“The next wave of innovation arises where hardware, software, safety and security interact seamlessly. This is fundamentally changing the role of semiconductor companies: today, the demand is no longer just for individual components, but for integrated system solutions. Austria is making an important contribution to this. With our sites in Gratkorn and Vienna, we combine expertise in security, embedded systems and software, thereby strengthening both the innovative capacity of the region and Europe’s technological competitiveness,” reports Wolfgang Steinbauer, CTO of NXP Austria and SVP Global Crypto and Security at NXP Semiconductors.

“Europe’s strength in the semiconductor sector extends far beyond the chip itself. It encompasses the entire technological value chain, from research and process development through to manufacturing and market-ready solutions. Semiconductor manufacturing plant and equipment lie at the heart of this value chain and form the bridge between innovation and industrial production. Southern Austria is home to a highly concentrated ecosystem of research institutions, technology companies and industrial partners that enables this development. EBSCON brings these areas of expertise together, fosters collaboration and drives forward the next generation of semiconductor technologies,” says Peter Strutzmann, Senior Manager, Innovation, Funding & Research Cooperation, Lam Research AG, Villach.

From Infineon’s perspective, too, southern Austria plays an important role in the European semiconductor ecosystem – here, universities, research institutions, industry and start-ups work together to foster international competitiveness and innovation.

Stefan Rohringer, Country R&D Officer at Infineon Technologies Austria AG, comments: “Semiconductors form the basis of many future technologies such as artificial intelligence, robotics and quantum computing, and are therefore a crucial driver of innovation and competitiveness. The future is not created in silos, but where research, industry and entrepreneurship successfully work together. Innovative start-ups also make an important contribution to this. We are therefore all the more delighted to be represented at EBSCON with the Infineon Start-up Challenge on the topic of robotics, providing a platform for promising ideas. As Infineon, we have been part of the Austrian tech ecosystem for more than 55 years and are helping to sustainably strengthen the region’s innovative capacity and international competitiveness.”

As part of EBSCON 2026, Austrian entrepreneur and investor Hermann Hauser will deliver a keynote address on ‘The Scale Up Europe Fund’ – exploring how innovations can be scaled up more quickly and how the transition from technological excellence to global competitiveness can be achieved. In doing so, Hauser adapts Bill Clinton’s famous phrase “It’s the economy, stupid!” to the present day, putting forward the thesis “It’s technology, stupid!”

Big days in the south: EBSCON Week

Taking place for the second time this year, EBSCON is also part of the EBSCON Week series of events from 6 to 9 October 2026, kicking off with the Infineon Startup Challenge Demo Day (Tuesday, 6 October) in Graz, followed by EBSCON on Wednesday, the first Carinthia Applied Systems Day ‘Robotics’ (Thursday 8 October) in Klagenfurt, and company visits for international delegations from Sweden, the Netherlands and Japan in Carinthia and Styria on 8 and 9 October 2026.

“With this year’s EBSCON, hosted in the European model region of Southern Austria, we are sending a strong signal that, in future, global markets can and must depend on Europe’s technologies – and not the other way round,” says Cluster Director Robert Gfrerer, looking ahead to the future.