ICwaves spins out from Philips

A veteran Philips chip-design team has set up ICwaves, a new independent ASIC design company in the Eindhoven area, according to Dutch company records and a report by Bits&Chips. The new firm appears to be one of several specialized Dutch semiconductor boutiques built around experienced engineering teams rather than broad outsourcing capacity. Public records show ICwaves B.V. was registered on May 26, 2026, at an address in Nuenen, near Eindhoven. ### Why does a Philips spinout matter in Eindhoven? Philips has long been one of the institutions feeding the Eindhoven semiconductor ecosystem, and its legacy includes earlier spinouts and supplier formations in the region. ASML says its own roots trace back to Philips facilities in Eindhoven, while NXP also originated from Philips’ semiconductor business. (companyinfo.nl) Bits&Chips reported this week that ICwaves was formed by “a group of seasoned chip designers” coming out of Philips Research and positioned it as an independent ASIC design house. That matters because Eindhoven’s chip cluster still produces small firms built around highly specialized design knowledge rather than manufacturing scale. (asml.com) ### What exactly is ICwaves offering? ICwaves’ public footprint is still thin. The company’s website is live but carries only a “coming soon” message and the phrase “See the Unseen,” offering little detail yet on customers, process nodes or design specialties. Dutch registry data lists ICwaves B.V. under software design, electronic-component manufacturing and scientific research classifications. (companyinfo.nl) Related registrations for ICwaves MR B.V. and ICwaves Solutions B.V. suggest the founders may be structuring the business across more than one legal entity, though the companies have not publicly detailed that setup. (icwaves.net) ### What does “ASIC boutique” mean here? Philips job postings offer a picture of the kind of work such a team likely knows well. A July 6, 2026 posting for an Analog IC Designer in Eindhoven said Philips’ ASIC Design Group defines, prototypes and industrializes application-specific integrated circuits for medical and biomedical applications, including analog, digital and mixed-signal circuits for MRI and other businesses. (companyinfo.nl) A separate Philips posting for an IC systems architect tied similar work to intravascular ultrasound applications in Eindhoven. Those postings do not identify ICwaves staff, but they show the kind of medical and mixed-signal ASIC experience that exists inside Philips’ local design organization. ### Why are buyers watching firms like this? (philips.talent-pool.com) Bits&Chips framed the ICwaves launch as part of a market in which experienced teams believe there is room for independent custom-silicon specialists. In that setup, buyers are not only comparing years of experience; they are also comparing whether a small firm can manage IP blocks, design tools, foundry coordination and program risk. (philips.talent-pool.com) Electronic Design reported this week that communications systems are moving from FPGAs toward ASIC architectures for power, integration and long-term reliability reasons. EDN separately noted that ASIC economics depend not just on engineering labor but also on software tools and prototype fabrication, which raises the stakes for customers choosing outside design partners. ### What can be verified now — and what cannot? (companyinfo.nl) May 26, 2026 is the clearest hard date available so far: that is the registration date shown in Dutch company data for ICwaves B.V. The company’s site confirms it is live, but it does not yet name executives, customers or projects in public-facing material. (bits-chips.com) Philips continues to advertise ASIC-related roles in Eindhoven, and Bits&Chips has identified ICwaves as a Philips spinout. The next concrete public markers are likely to be leadership disclosures, customer announcements or a fuller website launch from ICwaves itself. (philips.talent-pool.com) (companyinfo.nl)