MADRID (Reuters) -U.S. tech giant Cisco Systems Inc. will open a new semiconductor chip design center in the northeastern Spanish city of Barcelona, the office of Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Thursday.
It said the project was part of the so-called PERTE plan of government subsidies for semiconductor research and development using the European Union’s pandemic relief funds, which allocates up to 12 billion euros ($12.17 billion), though it did not provide any financial details on the investment.
“Spain is becoming a key player in achieving the EU’s goal of reaching 20% of the global chip market by 2030,” Sanchez said after meeting with Chuck Robbins, the chief executive of the networking gear and business software company.
Europe is seeking to reinforce its own chip industry and reduce its dependence on U.S. and Asian supply, triggered by a global shortage of semiconductors and supply chain bottlenecks.
The announcement comes a day after Volkswagen’s Spanish unit SEAT said it would go ahead with a 10-billion-euro project to make electric vehicles and batteries in Spain.
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(Reporting by David Latona; Editing by Andrei Khalip)
