Fraunhofer-Institute for Microelectronic Circuits and Systems

What Fraunhofer-Institute for Microelectronic Circuits and Systems does

Fraunhofer-Institute for Microelectronic Circuits and Systems (Fraunhofer IMS) is a non-profit applied research institute headquartered in Duisburg, Germany, founded in the mid-1980s as part of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft. It designs and develops microelectronic circuits, sensors, and embedded systems for four business units — Health, Industry, Mobility, and Space & Security — organized around four core competencies in embedded software and AI, smart sensor systems, semiconductor technology, and a Center for Sensor Technology. The institute employs 250+ research engineers and operates CMOS, MEMS, quantum, and (forthcoming) photonics pilot capabilities, integrated within the Fraunhofer Microelectronics (FMD) network of 13 Fraunhofer and 2 Leibniz institutes.

Its core technology stack centers on the AIRISC RISC-V processor family (including the ASIL-D-certified AIRISC-SAFETY variant), the AIfES open-source TinyML framework for on-device training and inference, the ARTEMIS neuromorphic accelerator line, Velektronik power-electronics platforms, and PUF-based hardware security primitives. These are coupled with MEMS, CMOS, and compound-semiconductor process technology, plus reference designs for safety-critical, medical, and industrial IoT applications. The institute's deliverables span ASICs, IP cores, software libraries, sensor modules, and integrated reference platforms rather than high-volume commercial products.

Fraunhofer IMS monetizes primarily through publicly funded collaborative research (BMBF, EU framework programs), contract R&D for industrial partners such as BMW, Nvidia, Synopsys, Dell, Charité, getemed, and van Rickelen, technology licensing and IP transfer (including open-source releases that build ecosystem adoption), and personnel training. Revenue is therefore project- and grant-driven rather than subscription-based, with a moderate concentration risk tied to public funding cycles and a long-tailed industrial customer base across automotive, semiconductor, medical, and defense-adjacent markets.

Name

Fraunhofer-Institute for Microelectronic Circuits and Systems

Legal name

Fraunhofer-Institut für Mikroelektronische Schaltungen und Systeme IMS

Website

https://ims.fraunhofer.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1988

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Fraunhofer IMS is a Duisburg-based, non-profit applied research institute developing microelectronic circuits, RISC-V processors, MEMS sensors, and embedded AI frameworks for the health, industry, mobility, and space-and-security markets.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Applied microelectronics research and embedded AI semiconductor design

NAICS

Navigational, Measuring, Electromedical, and Control Instruments Manufacturing (33451), Electromedical and Electrotherapeutic Apparatus Manufacturing (334510), Search, Detection, Navigation, Guidance, Aeronautical, and Nautical System and Instrument Manufacturing (334511), Computer Systems Design and Related Services (54151)

SIC

Industrial Instruments For Measurement, Display, And Control (3823), Electromedical & Electrotherapeutic Apparatus (3845), Search, Detection, Navagation, Guidance, Aeronautical Sys (3812), Optical Instruments & Lenses (3827), Services-Computer Integrated Systems Design (7373)

akta.pro primary industry

Custom/ASIC & Foundry-Adjacent IDM Services (HDAHAAAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Automotive & Industrial-Grade IDMs (HDAHAAAI), Sensor Fusion, Interface ICs & Modules (AFE/Readout/Packaging/Calibration) (HDAHALAO), Sensors, MEMS & Imaging ICs (HDAHAAAG)

Keywords

• Embedded AI software
• RISC-V processors
• Smart sensor systems
• Microelectronic circuits
• Contract research services

Headquarters

HQ city

Duisburg

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Operations

Revenue model

1. Public Research Funding: Majority of funding from German federal and state governments (BMBF, EU Horizon programs, KDT JU) and Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft internal programs. Supports pre-competitive research projects.
2. Contract Research and Development: Industry partners commission R&D projects for customized sensor technology, semiconductor development, and embedded AI solutions. Direct collaboration with manufacturing, medical, automotive, and aerospace companies.
3. Technology Licensing: Licensing of proprietary technologies including AIfES (commercial use), AIRISC processor cores with extended features, safety-certified variants, ASIC design services, and FPGA implementations. Base versions available as open source with commercial licensing for extended features.
4. Personnel Training and Education: Doctoral positions, student research opportunities, trainee programs, and vocational training (Fachinformatiker, Kaufmann für Büromanagement). Cooperation with University of Duisburg-Essen.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Fraunhofer IMS is an applied research institute that develops customized microelectronic, embedded AI, and smart sensor solutions as an R&D partner for industry. Its commercial offerings include contract research and development services, the AIfES open-source AI framework for microcontrollers, the AIRISC RISC-V processor family with licensed extended features, and ASIC/SoC design services for medical, industrial, mobility, and aerospace applications.

Product overview

Fraunhofer IMS operates as a research institute offering a portfolio of AI and semiconductor products centered on embedded systems. The core offerings include AIfES (open-source TinyML framework for neural networks on microcontrollers) and the AIRISC family of RISC-V processors. Additional products span trusted electronics (PUF security, GaN power modules), medical AI (ARTEMIS ECG chip, AI-Suit), and research platforms (Velektronik, NeurOSmart). The institute also provides photonics laboratory services and SoC design services for industrial partners. Products target applications in Health, Industry, Mobility, and Space & Security sectors.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• AIfES (Artificial Intelligence for Embedded Systems): Open source AI software framework for running and training artificial neural networks on embedded systems and microcontrollers. Comparable to TensorFlow, Keras, and PyTorch.
• AIRISC (Advanced RISC-V Processor Family)
• Velektronik

Products and services

• AIfES (Artificial Intelligence for Embedded Systems) Open-source AI software framework enabling artificial neural networks (FNN and ConvNet) to run and train on virtually any hardware including microcontrollers, IoT devices, Raspberry Pi, PCs, and smartphones. Targets embedded developers building TinyML applications on resource-constrained devices.
• AIRISC Family (RISC-V Processors) Open-source RISC-V processor family for embedded AI, IoT, and sensor applications, including AIRISC-TIMESERIES (wearables), AIRISC-POWER (power converters), AIRISC-LiDAR (LiDAR processing), and AIRISC-SAFETY (functional safety). Targets SoC designers and embedded systems engineers.
• AIRISC-SAFETY (ASIL-D certified RISC-V processor) Safety-certified RISC-V processor with dual-core lockstep and ECC memory protection for functional-safety applications requiring ISO 26262 ASIL-D and DIN 61508 compliance. Targets automotive, industrial, and medical OEMs building safety-critical systems.
• AIRISC AI Accelerator Package Hardware accelerator IP for the AIRISC RISC-V processor enabling efficient neural network inference with support for activation functions (tanh, sigmoid, softsign, softmax) and parallel Multiply-Accumulate operations (16-bit 2x parallel, 8-bit 4x parallel). Targets SoC designers integrating AI accelerators.
• Secure Key Memory / PUF Technology Physical Unclonable Function (PUF) technology using random manufacturing deviations as individual chip fingerprints for cryptographic key generation and secure key storage. Provides high security against physical attacks and unauthorized readout. Targets secure electronics designers and hardware security module manufacturers.
• ARTEMIS (Miniaturized ECG with AI) Miniaturized ECG electronics with integrated AI chip for detecting atrial fibrillation in real-time directly on patients. BMBF-funded R&D project developing medical device technology for cardiac monitoring. Targets medical device manufacturers and healthcare providers.
• AI-Suit (Astronaut Vital Sign Sensor System) Sensor system for measuring astronaut vital parameters inside space suits to monitor physical strain during space flights. Developed for space applications. Targets aerospace agencies and space suit manufacturers.
• GaNext (GaN Intelligent Power Modules) Intelligent power modules (IPM) based on gallium nitride (GaN) semiconductors with integrated gate drivers and fail-safe control units, developed under the PENTA program. Targets power electronics manufacturers and industrial automation companies.

Quantifiable outcome

• AIfES achieves up to 54% less memory consumption for Convolutional Neural Networks compared to TensorFlow Lite for Microcontrollers
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers6 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

Integration2 records

AI capability10 records

Feature9 records

Partnerships

14 partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Sant'Anna School of Advanced StudiesminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023EU project CLEVER consortium partner (KDT JU funded). Focus on digital twins for in-factory optimization and AR for shopping malls.
• Dell TechnologiesminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023EU project CLEVER consortium partner contributing to edge AI hardware accelerator development.
• SynopsysminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023EU project CLEVER consortium partner contributing EDA tool expertise.
• BMW GroupminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023EU project CLEVER consortium partner providing automotive industry requirements for hardware accelerators.
• NvidiaminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023EU project CLEVER consortium partner contributing GPU/AI acceleration expertise.
• RISC-V InternationalcoreTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2023Fraunhofer IMS is RISC-V ambassador and contributor. AIRISC processors are aligned with RISC-V architecture specifications including P-Extension for DSP applications.
• getemed Medizin- und Informationstechnik AGcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Consortium leader for ARTEMIS project (BMBF-funded, 13GW0579D) developing miniaturized ECG electronics with AI for atrial fibrillation detection. getemed provides medical device expertise and commercialization pathway.
• Charité – Universitätsmedizin BerlincoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Medical consortium partner in ARTEMIS project. Contributes clinical expertise and patient data for validating AI-based atrial fibrillation detection algorithms in real healthcare settings.
• CYIENT GmbHminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Technology partner in ARTEMIS consortium contributing engineering expertise for medical device development.
• SYNIOS GmbHminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Industry partner in ARTEMIS consortium for medical electronics development.
• University of Duisburg-EssencoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Close cooperation for doctoral programs at Fraunhofer IMS. Provides intensive supervision, writing coaching, regular feedback sessions, and access to university facilities during promotions.
• Fraunhofer Institutes (EMFT, IAIS, IESE, IGD, IIS, IKS, IDMT, ISIT, ITWM)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021SEC-Learn project partners in Fraunhofer-wide initiative for Sensor Edge Cloud Federated Learning. Collaboration on federated learning methods for microcontrollers, hardware accelerators development, and AIfES integration.
• van Rickelen GmbH & Co. KGcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Industry partner in the noKat project (ZIM-funded) developing optical proximity sensors for detecting approaching persons using embedded AI. van Rickelen contributes market application expertise for building management and security systems.
• Forschungsfabrik Mikroelektronik Deutschland (FMD)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2017Fraunhofer IMS is part of FMD - a cooperation of the Fraunhofer Group for Microelectronics with Leibniz Institutes FBH and IHP, and 12 other Fraunhofer institutes. FMD represents Europe's largest association of its kind with over 4,500 employees and unique infrastructure diversity. Provides one-stop-shop access to microelectronics technologies across Germany.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• SiFive: U.S.-based commercial RISC-V IP and processor company offering RISC-V cores for AI, automotive, and embedded applications. Directly comparable to AIRISC as a RISC-V IP vendor pursuing commercial licensing, though SiFive is venture-backed and globally scaled while Fraunhofer IMS is a non-profit research origin.
• Fraunhofer IPMS: Sister Fraunhofer institute also part of the FMD network, focused on MEMS, photonic ICs, and integrated sensor systems. Most direct peer within Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft given shared microelectronics mandate, comparable headcount scale, and overlapping MEMS/sensor technology focus.

Emerging players

• Edge Impulse: Embedded ML platform (now part of Qualcomm) offering a TinyML development environment for microcontrollers. Direct overlap with AIfES as an embedded AI framework, focused on ease-of-use developer tooling rather than open-source RISC-V cores.

Broad incumbents

• NXP Semiconductors: Automotive and industrial semiconductor leader with safety-certified (ASIL-D) microcontrollers and processors. Overlaps with Fraunhofer IMS in automotive safety-critical applications and embedded AI for edge devices, with substantially larger commercial scale.
• STMicroelectronics: European IDM with significant MEMS/sensor and microcontroller portfolio (STM32) including embedded AI (STM32Cube.AI). Competes with Fraunhofer IMS in smart sensors, MCU-based AI, and automotive/industrial safety applications, with the advantage of high-volume productization.
• Infineon Technologies: German semiconductor leader with overlapping presence in automotive-grade microcontrollers, power electronics, and safety-certified (ASIL-D) processors (AURIX family). Competes with Fraunhofer IMS in automotive and industrial safety applications, though as a broad incumbent rather than a focused RISC-V/embedded AI specialist.
• Robert Bosch (Bosch Sensortec): Major MEMS sensor manufacturer and automotive Tier-1 with embedded AI activities. Comparable to Fraunhofer IMS in MEMS technology, automotive sensors, and industrial AI applications, with global commercial scale.
• Analog Devices: Analog and mixed-signal IC leader with sensor signal chains, AFE ICs, and industrial measurement portfolios. Comparable to Fraunhofer IMS's sensor system and analog/mixed-signal semiconductor activities, particularly in biomedical and industrial applications.
• ARME (Arm Holdings): Dominant processor IP provider for embedded and mobile applications. Competes with AIRISC in the embedded processor space; Arm's Cortex-M family and Ethos-U NPU are the primary alternative to Fraunhofer IMS's RISC-V + AIfES combination, though Arm is the incumbent ISA that RISC-V seeks to displace.

Others

• Synopsys: EDA tool and IP provider already partnered with Fraunhofer IMS in the EU CLEVER project. Comparable as an enabling ecosystem participant in the SoC/RISC-V design flow that Fraunhofer IMS relies on, with EDA tools, processor IP, and design services at global scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• GitHubgithub.com/Fraunhofer-IMS/AIfES_for_Arduino
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCnaHtCUzzEljWmBwfttoWng
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/fraunhofer-ims
• Instagraminstagram.com/fraunhofer.ims

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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