WORD-CLASS CHIP EXPERTISE
Tampere is home to one of Europe’s most advanced semiconductor and microelectronics ecosystems. With decades of research, a strong concentration of chip designers and world-class education, the city combines system-on-chip design, photonics, pilot manufacturing and industrial collaboration into a single, highly competitive environment.
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Tampere has over 40 years of experience in semiconductor research and development. Today, more than 500 chip designers work in the Tampere region, supported by a strong academic base of over 35,000 university students securing future talent needs.
The ecosystem brings together system-on-chip (SoC) design, optical chip development and manufacturing, a dense cluster of growth companies, and internationally recognised research and education. Together, these actors accelerate innovation and strengthen global competitiveness in the semiconductor field.
The Finnish Chips Competence Centre FiCCC plays a central role in advancing national semiconductor capabilities. Established under Finland’s chip programme, FiCCC brings together top experts to support the development of competitive chips and to stimulate demand across industry.
Operating at Tampere University’s Campus Arena, FiCCC supports digitalisation across multiple industrial sectors and connects research, companies and international networks.
An open System-in-a-Package (SiP) pilot line, SiPFAB is being built at Tampere University’s Hervanta campus. The pilot line enables companies to develop and test advanced chip systems in a shared, open-access environment.
SiPFAB focuses on environmentally friendly, customised and highly integrated solutions for the most demanding applications. The pilot line is part of the Chips Joint Undertaking’s
Wide Band Gap pilot programme, strengthening Tampere’s role in European semiconductor infrastructure.
The SoC Hub is a joint initiative between Tampere University and industry, focusing on the co-development of System-on-Chip solutions. It brings together companies, researchers and other stakeholders to support innovation in areas such as intelligent machines and edge computing.
By enabling close collaboration, the SoC Hub accelerates the adoption of SoC-based solutions while advancing research and education in chip system design.
Tampere is also a European leader in optoelectronics and advanced electronics.
The Optoelectronics Research Centre (ORC) at Tampere University is one of Europe’s leading research groups in the field, with over 30 years of experience in molecular beam epitaxy and the development of optoelectronic devices such as laser diodes and solar cells.
In parallel, the Electronics Research Centre foocuses on sustainable, scalable and economically efficient electronics manufacturing. Research areas include printed electronics, thin-film components, embedded systems, wearable technology, smart textiles, sensors, energy harvesting and low-power systems — all with strong industrial relevance.
Tampere is Europe’s leading chip design hubs, home to over 500 designers, global tech leaders like Nokia, Microsoft and Nordic Semiconductor, and Tampere University, which trains most of Finland’s chip experts. Alongside this, the city hosts a thriving “Laser Valley” cluster of world-class photonics, semiconductor and laser companies including Modulight, Schott, Coherent, Optofidelity and Vexlum.
Together with Espoo, Oulu and Joensuu, Tampere forms a national competence network combining semiconductor design, photonics, AI, telecommunications and quantum technologies. This ecosystem positions Finland among the world’s leading high-tech countries.
Semiconductors lie at the heart of a €600 billion global market. Pirkanmaa alone already generates hundreds of millions of euros in chip-related business, and Finland’s ambition is to triple the sector’s turnover by 2035.
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Tampere’s semiconductor ecosystem is also part of a broader national effort to attract international talent.
Through Work in Finland, Finland communicates a clear message to global professionals: here, cutting-edge technology careers and a high quality of life go hand in hand. The Superposition campaign captures this idea — showing how ambition and wellbeing don’t compete, but reinforce each other.
Discover the Superposition campaign: