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NanoXplore

Category: AI Infrastructure

Fabless semiconductor company specializing in radiation-hardened FPGAs for space and defense. NanoXplore was founded in 2010. The company is led by Edouard Lepape. Based in Sèvres, France. Team size: 100-150. Total funding raised: €20.0M (Equity) + >€30M (Grants/Contracts). Latest round: Growth Round (€20.0M, Dec 2025). Key investors include ["MBDA","Bpifrance (Fonds Innovation Défense)"].

Founded
2010
Headquarters
Sèvres, France
Team size
100-150
Total funding
€20.0M (Equity) + >€30M (Grants/Contracts)

Value proposition

ITAR-free European sovereignty, Radiation Hardening by Design (RHBD) on standard foundries.

Products and solutions

["NG-MEDIUM FPGA","NG-ULTRA (28nm SoC FPGA)","Radiation-hardened SoC"]

Unique value

Sovereign European technology (ITAR-free) utilizing Radiation Hardening by Design (RHBD) on standard foundries.

Target customer

Space Agencies (ESA, CNES), Defense contractors (MBDA, Airbus), Avionics

Industries served

["Space","Defense","Avionics","AI Infrastructure"]

Technology advantage

Access to advanced nodes (28nm, 7nm) compared to legacy US competitors using specialized foundries.

How they differentiate

Offers the only advanced European 'sovereign' FPGA technology (ITAR-free) using Radiation Hardening by Design (RHBD) on standard foundries (STMicroelectronics), allowing access to advanced nodes (28nm, 7nm) compared to legacy US competitors.

Main competitors

["AMD (Xilinx)","Microchip Technology (Microsemi)","Teledyne e2v"]

Key partnerships

["STMicroelectronics","European Space Agency (ESA)","CNES","European Commission"]

Notable customers

["European Space Agency (ESA)","CNES","Airbus Defence and Space","Thales Alenia Space","MBDA"]

Major milestones

["2023: NG-MEDIUM FPGA achieves ESCC QPL certification (highest space qualification)","2025: Secured €20M strategic investment from MBDA and Bpifrance","Tape-out of NG-ULTRA (28nm SoC FPGA), the most advanced rad-hard chip in Europe"]

Growth metrics

Achieved ESCC QPL certification for NG-MEDIUM (first European FPGA to do so); 140+ employees; transitioning from R&D to industrial scale-up with 28nm NG-ULTRA product line.

Market positioning

Leading European challenger to the US monopoly in space-grade FPGAs; key enabler of European strategic autonomy.

Geographic focus

Europe (Primary), Global (ITAR-free markets)

Patents and IP

Proprietary Radiation Hardening by Design (RHBD) technology

About Edouard Lepape

Edouard Lepape has been the General Manager (CEO) of NanoXplore SAS since November 2013. Before joining NanoXplore, he was an Analyst in Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) covering Power, Utilities, and Infrastructure at Barclays Capital in London (2011–2013). He holds a Master's degree from ESSEC Business School.

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