions with companies such as Tenstorrent and Ambient Scientific highlighted the rapid development of specialized AI hardware, while meetings with RISC-V International demonstrated the growing importance of open processor architectures. In parallel, platforms like European Chip Design Platform and enablers such as Racyics GmbH showed how access to chip design infrastructure is becoming more accessible through coordinated European initiatives.
In addition to hardware developments, strong emphasis was placed on software, security, and regulatory requirements. Meetings with SYSGO and Siemens EDA highlighted the growing complexity of integrating AI workloads with real-time and safety-critical systems, as well as the importance of hardware emulation in accelerating development. At the same time, discussions with SECO S.p.A. and Proekspert emphasized that new EU cybersecurity regulations, including the Cyber Resilience Act, will significantly impact the development of connected products. Together, these insights underline the need for a holistic approach combining hardware, software, and cybersecurity capabilities within the Estonian Chip Competence Center.