Presto’s GFMicro Deal Forges a European ASIC Design Powerhouse

MEYREUIL, France – November 27, 2025 – In a strategic move poised to reshape the European semiconductor landscape, French ASIC leader Presto Engineering Group has acquired UK-based design specialist Garfield Microelectronics (GFMicro). The deal, announced today, creates what the companies are billing as Europe’s most comprehensive one-stop-shop for the design, development, and production of Application-Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs) — the custom-built chips that power innovation in everything from medical devices to military hardware.

This acquisition is more than a standard corporate merger; it represents a significant consolidation of European talent and capability at a time when technological sovereignty is a paramount concern. By vertically integrating GFMicro’s deep design expertise with its own robust manufacturing and supply chain services, Presto Engineering is making a bold statement about its ambition to become the continent's go-to partner for complex semiconductor projects. As Cédric Mayor, CEO of Presto Engineering, stated, the move reinforces their ambition to be the “largest and most trusted pure-play ASIC leader in Europe.”

The One-Stop-Shop Advantage

For Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) in high-stakes industries like industrial automation, aerospace, and medical technology, the journey from a chip concept to a mass-produced, reliable component is fraught with risk, delays, and logistical hurdles. OEMs often have to manage separate relationships with design houses, testing facilities, and foundries, a fragmented process that can stifle innovation and extend time-to-market.

The Presto-GFMicro combination directly tackles this challenge. GFMicro brings over 30 years of acclaimed experience in digital and analogue ASIC development, particularly in high-reliability and mixed-signal designs crucial for demanding environments. Presto Engineering complements this with its established, end-to-end service model covering everything from industrialization and testing to full-scale production and supply chain management.

“With Presto’s backing, GFMicro can accelerate its growth, expand its capabilities, and deliver an unrivalled one-stop shop for customers,” noted Rod Oldfield, CEO of GFMicro, who will now serve as Vice President for Presto Engineering in the UK. This integrated model promises to de-risk the entire process for clients. Instead of navigating a complex web of vendors, an OEM can now approach a single, accountable partner to take a custom silicon idea from a napkin sketch to millions of finished units. This streamlined pathway is critical for accelerating the deployment of next-generation technologies in smart mobility, defense, and communications, where specialized, high-performance chips provide the ultimate competitive edge.

Integrating Decades of Expertise

Successful acquisitions in the tech sector are often determined less by financial synergy and more by the effective integration of talent and culture. Presto Engineering appears keenly aware of this, signaling a strategy of preservation and empowerment rather than absorption. The GFMicro brand, a name synonymous with quality in the UK’s semiconductor scene for three decades, will be retained as “GFMicro by Presto Engineering.” Furthermore, its operations will continue from its established bases in Stroud and Bristol, ensuring continuity for its expert team and existing client base.

The retention of key leadership, with Rod Oldfield taking a senior role within Presto, underscores a commitment to harnessing GFMicro’s institutional knowledge. GFMicro’s team possesses a valuable portfolio of silicon-proven custom IP blocks and a deep understanding of the stringent requirements for military, aerospace, and industrial applications. This specialized expertise is not easily replicated and represents the core asset Presto sought in the acquisition. By combining GFMicro’s design prowess with its own €60 million revenue target for 2025 and ambitions to double in size within five years, Presto is creating a formidable entity built on a foundation of complementary strengths.

A Strategic Play in Europe’s Chip Race

This acquisition does not exist in a vacuum. It lands squarely in the context of the European Chips Act, a landmark initiative mobilizing over €43 billion in public and private investment to double the EU’s global semiconductor market share to 20% by 2030. The Act’s primary goals are to bolster the continent's technological resilience, reduce its critical dependency on non-European supply chains, and foster a world-class innovation ecosystem.

Presto’s move is a textbook example of the kind of industry-led action the Chips Act was designed to encourage. By consolidating two European players into a more powerful, vertically integrated entity, the deal directly strengthens the region’s capacity across the semiconductor value chain. It addresses a known gap in the ecosystem, enhancing Europe’s design capabilities, which are a crucial precursor to manufacturing. With the European ASIC design services market projected to grow from approximately $2.5 billion in 2024 to over $4 billion by 2032, this acquisition positions the combined company to capture a significant share of that expansion.

More importantly, it provides European OEMs with a robust local partner, reducing the need to look to North America or Asia for complex ASIC projects. This not only strengthens regional supply chains but also keeps valuable intellectual property and economic benefits within Europe. The creation of a seamless “design-to-production” pipeline within the continent is a tangible step toward the technological sovereignty that policymakers have been championing.

As the global race for semiconductor supremacy intensifies, this consolidation of specialized expertise and production capability marks a pivotal moment. The newly fortified Presto Engineering is now better positioned to compete not just with other specialized service providers but also to offer a compelling alternative to the larger, less flexible semiconductor giants. For industries reliant on custom silicon to drive their next wave of innovation, the emergence of a stronger, integrated European ASIC champion is welcome news indeed.