Cortus

What Cortus does

Cortus is a fabless semiconductor company headquartered in Mauguio, near Montpellier, France, that designs and licenses RISC-V processor intellectual property and sells its own microcontroller and AI inference chips. Founded in 2005 by CEO Michael Chapman — a co-developer of the first CAN controller chip at Intel and former chief architect of Siemens's 16-bit processor family — the company was among the twelve original platinum founding members of the RISC-V Foundation and has shipped more than 18 billion devices over its lifetime, with current annual production of roughly 1.2 billion units.

Its product portfolio spans the full automotive compute spectrum: the Lotus low-power MCUs for consumer applications; the Calypso platform for mainstream automotive; the premium ULYSS family (ULYSS1 at 120 MHz ASIL-B through ULYSS3 at 2–4 GHz out-of-order ASIL-D and the ULYSS4 ADAS variant); the high-end MINERVA 64-bit out-of-order RISC-V platform up to 4 GHz, fabricated at GlobalFoundries 22FDX; and the Apollon AI inference accelerator family (100 to 2,048+ TOPS, ASIL-D capable) for computer-vision, sensor-fusion, and autonomous-driving workloads. Underlying these are the APS/FPS RISC-V cores (RV32EMC through RV64GC) and connectivity SoCs such as the CIoT25 (Dash7) and C200 (NB-IoT/BLE). The software ecosystem includes SDKs, AI inference SDKs, evaluation boards, and reference designs, with AUTOSAR-compliant MCAL delivered through the CTAG partnership.

Cortus generates revenue through four streams: semiconductor device sales (microcontrollers, MCUs, SoCs, secure elements), IP licensing and royalties for RISC-V cores, custom IC design services, and secure-element products for SIM, smart-card, banking, and e-passport applications. The go-to-market combines direct enterprise sales into automotive OEMs/Tier-1s and aerospace customers (with named references including Daimler, Framatome, Google, Western Digital, NVIDIA, Qualcomm, and IBM), regional channel distributors across Taiwan, China, India, Korea, and Europe, an AnySilicon marketplace presence, and event-driven demand generation at Embedded World, Electronica, SIDO Lyon, and SEDEX. The company holds ISO 26262 ASIL-B/ASIL-D, IEC 61508, AEC-Q100, ISO/SAE 21434, AUTOSAR, and IEC-60880/62566 certifications, positioning it for safety-critical automotive, avionics, and civil-nuclear segments.

Name

Cortus

Legal name

Cortus S.A.S.

Website

https://cortus.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2005

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Cortus is a France-based fabless semiconductor company that designs RISC-V microcontrollers and AI inference chips, serving automotive OEMs/Tier-1s and avionics customers with safety-certified (ASIL-B/D, AEC-Q100) processor IP, SoCs, and edge-AI accelerators.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Semiconductor IP and Automotive Microcontrollers

NAICS

Semiconductor and Other Electronic Component Manufacturing (3344), Semiconductor and Other Electronic Component Manufacturing (33441)

SIC

Electronic Components, Nec (3679)

akta.pro primary industry

Compute & Acceleration ICs (CPU/GPU/AI/FPGA/ASIC) (HDAHABAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

AI/Neural Processing Units (NPUs) & ML Accelerators (HDAHAJAF), Application Processors & Microprocessors (MPUs/CPUs) (HDAHAJAB), Advanced SoCs & Application Processors (HDAHAAAB)

Keywords

• RISC-V processor IP
• Automotive microcontrollers
• AI inference chips
• Avionics semiconductors
• IC design services

Headquarters

HQ city

Montpellier

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Semiconductor Device Sales: Sale of semiconductor devices including microcontrollers, microprocessors, and high-end SoCs. Revenue recognized upon product delivery with potential for recurring orders from established customer relationships.
2. IC Design Services: Custom integrated circuit design services for customers requiring application-specific semiconductor solutions, including chip design and manufacturing coordination.
3. IP Licensing: Licensing of RISC-V processor IP to semiconductor manufacturers and OEMs, enabling integration of Cortus technology into customer products. Generates licensing fees and ongoing royalty revenue.
4. Secure Element Solutions: Sale of secure element products for applications including SIM cards, smart cards, banking cards, and e-passports with integrated security features.

Go-to-market motion4 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Cortus designs and sells RISC-V processor intellectual property, microcontrollers, SoCs, and AI inference chips primarily for the automotive, avionics, secure element, and IoT markets. The portfolio spans low-gate-count 32-bit cores (APS series) to high-performance multi-core 64-bit processors (MINERVA) and dedicated AI accelerators (Apollon with Ermes), supported by SDKs, evaluation boards, and reference designs. The company also provides custom IC design services and IP licensing to OEMs, Tier-1 suppliers, and semiconductor manufacturers.

Product overview

Cortus is a fabless semiconductor company offering RISC-V microcontrollers and AI inference chips primarily for automotive and avionics markets. The product portfolio includes three main platform tiers: Ulyss™ (Premium Performance Platform) for advanced automotive compute from body control to ADAS/autonomous driving; Calypso™ (Optimized Automotive Platform) for mainstream high-volume deployment; and Apollon™ AI Inference Chips for real-time perception and autonomous systems using Ermes technology (100-2048+ TOPS). The MINERVA Out-of-Order platform provides 4GHz 64-bit RISC-V processors. Additional MCU families include the consumer-focused Lotus series and the ULYSS automotive MCU line (ULYSS 1-4) spanning from 120MHz to 4GHz with ASIL-B and ASIL-D safety certifications. Legacy products include CIoT25 IoT platform, C200 NB-IoT combo chip, and the APS/FPS processor family (APS1V through FPS69V) covering 32-bit to 64-bit RISC-V cores. The ecosystem is supported by comprehensive SDKs, AI inference SDKs, evaluation boards, reference designs, and AUTOSAR MCAL support. Cortus delivers complete solutions from chip to product with full software ecosystem support.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Ulyss: RISC-V MCU premium performance platform for advanced automotive compute from body/chassis control to ADAS, autonomous driving, and HPC. Includes ULYSS1 (120 MHz, ASIL-B), ULYSS2 (500 MHz-2 GHz, ASIL-D), and ULYSS3 (2-4 GHz, out-of-order, ASIL-D).
• Calypso
• Apollon
• Minerva

Products and services

• Ulyss Premium Performance Platform (ULYSS 1-3) Premium RISC-V MCU platform for advanced automotive compute from body and chassis control to ADAS, autonomous driving, and high-performance computing. Includes ULYSS1 (120 MHz, ASIL-B), ULYSS2 (500 MHz-2 GHz, ASIL-D), and ULYSS3 (2-4 GHz, out-of-order, multi-issue, ASIL-D), for automotive OEMs and Tier-1 suppliers.
• Calypso Optimized Automotive Platform (Calypso 1-3) Optimized RISC-V MCU platform for mainstream automotive applications balancing performance, power efficiency, and cost. Includes Calypso1 (<120 MHz), Calypso2 (300 MHz-1 GHz), and Calypso3 (up to 2 GHz), targeting high-volume automotive deployments.
• Apollon AI Inference Chips AI inference chips based on Ermes technology dedicated to AI perception and autonomous systems. Provides scalable acceleration from 100 TOPS to 2048+ TOPS with ASIL-D functional safety for autonomous driving perception, sensor fusion, and avionics AI, for automotive and aerospace integrators.
• MINERVA Out-of-Order RISC-V Processor Platform High-performance 64-bit RISC-V platform running up to 4 GHz with out-of-order execution and 4 instructions/cycle, designed for automotive and avionics applications. Features lock-step cores, memory error correction, and Evita HSM compliant hardware security module.
• Lotus Family RISC-V MCUs (Lotus 1 and Lotus 2) Low-cost 32-bit RISC-V MCU family for consumer and automotive applications. Lotus 1 targets advanced motor control, personal electronics, embedded control, smart sensors/actuators, and battery-powered devices; Lotus 2 is an automotive MCU for body and chassis control compliant with ISO26262 ASIL-B and AEC Q100/1.
• ULYSS 4 Automotive MCU RISC-V automotive MCU designed for ADAS and autonomous vehicles. Fuses data from cameras, radar, lidar, and ultrasonic sensors for real-time driving situation assessment and immediate decision-making.
• RISC-V Processor IP Family (APS1V, APS3V, APS5V, FPS6V, FPS8V, FPS69V) Licensable RISC-V processor IP cores ranging from low gate-count RV32EMC cores for embedded controllers to multi-core RV32IMAC, floating point RV32IMACF and RV32GC, and 64-bit RV64GC cores with MMU, licensed to semiconductor manufacturers and OEMs for integration into SoCs.
• IC Design Services Custom integrated circuit design services for customers requiring application-specific semiconductor solutions, including chip design and manufacturing coordination, delivered to OEMs and Tier-1 suppliers in automotive, avionics, secure element, and IoT markets.
• Secure Element Solutions Secure element products with integrated security features for SIM cards, smart cards, banking payment cards, and e-passports, providing secure key storage and tamper-resistant designs for payment and identity applications.
• CIoT25 IoT SoC Platform Sub-1 GHz SoC for unlicensed ISM band (433 MHz, 868 MHz, 915 MHz) based on Dash7 technology, providing low-power IoT connectivity for smart home, building devices, Electronic Shelf Label, logistics, and parking applications.

Quantifiable outcome

• 18 billion+ devices shipped globally
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

AI capability6 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• CTAG (Centro Tecnológico de Automoción de Galicia)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 5 February 2026Strategic partnership with CTAG for RISC-V automotive solutions targeting the European automotive market. Collaboration focuses on AUTOSAR-compatible processors for vehicle electronics, leveraging CTAG's automotive technology center expertise.
• ChipSynccoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 16 October 2025Strategic collaboration with ChipSync for RISC-V automotive solutions in India. Partnership aims to develop and deploy automotive-grade RISC-V processors for the Indian market and global exports.
• SmartSoC SolutionscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 18 September 2025Partnership for chip design and manufacturing services targeting SIM cards, smart cards, banking cards, and e-passports in India. Combines Cortus processor IP with SmartSoC's design and manufacturing capabilities.
• WISeKeycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 24 March 2021Partnership to secure automated vehicles using WISeKey's cybersecurity and secure element technology combined with Cortus automotive processors. Targets connected and autonomous vehicle security.
• eProcessor Project ConsortiumminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEuropean research consortium including Chalmers University, Forth, Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC), Christmann, Exapsys, Extoll, Sapienza, Thales, and Universität Bielefeld for RISC-V processor development.
• AnySiliconminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorMarketplace channel partner listing Cortus products and IP on the AnySilicon semiconductor marketplace platform for broader market reach.
• AIOTIminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMembership in the Alliance for Internet of Things Innovation, participating in IoT standards development and ecosystem building.
• Università del SalentominorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic collaboration with Italian university for research and development in semiconductor technology.
• Politecnico di BariminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic partnership with Italian technical university for semiconductor research and talent development.
• Aristotle University of ThessalonikiminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic collaboration with Greek university for R&D in embedded systems and processor architecture.
• European CommissioncoreOthersFunding and support through European research programs for RISC-V processor development and semiconductor innovation.
• RISC-V FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFounding member of the RISC-V Foundation, contributing to the development and adoption of the RISC-V open instruction set architecture.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• SiFive: Leading fabless RISC-V processor IP provider offering cores from microcontroller-class to high-performance application processors. Closest direct competitor to Cortus in the RISC-V IP and ASIC design services space, targeting similar automotive, AI, and IoT applications.
• Andes Technology: Public fabless RISC-V processor IP company offering the AndesCore family spanning 32-bit MCUs to 64-bit application processors. Directly comparable to Cortus's APS/FPS portfolio in both IP licensing model and target embedded/IoT segments.

Broad incumbents

• NXP Semiconductors: Dominant automotive MCU and processor vendor with S32 and Kinetis families serving the same vehicle body, chassis, ADAS, and gateway applications as Cortus ULYSS. Represents the incumbent Cortus is positioning RISC-V to displace.
• Infineon Technologies: European-headquartered automotive and industrial semiconductor leader with AURIX and TRAVEO MCU families overlapping ULYSS and Calypso use cases, and PSoC families overlapping secure element / smart card markets.
• STMicroelectronics: European MCU and automotive semiconductor incumbent with Stellar and SPC5 families competing directly with Cortus in body/chassis/powertrain MCUs, plus secure-element products overlapping the SIM/smart-card business.
• Renesas Electronics: Major automotive MCU vendor with RH850 and R-Car families targeting the same body, chassis, gateway, and ADAS applications as ULYSS 1–4, and recently announced RISC-V efforts that could directly contest Cortus's positioning.
• Mobileye: Intel-owned automotive AI perception and ADAS SoC company; overlaps with Cortus Apollon use cases in computer vision for ADAS and autonomous driving at higher performance/scale tiers.
• Synopsys (ARC Processors): Synopsys's ARC processor IP division competes with Cortus in embedded processor IP licensing across IoT, automotive, and consumer applications, including ARC MetaWare and ASIL-ready automotive cores.

Emerging players

• Hailo: Israeli fabless AI inference chip company with Hailo-8 and Hailo-10 edge AI processors targeting automotive and industrial vision. Directly comparable to Cortus Apollon in edge AI inference for computer vision and ADAS perception.
• Tenstorrent: RISC-V-based AI accelerator and IP company founded by Jim Keller, competing in the same RISC-V compute IP and AI hardware space as Cortus's MINERVA platform and Apollon accelerators.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/cortus_ip

Compliance7 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Subsidiaries3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors2 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Cortus