West Sweden - an important hub for Sweden's growing semiconductor industry

Business Sweden recently mapped the semiconductor ecosystem in Västra Götaland, Gothenburg’s county, on behalf of Business Region Göteborg and Region Västra Götaland.

Kent Jellmund, our investment advisor for ICT, co-coordinated the study.  

Tell us briefly about Gothenburg and West Sweden’s semiconductor landscape?  

The semiconductor ecosystem here is relatively small, but it is very innovative. We have over 35 core companies, mainly SMEs, with deep expertise in high frequency areas like RF, microwave, radar, and advanced sensors. Together they employ around 1,100 people, with steady growth over time, and generated over EUR 220 million in revenue last year. 

What stands out is the region’s strength in chip design, systems engineering, and advanced manufacturing. We are also seeing exciting developments in areas like quantum technologies, which is very closely connected to the semiconductor industry. 

The region is home to large automotive, ICT, aerospace and defence industries and they rely on semiconductors for production, R&D and operations. Companies like Volvo Trucks, Volvo Cars, SKF, Ericsson and Saab have major sites here and this creates strong local demand for semiconductor solutions and expertise. These companies also co-fund research, shape university curricula, host PhD students and have in-house chip design capabilities. So, they play an important role for our semiconductor cluster.

What are some of the strength areas in the region? 

Many of the core companies here are closely aligned with the regional industrial applications such as 5G infrastructure, advanced sensing solutions and autonomous platforms. 

On the research side, a key player is Chalmers in Gothenburg. It carries out advanced research in microelectronics, RF and photonics, advanced materials, power electronics, and quantum technologies. Across the region, we also have institutions that are strong in additive manufacturing, smart industry and textile innovation. 

What challenges exist in the region?

The region faces several challenges. One of them is a shortage of skills, with difficulties in finding the right expertise in areas such as chip design, hardware, and emerging technologies. At the same time, local production capacity is limited, resulting in a strong dependence on foreign suppliers. In addition, there is a lack of testing and prototyping equipment, which makes it harder to develop and verify products locally.

What are some of the growth areas? 

The global semiconductor industry is expected to grow significantly. This is driven by trends such as AI, electric and software driven vehicles, wireless communication and industrial automation.

In recent years, European share of value added in the industry has increased from 11% to 13%, making it the fastest growing region.

Semiconductors are seen as the foundation for Sweden’s industrial competitiveness, and bold investments are being made to strengthen its position in the global semiconductor landscape. A new national strategy was recently presented. The areas where Sweden has strengths and sees good growth potential are chip and electronic system architectures, power electronics, photonics, and analog, RF and mixed-signal systems. The strategy proposes major public and private investments, around SEK 2 billion annually through until 2035. This would strengthen Sweden’s capacity to design, integrate, validate and industrialise semiconductor-enabled systems. 

Within Sweden, what role can Gothenburg and West Sweden play? 

West Sweden can support the Swedish semiconductor strategy through its leading expertise in RF, chip design and system integration, as well as close connections to real industrial applications at multinational companies.

The region can also act as a test and industrialisation engine through, for example, Chalmers, Lindholmen Science Park and RISE. This will attract expertise and investments and translate national strategies into practical, competitive operations.

Facts about the semiconductor industry 

• 60% of companies in West Sweden’s semiconductor industry focus on chip design, including IDMs. 
• Employment in the regional chip industry grew by 14% between 2019 and 2022.
• The global semiconductor industry is expected to grow 3-4 times between 2022 and 2040. Automotive electronics (9-11%), wired communications (7-8%), industrial electronics (6-8%), and computing and data storage (4-8%) are expected to be the fastest growing segments. 
• Taiwan dominates advanced chip-making (< 10 nm) with 92% of global production, while South Korea and Japan lead memory chip-making.   

Link to report: The semiconductor industry in Gothenburg and Västra Götaland

Link to Sweden’s national semiconductor strategy

Curious to learn more about investing in Gothenburg’s semiconductor industry?

Kent Jellmund, our investment advisor for ICT, can provide you with insights, advice, practical support, and introductions to key stakeholders - to help you capture investment opportunities and elevate your business in Gothenburg. Our investment advisory services are free of charge and tailored to your needs.