SEALSQ Corp, a leader in the fields of Semiconductors, PKI, and Post-Quantum technology, today announced the establishment of SEALSQ USA Ltd in Phoenix, Arizona as part of its plan to create an Open Semiconductors Assembly and Test Center in the U.S. by end of 2025. The U.S.-based OSAT center would provide testing services such as the wafer test and final test, in addition to assembly services such as QFN, BGA, WLCSP, and more.
SEALSQ’s decision to select Arizona as the hub for its USA presence is strategic, largely due to Arizona’s prominent position in the global semiconductor industry:
- Presence of Leading Semiconductor Companies: Arizona has become a hotspot for the semiconductor industry, housing some of the world’s leading companies in this sector. This creates a vibrant ecosystem conducive to growth, collaboration, and innovation. For a company like SEALSQ, being in close proximity to these industry leaders can offer significant advantages in terms of partnerships, industry insights, and competitive dynamics.
- Specialized High-Tech Supply Chain: Arizona’s semiconductor industry is supported by a highly specialized, high-tech supply chain. This means that companies operating in Arizona have access to advanced materials, components, and services tailored specifically to the needs of the semiconductor industry. This specialized supply chain can significantly reduce logistical challenges, improve efficiency, and lower costs for companies like SEALSQ.
- Innovative Environment: Arizona’s semiconductor sector is known for its innovative ideas and practices, spanning from research and development to manufacturing processes. Being part of such an innovative environment can foster creativity and encourage SEALSQ to push the boundaries of its own technological advancements and product offerings.
- Skilled Workforce: The presence of leading semiconductor companies and a high-tech ecosystem naturally attracts a skilled workforce with expertise in various aspects of semiconductor manufacturing and technology. SEALSQ can benefit from this talent pool for its operations, research, and development activities.
- Strategic Location: Arizona’s geographic location offers strategic advantages, including access to major markets within the USA and proximity to other tech hubs in the Western United States. This can facilitate easy distribution and logistics, as well as collaboration with other companies and institutions.
Arizona provides a comprehensive and conducive ecosystem for semiconductor companies. For SEALSQ, leveraging this ecosystem would mean tapping into a network of leading companies, a specialized supply chain, a pool of skilled talent, and a culture of innovation, all supported by favorable government policies. This strategic choice positions SEALSQ to effectively scale its operations, innovate, and compete in the U.S. market.
The SEALSQ OSAT initiative encompasses the development of Semiconductor Personalization Centers through Public-Private Partnerships (PPP). SEALSQ is currently in negotiation for three major projects in Europe, the Middle East, and the Far East to implement similar processes, run by experienced hardware designers to create the chip design using RISC-V technology. The chips will still be built locally at the SEALSQ centers, ensuring they meet the highest security standards and certifications from bodies such as Common Criteria and NIST.
The US-based OSAT would focus on the SEALSQ (Semiconductor, Efficient Architecture for Long-term Security Quantum) semiconductors and post-quantum cryptography having the potential to herald a transformative era for semiconductor technology, whilst researching opportunities to incorporate artificial intelligence (AI) into the technology,. This delves into the technical underpinnings and potential impacts of this integration, exploring how it paves the way for a new generation of semiconductors that are poised to redefine security, efficiency, and intelligence in digital systems.
Governments, including the U.S. and EU, are currently establishing incentives to increase supply chain resilience, highlighting the need for developments such as SEALSQ’s proposed OSAT. In the US, the International Technology Security and Innovation (ITSI) Fund, appropriated under the Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors (CHIPS) Act of 2022, provides the Department of State with $500 million — $100 million per year over five years, starting in Fiscal Year 2023 — to promote the development and adoption of secure and trustworthy telecommunications networks and ensure semiconductor supply chain security and diversification. To learn more, visit www.state.gov/the-u-s-department-of-state-international-technology-security-and-innovation-fund/.
The EU Chips Act likewise aims to increase supply chain resilience, though is also meant to safeguard European sovereignty and strategic autonomy with a 45-billion-euro budget.
Carlos Moreira, CEO of SEALSQ, emphasizing the significance of this strategic development, noted, “In today’s tech-driven world, control over semiconductor supply is not just an economic advantage, it is a national security imperative. Our initiative empowers countries to establish local semiconductor personalization centers, ensuring uninterrupted access to these critical components.”
The US-based OSAT would represent a pioneering approach to integrating quantum-resistant cryptographic capabilities directly into semiconductor architectures. This innovation is critical in the face of emerging quantum computing threats, which render traditional encryption methods vulnerable. By embedding post-quantum cryptographic algorithms at the hardware level, SEALSQ semiconductors offer robust protection against both current and future cryptographic challenges.
Post-quantum cryptography (“PQC”) is designed to secure communications against the computational power of quantum computers, which can easily break many of the cryptographic systems currently in use. Integrating PQC into semiconductor architectures involves leveraging lattice-based, hash-based, code-based, and multivariate polynomial equations that are believed to be resistant to quantum computing attacks. This integration ensures that data encrypted by these semiconductors remains secure against adversaries wielding quantum computing capabilities.
AI’s Role in the New Generation of Semiconductors
Once the OSAT Arizona Center achieves its intended goal of operational status by the end of 2025, in addition to the traditional semiconductor activities outlined above, it is intended specialize in researching the integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) into the semiconductor manufacturing process. This integration would transcend mere performance enhancements or smarter device production. It is expected that it will involve the incorporation of adaptive, intelligent protocols directly into the hardware for unmatched security and efficiency. AI’s role is anticipated to enable the monitoring and real-time adaptation to new threats, along with the predictive management of power consumption and the optimization of processing speeds and energy efficiency tailored to specific workloads. Consequently, SEALSQ semiconductors are expected to emerge as both quantum-resistant and self-optimizing, capable of evolving to meet both new security challenges and operational demands. This strategic focus would not only mark a significant leap in semiconductor technology but also would position the OSAT Arizona Center at the forefront of developing semiconductors that are exceptionally secure and incredibly efficient, addressing the pivotal needs of an era poised on the brink of quantum computing breakthroughs.