The Spanish government will invest $22.5 million in Quantix Edge Security, a public-private joint venture aimed at establishing a cybersecurity and microelectronics center in the autonomous Murcia region in southeastern Spain.
Madrid’s contribution represents approximately half of the $46 million allocated to the joint venture..
The Spanish Ministry for Digital Transformation and Public Administration will be part of the JV through the Spanish Society for Technological Transformation, collaborating with private partners from the Murcia-based companies Odin Solutions and TProtege, as well as WISeKey from Switzerland and its semiconductor subsidiary SEALSQ from France.
Spain’s Microchip Supply Chain
According to a press release from WISeKey, the Spanish ministry expects Quantix to lessen Spain’s dependence on non-European suppliers for microchip design and production, as part of the supply chain will be centralized in Murcia.
The ministry’s statement indicated that the center will focus on developing post-quantum resistant products, which are anticipated to be crucial for applications in both government and private sectors. The aim is to establish standardized cybersecurity regulations by 2030. The project supports the European Union’s initiatives for digital transformation and technological sovereignty, addressing the critical cybersecurity challenges that arise as global connectivity expands.
“This [localization of chip development] is essential at a time when global supply chains are increasingly fragile and geopolitical tensions threaten the availability and integrity of foundational digital technologies,” WISeKey President Creus Moreira Carlos said in a LinkedIn post.