Guest Post by Daiva Rakauskaitė, CFA, partner and fund manager of Aneli Capital (Image: Aneli Capital)
As chip shortages persist and global competition intensifies, the European Commission is expected to publish its Chips Act II proposal on May 27, aimed at strengthening Europe’s semiconductor ecosystem. According to an investor, the act will only succeed if it creates faster and more commercially oriented conditions for chip companies – an approach that should also apply to other deep tech start-ups.
The proposal builds on the European Chips Act, which entered into force in September 2023, and, according to the Commission, catalysed more than €80 billion in investments in chip manufacturing capacity. Despite that, industry representatives and policymakers note that current advancements are not enough, as the US and Asian economies continue to expand their own semiconductor capabilities.
According to Daiva Rakauskaitė, manager at Aneli Capital, a fund management company that supports Central and European (CEE) startups, the success of the initiative will depend heavily on whether Europe can handle bureaucracy and fragmentation across EU countries.
“Europe can significantly improve its attractiveness for chip companies by making investment conditions faster and more predictable. Semiconductor projects operate on short innovation cycles and require major upfront capital, so delays in permitting, fragmented state-aid processes and high compliance costs directly weaken competitiveness,” she says.
