Athens-based semiconductor start-up Circuits Integrated Hellas (CIH) has closed a pre-seed round led by Greek deep-tech fund Evercurious VC, giving it the capital to move its flagship CI-ONE integrated Ka-band satcom module from tape-out into full commercial rollout. The company announced the funding on September 15, 2026, with the round closed earlier in July.
What CI-ONE Actually Does
CI-ONE fuses a Ka-band power amplifier and a single-pole-double-throw switch into one compact module, replacing pairs of discrete parts that today dominate satellite ground terminals. CIH claims the integrated design is roughly three times smaller than the incumbent PA-plus-SPDT combinations, up to 50% cheaper on a per-terminal basis and 20-25% more power-efficient — meaningful margins for LEO constellations pushing to bring per-terminal bills of materials down as they scale into the hundreds of thousands of user antennas.
Deep-Tech Bet From A Deep-Tech Fund
Evercurious VC has built its portfolio around Greek-founded science and engineering companies with global ambition, and CIH fits the mould. Founded in 2019, the company reports more than €2 million in cumulative revenue, 5x growth over two years, 10+ proprietary IP products, more than 30 tape-outs and access to over 20 foundry processes across silicon, GaAs and GaN. CEO Paolo Fioravanti said the fund understands both the opportunities and the challenges of turning differentiated deep-tech into shipping products — the piece where most European silicon startups stall.
Where CI-ONE Plugs In
The target markets are exactly where global satcom capex is going: high-throughput LEO satellite constellations, maritime and in-flight connectivity, defence multi-band radios and emergency-response terminals. Analog integration at Ka-band is a chokepoint the biggest RF houses are also racing to solve, and Circuits Integrated's positioning as a European alternative arrives at a moment when both Brussels and NATO are pushing sovereign supply chains for space-grade silicon — a theme also driving deals like EUCLYD's €231M Series A for European AI silicon and Europe's €300M push into space data through Open Cosmos.
Next Steps
The pre-seed will fund production ramp, qualification with Tier-1 satellite integrators and expansion of the design team beyond the founding cluster in Athens. Fioravanti has hinted at a Ku- and Q/V-band roadmap sharing the same PA-plus-SPDT integration recipe.
Reporting based on coverage from Electronics World and Circuits Integrated Hellas.