www.chipidea.pt


A company that is a hundred percent in the World Market
The universe of "Microelectronic" holds no secrets for them. Portuguese. Professors. Entrepreneurs. They created Chipidea. They are at the forefront of technology on a worldwide scale.

Chipidea is following the microelectronics path in the creating of circuitrys and integrated systems, more commonly known as chips. The company's philosophy is centered on the fabless concept (less factories). In other words: Chipidea will turn to any entity situated anywhere around the world to produce its chips. "Naturally, this position allows our product to have increased value. If we are able to control eighty percent of the chain, it is evident that the gains will be greater", states Epifanio da Franca, the brain and the main mentor behind Chipidea. The company, which has never had Portuguese clients, takes on the philosophy of globalization mainly in its preferred markets: Europe, the United States and Japan, and complains about the backwardness of Portuguese electronics.

One thing is certain: the company has grown. Last year they had a turn over a total of 5,5 million euros; almost twice the amount of the previous year (2000). Today they have offices in Polland, Macao and UK.

The bridge between analogue and digital
The brain neither thinks nor works like a computer processor. If this were the case, computers would have already been invented with all of the human brain's characteristics. The reality is different. Contrary to what a technician from Toshiba stated a few years ago, analogue technology is not dead. Furthermore, according to Epifanio da Franca, "it won't die".

Precisely for this reason contradicting the expectations of many analysts, Chipidea's specializiation ended up focusing in the creation of convertors that interface analogue technology with digital. These digital circuits function with "ones" and "zeros" - the information received is always represented in binary form, but analogue signals are time continuous. Therefore, voice recording is not possible through digital technology only and consequently, a means of converting analogue signals to digital ones must be found. Chipidea is looking for a way for the chips to contain analogue and digital signals simultaneously.

The company came into existence in 1997 but had started taking root in its creator's minds 10 years earlier. In 1986, Epifanio da Franca led a scientific research team at the Instituto Superior Tecnico. Within this scope, he contacted other companies such as Nokia and Siemens. The purpose of these contacts was to involve the research team, led by Epifanio da Franca, in vanguard technology projects in the area of microelectronics. At that time, the group was also one of the most active in the field of community programs.

Epifanio da Franca, besides beginning his professional career at EDP has also passed through in Prime Minister Cavaco Silva's second government as the Secretary of State for Education Resources, a responsibility he considered "a passionate mission", and which allowed him to gain a better overview of the country's situation.

Chipidea was the result of the natural evolution of the research team's activities. Therefore, it is "a kind of a spin-off" which also sprang from the need for "room to be created for those people who have dedicated so much of their attention and enthusiasm to team work so that they could continue to apply their knowledge".

"We do not have Portuguese clients!" The surprising statement from Epifanio da Franca reflects the company's reality. Far from indicating any anti-patriotism, this university Professor mean only that this company's trail has taken them exclusively through the international market, as it still hasn't found anyone, in Portugal, who wants or needs its chips. In addition, according to Epifanio da Franca, portuguese electronics are still behind the times. Therein lies the reason for this company's choice to avoid the national market since the beginning of its existence.

Nokia, Motorola, Bosch, Alcatel, British Telecom are few of the international companies with whom Chipidea has maintained trade relations or partnerships for the development of research projects. Europe, the United States and Japan are some of the markets where Chipidea is active. Korea will be the next market will be represented.

While it might seem easy for a portuguese company to enter such competitive markets, in fact it turns out to be more complicated. Chipidea complains about "the lack of credibility of Portuguese projects." The solution is to provide reliable solutions, meet and provide excellent support to those companies with whom one works. "Nobody hears or knows about what's being done in Portugal," says Epifanio da Franca, although, they hope to be destroying some of the barriers for future portuguese companies which may want to invest in the globalization.

CHIPIDEA - Microelectrónica, S.A.
TagusPark - Ed. Inovação IV - Sala 733
2780-920 Oeiras
Tel: (+351) 21 0336300
Fax: (+351) 21 0336396
www.chipidea.com