The importance of the semiconductor industry’s development and its role in the future prosperity of the Czech economy comprised the main theme of the two-day Czech Semicon Days event, which took place in Prague on 13-14 May. During this event organised by CzechInvest, attendees discussed the Czech semiconductor ecosystem, the country’s national semiconductor strategy and opportunities for involvement in global supply chains.
“Semiconductors, which until recently were hidden from our view inside of machines, are now at the centre of attention of industrial strategies and geopolitics. Czechia’s strategy in the field of semiconductor technologies has the ambition to use our strengths in the areas of production and the development of both talent and chips. CzechInvest is contributing to this through support for the investments of domestic and foreign companies and development of the supply chain, as well as the development of Czech innovative companies,” said Jan Michal, CEO of CzechInvest, in his opening remarks.
The Czech Semicon Days event commenced together with the second edition of the Czech Investment Forum, which took place on 13 May at the Fanta Building in Prague. The all-day conference welcomed experts from the semiconductor industry and representatives of the government, companies, investors and the academic sphere. The key point of the programme was a presentation of the National Semiconductor Strategy, which has the purpose of strengthening Czechia’s position in this strategic sector, to foreign guests from, for example, the United States, Taiwan, South Korea, Japan and Germany. The forum began with opening remarks by Jiří Drahoš, First Vice-President of the Senate of the Parliament of the Czech Republic, and National Security Adviser Tomáš Pojar. Attendees were welcomed by CzechInvest CEO Jan Michal and Petr Očko, Deputy Minister for Digitalisation and Innovation at the Ministry of Industry and Trade. The afternoon block dedicated to the future of semiconductors was conducted by Deputy Minister for Science and Research Jana Havlíková and Václav Kobera, head of the Department of Intelligent Transport Systems, Space Activities and Research, Development and Innovation at the Ministry of Transport. Significant speakers at the event included Konrad Young, former vice-president of the Taiwanese chip giant TSMC; Michal Lorenc, vice-president of the Czech National Semiconductor Cluster; and Jana Drbohlavová, deputy director of the newly established Czech Semiconductor Centre.
“Czechia has the prerequisites to become an important part of the European semiconductor ecosystem. It is important to recognise that the development of this sector is not only a technological challenge, but also an investment opportunity. We are aware that foreign investors perceive semiconductors as a strategic sector and are carefully monitoring how Czechia presents itself in this area. And this year’s Czech Semicon Days event has shown that we have both potential and expertise. What will be crucial, however, is whether we can support them through concrete measures,” said Ondřej Votruba, Executive Director of the Association for Foreign Investment, the main partner of the event.
The second day of Czech Semicon Days was dedicated to specialised workshops and networking. The Czech-Taiwanese Semiconductors Supplier Day was focused on strengthening economic cooperation between Czechia and its Taiwanese partners and on building supply chains. Attendees discussed opportunities for Czech-Taiwanese cooperation with Professor Konrad Young and representatives of the Taiwanese Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI). Seven Taiwanese and six Czech companies involved in the semiconductor chain actively presented themselves. In parallel with this event, the Czech Semiconductor Ecosystem Day took place with focus on building a favourable environment for semiconductor companies in the country’s regions. Following the examples of Phoenix, Arizona; Eindhoven, Netherlands, and Silicon Saxony, representatives of Czech regions, cities and ministries can learn how to create and develop such a favourable ecosystem for existing companies and potential new investors.
Another important part of the programme was the Czech Semicon Workshop intended for international semiconductor companies and investors. Investment financing options, the Czech business environment and visa acceleration programmes for foreign experts were presented during the workshop.
The main partner of Czech Semicon Days was the Association for Foreign Investment. The specialist partners of the event were the Czech National Semiconductor Cluster and the Supply Chain Resilience Centre at Charles University in Prague.