VLSI Reactor is a thematic startup accelerator that aims to enforce a revolution in the semiconductors industry in Egypt. It’s specialized in generating and bootstrapping innovative and financially-promising semiconductors’ startups. Those dreaming of founding the next Intel or Apple should find their way to the VLSI Reactor to make their dreams come true. Other than being thematic, VLSI Reactor d
ifferentiates itself from competition by a longer intake period of 6 months. During which, the Reactor will offer an immersive adaptive training for its startups on both technical and business fronts, aside from the continuous conventional mentoring. On the mentoring side, mentors will be more dedicated as they will be given equity in the startups they will support. Every week, a whole day will be dedicated for business training by top-notch business experts who will help reactor entrepreneurs brand their startups, write business proposals and understand market economics and whatever business aspect they may face during their launch. A similar day will be dedicated for technical training in fields like ASIC/FPGA Design and Implementation, OVM/UVM Verification, Synthesis, Timing Analysis & Closure, Power-Aware Design, Back-End Physical Design, Embedded Systems, PCB System Design, Software Development of EDA Tools, CAD Administration, etc. The technical training will be modulated according to the specific track of each startup. Located at the heart of Tahrir Square, VLSI Reactor will dedicate a server for each startup with high-speed internet connection to work on locally or remotely. The legacy major obstacles that may face a VLSI entrepreneur during bootstrapping are:
• The high cost of EDA tools.
• The high fabrication cost, like ASIC tape-out.
• The lack of full-development-cycle or production experience at some VLSI passionate entrepreneurs.
• The difficulty of finding a customer or raising fund. In the VLSI Reactor, we mitigated all those obstacles by offering all the required EDA tools. We also have subsidized tape-out prototyping rates in most famous fabrication houses. The Reactor will also connect its young entrepreneurs to the network of the most experienced experts in the VLSI field in Egypt. This allows the passion and talent to meet the experience for a successful partnership. A “League of Extra-Ordinary Gentlemen” is formed to be an advisory board for the VLSI Reactor startups. It's mainly composed out of a network of Egyptian VLSI veterans living outside Egypt and working for wide range of semiconductors’ industry gurus in different Silicon Valleys, in North America, Europe and the Far East. The main role of this advisory board is to help the Reactor startups touch base on hot industrial topics and market trends plus linking them to international customers. Aside from hooking the Reactor startups with customers, the VLSI Reactor will help its entrepreneurs get financed for round-2 even before graduation. This can come in the form of 3rd party equity investment or R&D grant. Eligibility Criteria:
To be eligible for the VLSI Reactor’s fund and enjoy all offerings mentioned, you need to be a team of at least 2 full timers. Investors don’t like to put their money neither on single entrepreneurs nor people who don’t believe in themselves. Entrepreneur should share the investor the risk he is taking when decided to invest in his startup. Being a part timer means you can leave back to your original job anytime and make the investor lose all his investment. For those who don’t like to start their own business in the VLSI field, but still want to enjoy the fruitful environment of the VLSI Design centers with all the technical and business offerings mentioned (except for the hands-on business training), they can still join the VLSI Reactor as individuals but they will have to pay for what they get. The monthly fee would be around 1500 L.E. per person.
