REG - EnSilica PLC - EnSilica to develop critical infrastructure chip

EnSilicaAnnouncement

13/11/2025 16:15

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RNS Number : 4879H  EnSilica PLC  13 November 2025

 

 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 forecast(1) 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
(https://www.openpr.com/news/4254255/post-quantum-cryptography-pqc-market-size-worth-usd-9-403-4)

 

For further information please contact:

 

 EnSilica plc                                                           via Vigo Consulting

 Ian Lankshear, Chief Executive Officer                                 +44 (0)20 7390 0233

 Kristoff Rademan, Chief Financial Officer

 www.ensilica.com (http://www.ensilica.com/)

 Allenby Capital Limited (Nominated Adviser & Joint Broker)

 Jeremy Porter / Vivek Bhardwaj (Corporate Finance)                     +44 (0)20 3328 5656

 Joscelin Pinnington / Tony Quirke (Sales & Corporate Broking)          info@allenbycapital.com (mailto:info@allenbycapital.com)

 Panmure Liberum Limited (Joint Broker)

 Edward Mansfield / Will King                                           +44 (0)20 3100 2000

 Vigo Consulting (Investor & Financial Public Relations)                +44 (0)20 7390 0233

 Jeremy Garcia / Anna Stacey                                            ensilica@vigoconsulting.com (mailto:visum@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.  

 

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