Silicon Statecraft Whitepaper 2026

From energy and healthcare to defense and artificial intelligence, semiconductors are no longer just components.

The global market is approaching one trillion dollars, while supply chains are becoming increasingly politicized. At the same time, the United States and China are scaling aggressively. Europe risks falling behind. The challenge is not innovation, but turning innovation into impact.

This white paper provides a clear perspective on what needs to change including: 

• Key insights focus on Europe’s real opportunities, the shift toward design and application layers, and the challenge of overcoming the valley of death in deep tech scaling.
• Concrete recommendations for policymakers, industry and startup ecosystems complete the analysis.

Developed during the MSC Startup Hub at the Munich Security Conference 2026, this whitepaper was created in collaboration with our Quantum/Semicon Lab and Brainport Development.

For further inquiries or questions, contact Michael Machold from our Quantum / Semicon Lab at semicon@tum-venture-labs.de.