South America's Semiconductor Ecosystem: an Underlooked Service and Innovation Hub

When it comes to global semiconductor and microelectronics talent, South America is a region that tends to fly under the radar. But somewhat surprisingly, the region has quietly built world-class capabilities across the full microelectronics spectrum—from integrated circuit design and power electronics to advanced packaging—combining exceptional engineering talent with proven innovation capacity.

While Brazil leads in IP creation and advanced packaging, Argentina has become a global hub for semiconductor design services, creating a complementary regional ecosystem that delivers results at global scale.

Brazil: IP, Design Services, and Advanced Packaging

Brazil’s semiconductor talent pool has demonstrated its capabilities through concrete success stories that matter to the global industry:

Embraco: an eary success case in power electronics

Embraco’s inverter technology demonstrates how Latin American engineering can achieve global leadership in power electronics—a critical segment of the microelectronics industry focused on controlling and converting electrical power using semiconductor devices. Through collaboration between industry and the Federal University of Santa Catarina (UFSC), Embraco developed proprietary inverter compressor technology that captured over 30% of the global market. When Japan’s Nidec acquired the company for $1.08 billion in 2019, they specifically retained the Brazilian technology center and its 400+ specialized engineers.

Zilia and HT Micron: The Industrial Anchors

Leading the packaging sector with investments exceeding $2.5 billion:

Zilia Technologies (formerly SMART Modular) specializes in memory and SSDs, modernizing facilities for System-in-Package (SiP).

HT Micron, a joint venture with South Korea’s Hana Micron, focuses on eMMCs and eMCPs for mobile markets and developed a multi-component IC supporting the Sigfox protocol for IoT. These facilities provide the critical “backend” that allows design houses to offer complete, domestically assembled products.

Independent Research Organizations

Instituto Eldorado has become a go-to partner for Fortune 500 companies. With over 500 researchers, this technology institute provided critical software and localization for Motorola’s iconic RAZR (130+ million units sold), developed 5G chipset validation for Qualcomm, and hosts an Apple Developer Academy. When Lenovo acquired Motorola in 2014, they kept the Brazilian R&D center—the talent was too valuable to relocate.

Werner Von Braun Institute (Campinas): Another key player in the Brazilian R&D landscape, providing advanced semiconductor design services and complex system integration for global clients.

Local Design Houses

Chipus Microelectronics (Florianópolis): Founded in 2008, Chipus is a fabless semiconductor design house specializing in analog, mixed-signal, and digital ASICs and IP blocks. The company offers 300+ silicon-proven IPs across multiple foundries and process nodes—from mature planar CMOS/BiCMOS/SiGe/BCD to advanced FinFET. Their product portfolio spans power management ICs (PMICs) for IoT applications, data converters, sensors, and RF front-ends, including RFID ASICs compliant with EPC Gen 2 standards. Operating as a full turnkey provider, Chipus delivers end-to-end solutions from system architecture through tape-out, packaging, and test. With headquarters in Florianópolis and a subsidiary in Silicon Valley, Chipus serves customers worldwide across multiple business models: ASIC design, turnkey solutions, design services, and IP licensing.

Global Design Services

EnSilica Brazil (Campinas/Porto Alegre): A leading UK-based fabless design house with a significant Brazilian operation contributing to global projects in automotive, healthcare, and satellite communications. The Brazilian team is integrated into EnSilica’s world-class expertise in custom RF, mmWave, and mixed-signal ICs, underscoring Brazil’s role in global co-development for Tier 1 corporations.

Argentina: A Global Semiconductor Services Hub

While Brazil’s strength lies in IP creation and advanced packaging, its neighbor Argentina has carved out a different role—serving as a design services hub for global semiconductor leaders:

Marvell Technology operates a significant design center in Córdoba, where Argentine engineers develop critical IP for Marvell’s global product portfolio. This center exemplifies how Latin American talent contributes to cutting-edge semiconductor design for one of the industry’s top players.

indie Semiconductor also maintains a design center in Córdoba, focusing on automotive semiconductor solutions. The Córdoba hub has become a key location for indie’s development of advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) and in-cabin sensing technologies.

EMTECH, an Argentine ASIC design house founded in 2010, provides full-custom IC design services including analog, mixed-signal, and digital design. With experience across applications from automotive to telecommunications, EMTECH demonstrates Argentina’s capability in complex semiconductor development.

Epsilon Forge is a specialized engineering firm focused on the design and simulation of RFICs, photonics, and quantum RF systems. Leveraging open-source and novel EDA software, Epsilon Forge brings cutting-edge simulation-driven design capabilities to next-generation wireless and quantum technologies.

Argentina’s semiconductor services sector generates hundreds of millions in exports annually, with engineers trained at institutions like Universidad de Buenos Aires (UBA), Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, and Instituto Balseiro contributing to global semiconductor innovation.

The Policy Foundation: What Worked in Latin America

What enabled Brazil’s ecosystem leadership? A deliberate policy choice made in 1991—mandating R&D investment as a condition for receiving tax benefits—which has now evolved into the “Brasil Semicon” program (approved in late 2024). This program injects R$24.8 billion into the ecosystem and guarantees an annual R&D allocation of BRL 7 billion until 2026.

Under Brazil’s Informatics Law (Lei de Informática 8.248/91) and the newly extended PADIS (Support Program for the Technological Development of the Semiconductor Industry, now valid until 2073), companies must reinvest 4-5% of gross revenue in local R&D. This isn’t optional or cosmetic—it’s audited and enforced. With an industry billing tens of billions annually, this generates billions in sustained funding flowing into laboratories, universities, and development centers.

The government has also revived Ceitec, the state-owned semiconductor facility in Porto Alegre. Focusing on mature nodes (0.6 and 0.35 micron), Ceitec targets high-volume applications like RFID (such as the “Chip de Boi” for cattle tracking) and serves as a critical training ground for design engineers.

To accelerate innovation and reduce dependency on proprietary technology, Brazil has become a “Premier Member” of RISC-V International. Over 22 universities have embedded RISC-V coursework, and initiatives like the National Microcontroller (u32BR) are leveraging this open-standard architecture for industrial and defense applications.

But Brazil didn’t stop at mandating R&D spending—they built intermediary institutions to bridge the gap between science and market:

EMBRAPII (2013) systematized risk-sharing through 1/3-1/3-1/3 co-financing between state, company, and research institution. This model has achieved an 85% success rate and 3.5x ROI for companies across 1,400+ projects.

Argentina’s approach has been less consistent—its Tierra del Fuego special economic zone offers tax benefits without mandating R&D investment. However, Argentina’s Knowledge Economy Law (Ley de Economía del Conocimiento 27.506/2019) provides reduced tax rates for service companies, including semiconductor design services. While not as comprehensive as Brazil’s model, this has helped Argentina establish itself as a cost-effective hub for design services, complementing Brazil’s industrial innovation-focused ecosystem.

Both countries recognized a fundamental truth: you don’t need to own fabs to be essential in the global value chain. You need the talent to excel in design, architecture, integration, and validation—whether creating proprietary IP (Brazil’s model) or delivering world-class design services (Argentina’s strength).

Why This Matters for the Global Semiconductor Industry

As chiplet architectures and heterogeneous integration become mainstream (with AMD, Intel, and Apple all embracing this approach), alongside the surge of emerging semiconductor applications in photonics, automotive (ADAS, electric vehicles), AI accelerators, edge computing, and biosensors, Latin America’s accumulated expertise positions it uniquely for the next wave of semiconductor innovation.

The region has developed a comprehensive ecosystem spanning global multinationals, indigenous design houses, research institutions, and university spin-offs. This ecosystem delivers:

• Custom ASIC design capabilities - from concept to tape-out, across analog, digital, and mixed-signal domains
• Advanced packaging and system integration - 2.5D/3D integration, chiplet architectures, system-in-package solutions
• IP core development and licensing - proprietary building blocks for wireless communications, power management, and sensor interfaces
• Embedded systems and firmware - hardware-software co-design for complex systems
• Design services at scale - experienced teams that integrate seamlessly with global semiconductor companies’ workflows
• Application-specific expertise - automotive, medical devices, aerospace, telecommunications, and industrial IoT

The Opportunity

For global companies: Accessing Latin America’s semiconductor talent means partnering with engineers who have proven they can deliver at global scale—whether through Brazil’s IP-owning design houses and research institutions, or Argentina’s experienced design services firms serving industry leaders like Marvell and indie Semiconductor. The region offers cost-effective access to specialized talent, favorable time zones for US/European collaboration, and a track record of successful execution on projects ranging from consumer electronics to mission-critical aerospace systems.

For the region itself: Latin America demonstrates that semiconductor innovation isn’t limited to Silicon Valley, Taiwan, or Korea. With deliberate talent development and smart policy frameworks, emerging regions can compete at technology’s cutting edge.

The results speak for themselves: thousands of patents filed, billions in products shipped globally, partnerships with Fortune 500 companies, successful acquisitions by industry leaders like ARM and Nidec, and hundreds of millions in high-value design services exported annually.

Connecting the Ecosystem: SBMicro and the “Chip” Series

A critical component of this ecosystem is the continuous exchange of knowledge and collaboration among researchers, industry professionals, and students. The Brazilian Microelectronics Society (SBMicro) plays a pivotal role in this by organizing the annual “Chip” series of meetings. These events serve as the premier forum in Latin America for discussing advancements in microelectronics, semiconductor design, and related technologies. The next event in the series will be held in São Paulo! This gathering brings together academia, industry, and government stakeholders to share research findings, showcase innovations, and foster collaborations that drive the ecosystem forward.