| The information contained within this announcement was deemed by the Company to constitute inside information as stipulated under the UK Market Abuse Regulation. |
13 November 2025
EnSilica plc
("EnSilica", the "Company" or the "Group")
EnSilica to develop quantum resilient secure processor chip for critical national infrastructure applications
Backed by £5m UK Government 'Contract for Innovation'
EnSilica plc (AIM:ENSI), a leading chip maker of mixed-signal ASICs (Application Specific Integrated Circuits), is pleased to announce that it has been awarded a £5 million "Contract for Innovation" (the "Contract") by the UK Government's Department for Science, Innovation & Technology ("DSIT"), following a competitive process.
Following on from the Government's Digital Security by Design programme, this Government funding furthers their ambition to commercialise the availability of Capability Hardware Enhanced RISC Instructions ("CHERI") which represents a transformative hardware security architecture designed to mitigate memory safety vulnerabilities, one of the most significant sources of modern cyberattacks.
The commercial-off-the-shelf ("COTS") CHERI compliant secure processor chip developed under the Contract will target next-generation of quantum resilient applications requiring the highest levels of security and functional safety, with particular relevance to defence, industrial, automotive and aerospace markets.
The Contract will be phased over two stages, which are:
· Stage 1: £1.5 million specification and prototype development - to be completed by March 2026
· Stage 2: £3.5 million verification, silicon implementation and productisation - concluding by March 2028
The Contract will cover the direct cost of development from specification to productisation. The Contract will be gated against a break clause subject to continuation of funding for Stage 2.
National Strategic Significance of CHERI
The UK Government has identified CHERI as central to strengthening the security of future computing systems, and their continued funding aims to accelerate the development and adoption of secure CHERI-enabled chips with commercial relevance in critical national infrastructure use cases. This innovation aligns with the UK Government's broader semiconductor strategy, supporting national resilience in cybersecurity and contributing to the growth of the UK's semiconductor ecosystem.
Quantum Resilient Security
The COTS chip will also include EnSilica's latest Post Quantum Cryptography ("PQC") accelerator IP, making the chip resilient to attacks from quantum computers (a new class of computing system that exploit the principles of quantum mechanics enabling them to solve certain complex problems such as cryptographic problems exponentially faster than today's processors).
Security analysts have raised quantum computers as an emerging security risk with parties capturing encrypted data, with the intention of decrypting it in the future when high performance quantum computers become more available, a tactic known as 'harvest now, decrypt later'. The deployment of PQC is therefore essential to future-proof secure processors and communications systems.
The PQC market is forecast1 to grow from $310m in 2024 to $9.4bn by 2033 representing a 45% CAGR and driven by regulation and long-lifecycle systems needing future-proof security.
EnSilica's PQC IP
EnSilica's PQC IP enables the development of quantum resilient secure semiconductors across its core markets of automotive, industrial and satellite communications ensuring compliance with current and emerging cybersecurity standards. Ownership of this IP provides the Company with the ability to deliver deep customisations, auditability and reuse across multiple ASIC programmes, thereby reducing development cost and strengthening EnSilica's competitiveness.
The Company has licensed its PQC IP and its other cryptographic IP to one of the world's leading semiconductor networking companies, providing external validation of EnSilica's IP's quality and demonstrating growing market demand for quantum resilient semiconductors.
Ian Lankshear, Chief Executive Officer of EnSilica, commented:
"As a leading silicon chip maker, we are delighted to have our secure processor chip chosen by the UK Government for this Contract for Innovation. This will expand our products by offering a CHERI-enabled secure processor chip as a commercial off-the-shelf product, not only putting CHERI-enabled devices into the hands of product developers and strengthening their security capabilities but also contributing to a more robust and resilient UK technology supply chain."
Prof. John Goodacre, Director of Secure and Resilience Growth at Innovate UK, commented:
"EnSilica's project exemplifies the type of cutting-edge silicon development that positions the UK at the forefront of global hardware security innovation. By supporting the integration of CHERI technology into a mainstream and generally available device, this project will lead to the eradication of significant cyber threats against our critical infrastructures and the increased safety and resilience of commercial products."
1 https://www.openpr.com/news/4254255/post-quantum-cryptography-pqc-market-size-worth-usd-9-403-4
For further information please contact:
| EnSilica plc Ian Lankshear, Chief Executive Officer Kristoff Rademan, Chief Financial Officer |
via Vigo Consulting +44 (0)20 7390 0233 |
|
Allenby Capital Limited (Nominated Adviser & Joint Broker) Jeremy Porter / Vivek Bhardwaj (Corporate Finance) Joscelin Pinnington / Tony Quirke (Sales & Corporate Broking) |
+44 (0)20 3328 5656 |
| |
|
| Panmure Liberum Limited (Joint Broker) Edward Mansfield / Will King |
+44 (0)20 3100 2000 |
|
Vigo Consulting (Investor & Financial Public Relations) Jeremy Garcia / Anna Stacey |
+44 (0)20 7390 0233 ensilica@vigoconsulting.com |
The person responsible for arranging release of this announcement on behalf of the Company is Ian Lankshear, Chief Executive Officer.
About EnSilica plc
EnSilica is a leading fabless design house focused on custom ASIC design and supply for OEMs and system houses, as well as IC design services for companies with their own design teams. The company has world-class expertise in supplying custom RF, mmWave, mixed signal and digital ICs to its international customers in the automotive, industrial, healthcare and communications markets. EnSilica has a track record in delivering high quality solutions to demanding industry standards. The company is headquartered near Oxford, UK and has design centres across the UK, India, Brazil and Hungary.