Silicium
Silicium is a 1994-founded French non-profit association preserving video game and computing heritage through a large private vintage hardware collection, reference publications, edited retro games, exhibition loans, and the annual Vieumikro convention serving members and the public.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1994
- HeadquartersToulouse, France
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Silicium does
Silicium is a French non-profit cultural association (Association Loi 1901 d'intérêt général) founded in 1994 in Toulouse, dedicated to the preservation, documentation, and public presentation of video game and computing heritage. The organization maintains one of the largest private collections of vintage computing and gaming hardware in France — thousands of items stored across 120+ meters of shelving in the Bunker Silicium, anchored by a Hewlett-Packard 85 donated in 1989. Silicium operates without government subsidies, funding itself through membership fees (€8–€64 annually across four tiers: 8 bits, 16 bits, 32 bits, Le méga), tax-deductible donations enabled by its 2015 intérêt général designation, book and merchandise sales, and occasional paid exhibition services. The volunteer-driven organization is governed by President René Speranza, Webmaster Sébastien Périn, and Forum Administrator/Secretary Jean-François Laroche.
The association's core offerings span Silicium Editions publications — reference books including Le Guide des Micro-Ordinateurs (€35), Le Guide des Consoles de Jeux Anciennes (€28), Manettes & Pixels (€35), the MiniGuide Dreamcast (€6.80), and the "32 ans" commemorative volume — as well as the free Gazette des Pocketicaires fanzine, edited retro games (Vectrom for Vectrex, Interpol for Videopac, Cocoleco for Colecovision), and the Occitel Mini open-source hardware console. Services include modular themed exhibitions (Whizz Machines, GamExpo, L'Épopée du Numérique), equipment loans to cultural institutions such as La Villette and the Musée d'Art Moderne de Saint-Étienne, conference delivery, and the annual Vieumikro convention held since 1996. Go-to-market is community-led and event-driven, anchored on the forum.silicium.org platform, partnerships with Artilect Fablab and Etincelle Coworking in Toulouse, recurring presence at FOSDEM Brussels, TGS Toulouse, Stunfest Rennes, NOGA Nîmes, and other European events, and a multimedia partnership with the Lord Paddle YouTube channel.
Customers fall into four segments: retrocomputing enthusiasts (the 100+ members), the general public attending exhibitions, cultural institutions and event organizers receiving equipment loans or co-produced exhibitions, and students/educational institutions. The association also serves the film industry through occasional vintage-equipment loans for productions. Total revenue is unstated but, given member counts and book pricing, is most plausibly in the low tens of thousands of euros per year, with donations as the most material uncertainty.
Silicium firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Silicium
- Legal name
- Silicium (Association Loi 1901 d'intérêt général)
- Website
- https://silicium.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1994
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Silicium is a 1994-founded French non-profit association preserving video game and computing heritage through a large private vintage hardware collection, reference publications, edited retro games, exhibition loans, and the annual Vieumikro convention serving members and the public.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Silicium industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Cultural Heritage Preservation
- NAICS
- Museums (712110), Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar Institutions (7121)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Specialty Museums (e.g., Maritime, Aviation, Sports, Music, Film) (THAJADAF)
Keywords
Where Silicium is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Toulouse
- HQ country
- France
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices4 records
Markets served
Silicium business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Operations, Personnel, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D
Revenue model
- Membership fees (cotisations): Annual membership fees at four levels (8 bits: €8, 16 bits: €16, 32 bits: €32, Le méga: €64). Members receive a diploma and annual fiscal donation certificates.
- Book and publication sales: Silicium Editions sells books including '32 ans' (€32), 'Le Guide des Micro-Ordinateurs' (€35), 'Le Guide des Consoles de Jeux Anciennes' (€28), 'Manettes & Pixels' (€35), and the MiniGuide Dreamcast (€6.80). Sales via the website and at events, with shipping costs added.
- Tax-deductible donations: As a recognized association d'intérêt général since 2015, Silicium accepts donations (cash or in-kind) that are tax-deductible at 66% for French taxpayers, within a 20% income tax ceiling. No government subsidies are received.
- Merchandise (t-shirts): Silicium sells t-shirts and other merchandise at events and via the website as supplementary revenue.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | 8 bits — €8/year |
| Subscription | Annual | 16 bits — €16/year |
| Subscription | Annual | 32 bits — €32/year |
| Subscription | Annual | Le méga — €64/year |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | 32 ans book — €32 |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Le Guide des Micro-Ordinateurs — €35 |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Le Guide des Consoles de Jeux Anciennes — €28 |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | MiniGuide Dreamcast — €6.80 |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels7 records
Silicium product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Silicium is a French non-profit cultural association (Loi 1901 d'intérêt général) that preserves, documents, and presents video game and computing heritage. Its commercial offerings include Silicium Editions books and reference guides, edited retro games, an annual convention (Vieumikro), modular exhibitions (Whizz Machines, L'Épopée du Numérique, GamExpo), equipment loans to institutions, and conferences.
Product overview
Silicium is a French non-profit association (Loi 1901) dedicated to preserving video game and computing heritage since 1994. Its offerings center on Silicium Editions publications (reference books like Le Guide des Micro-Ordinateurs, Le Guide des Consoles de Jeux Anciennes, and the annual Gazette des Pocketicaires fanzine), edited games (Vectrom, Interpol, Cocoleco), and services including modular exhibitions (Whizz Machines, GamExpo, L'Épopée du Numérique), equipment loans, and event organization (Vieumikro convention, conferences). The portfolio is unified by the mission of preserving and sharing retrocomputing and video game heritage with the public.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Silicium Editions: Publishing division of Silicium that produces books, guides, and games related to retrocomputing and retrogaming.
Products and services
- Le Guide des Micro-Ordinateurs Encyclopedia of 250 microcomputer models from 1973-1993, extensively illustrated with 400+ photos, spanning multiple editions. Reference book for retrocomputing enthusiasts.
- Le Guide des Consoles de Jeux Anciennes Reference book covering 54+ console models from 1971-2001, with 400+ photos and tested game recommendations. For retrogaming enthusiasts and collectors.
- MiniGuide Dreamcast 48-page color guide covering Sega Dreamcast history, published for the 2012-2013 Silicium exhibition.
- 32 ans
Quantifiable outcome
- 30+ years of continuous operation preserving digital heritage since 1994
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Silicium
Customer profileNamed customers8 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Silicium technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature1 record
Silicium partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Fablab ArtilectcoreSilicium partners with Artilect Fablab (Toulouse) for joint events, notably the Sargon day in March 2025. Artilect provides the venue for this type of tech-focused community event. Artilect is also the location of Silicium's headquarters at 10 rue Tripière, Toulouse.
- FOSDEM (Free and Open-source Software Developers' European Meeting)coreSilicium presented its Occitel Mini open-source hardware project at FOSDEM 2025 (January 31–February 2) at Université Libre de Bruxelles, Campus du Solbosch. Silicium also presented at FOSDEM 2019, marking a recurring partnership with this major European open-source developer event.
- NOGA Nîmes (Festival du jeu vidéo et des arts numériques)minorSilicium participated in NOGA Nîmes's 10th edition (December 2024) at the Maison Carrée, presenting a selection of vintage French game consoles with emphasis on Société Occitane and the Occitel Mini. Silicium also delivered a conference on the Occitel brand history at this event.
- Lord Paddle (YouTube channel)minorSilicium partnered with the Lord Paddle YouTube channel (run by David and Quentin) to supply vintage platforms and games for video production. This collaboration provides Silicium with multimedia exposure and reaches new audiences interested in retrogaming through professionally produced content.
- Etincelle Coworking (Toulouse)minorEtincelle Coworking (36 Rue d'Alsace Lorraine, Toulouse) is the venue sponsor for the Vieumikro Next Gen convention since 2018, replacing the previous Labège location. This central Toulouse venue provides easy access by public transport for the annual event.
- Institut national de l'audiovisuel (INA)minorSilicium partnered with INA for a conference at Quai des Savoirs Toulouse in April 2017 titled 'A chronology of the history of video games in the last century.' INA provided archival footage and Silicium provided vintage hardware to complement the presentation. The event was free and open to the public.
- iMal ( Brussels)minorSilicium contributed expertise through a maintenance workshop session at Digital Media Archaeology in Practice at iMal Brussels (April 9–11, 2015). Workshops were conducted in English with limited places, demonstrating Silicium's recognized expertise in digital heritage preservation beyond France.
- Ludomonde (ludothèque, Toulouse)minorSilicium regularly holds Gros Pixels gaming evenings at Ludomonde's Salle Achiary location, every Friday from 7pm to midnight. These evenings offer a selection of vintage and contemporary games for the public, free of charge, with Silicium providing the hardware and expertise.
Scale indicators7 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Silicium competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Computer History Museum: The Computer History Museum in Mountain View, CA is the world's leading institution preserving computing history. Like Silicium, it maintains a major physical collection of vintage hardware, exhibits to the public, hosts an active enthusiast community, and preserves software/printed documentation — making it the closest international peer for Silicium's preservation and exhibition model.
- Computerspielemuseum Berlin: Berlin museum dedicated to video game culture and history with interactive exhibits and rotating programming. Directly comparable to Silicium's gaming-heritage preservation focus and its modular exhibition services delivered to external venues.
- Musée Bolo (EPFL): Swiss museum housed at EPFL focused on computers, gaming, and digital culture. Closely parallels Silicium's specialty-museum model applied to computing and gaming, with comparable scale and volunteer/community-driven ethos.
- Musée de l'Informatique (Île-de-France): French computing museum preserving vintage hardware and software. Direct peer in computing heritage preservation with similar mission of public exhibitions, equipment restoration, and educational outreach — albeit with different geographic and operational footprint.
- Musée du Jeu Vidéo (Paris): Paris-based association dedicated to the history of video games in France. Direct French peer to Silicium's gaming-heritage mission, with overlapping community events, publications, and a similar volunteer-driven, association-based structure.
- The Strong National Museum of Play: Rochester, NY museum focused on the history of play, with one of the world's largest video game and interactive entertainment archives. Shares Silicium's mission of preserving play and computing heritage, with comparable curatorial depth in gaming history and strong educational programming.
- Centre for Computing History: Cambridge, UK-based museum dedicated to preserving computing history. Operates a physical collection, runs hands-on exhibitions and educational programs, and engages the retrocomputing community — closely paralleling Silicium's combination of heritage preservation, public exhibition, and enthusiast engagement.
Broad incumbents
- Musée des Arts et Métiers: Paris-based museum of science and technology, the flagship French institution for technological heritage. While broader in thematic scope, it includes computing history exhibits and shares Silicium's mission of preserving scientific and technical heritage for the public.
- Internet Archive: San Francisco-based non-profit preserving digital cultural artifacts including software, games, video, and printed materials. Shares Silicium's preservation mission and free public-access ethos, though operates primarily digitally rather than through a physical collection.
- Deutsches Museum: Munich's flagship science and technology museum, with substantial computing and information-technology collections. Operates at much larger scale and budget than Silicium but addresses an overlapping audience interested in technological heritage.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Silicium social profiles
Digital presenceSilicium compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance2 records
Silicium financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Silicium leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles3 records
Silicium funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Silicium M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Silicium
What does Silicium do?
Silicium is a French non-profit cultural association (Loi 1901 d'intérêt général) that preserves, documents, and presents video game and computing heritage. Its commercial offerings include Silicium Editions books and reference guides, edited retro games, an annual convention (Vieumikro), modular exhibitions (Whizz Machines, L'Épopée du Numérique, GamExpo), equipment loans to institutions, and conferences.
Is Silicium a public or private company?
Silicium is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Silicium founded?
Silicium was founded in 1994. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Silicium based?
Silicium is headquartered in Toulouse, France, in the Europe region.
How does Silicium make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Membership fees (cotisations) is the primary driver. The others are book and publication sales, tax-deductible donations and merchandise (t-shirts).
Who are Silicium's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Computer History Museum, Computerspielemuseum Berlin, Musée Bolo (EPFL), Musée de l'Informatique (Île-de-France), Musée du Jeu Vidéo (Paris), The Strong National Museum of Play and Centre for Computing History. Broad incumbents are Musée des Arts et Métiers, Internet Archive and Deutsches Museum.
Does Silicium have an API?
No public API is recorded for Silicium.
What industry is Silicium in?
Silicium's product category is Cultural Heritage Preservation. Its primary akta.pro industry code is THAJADAF, Specialty Museums (e.g., Maritime, Aviation, Sports, Music, Film). Its NAICS code is 712110.