Ukraine is taking a decisive step towards the development of the technological industry. On January 14, the Cabinet of Ministers approved the strategy of digital development and innovation until 2030, which includes the ambitious goal of creating its own production of microchips. The Ministry of Digital Transformation expects to meet the needs of the defense, agricultural and automotive sectors, despite serious competition from global giants.
Two key markets for microcircuits have emerged in Ukraine — the military-industrial complex and precision agriculture. According to Evgeny Utkin, the founder of the company "Kvazar-Mikro", it is these directions that create a significant demand for products.
It is planned to launch the production of chips with sizes of 180, 130 and 110 nm. Although these indicators are far from the latest global standards (for example, 1.8 nm from Intel or 4 nm from TSMC), Ukraine strives to find its niche, focusing on the needs of the local market.
Two ways to success
The Ministry of Digital is considering two options for launching production:
- Licensing and state control. Involvement of a foreign licensor company, which will be responsible for the construction and start-up of the factory. In this case, the state can get a controlling stake.
- State tender. The participation of an international partner through a tender with the possibility of giving the state a minority share for quoting orders.
Among the potential partners discussed are companies such as AMS (Austria), CMP (France), IHP and X-FAB (Germany), TowerSemiconductors (Israel) and others.
The construction of the factory is estimated at $1–5 billion, depending on the selected project implementation model. It may take several years to fully launch production, and the first significant results should be expected by the end of the third year.
Russia is also seeking to develop its own production of microcircuits. By 2028, the Kremlin plans to establish the production of chips with a 65 nm topology, a technology that appeared back in 2005. At the same time, their attempts to create machinery with machine vision still depend on Chinese components.
