Silicon Box to invest €3.2bn in first European plant in Novara

Singapore-based chipmaker Silicon Box is building its first European plant in Novara (Piedmont) for chiplet integration, advanced packaging and semiconductor testing for AI and HPC applications; total investment €3.2bn, including €1.3bn in Italian state support, and around 1,600 direct jobs. At a meeting with regional president Alberto Cirio and mayor Alessandro Canelli in Novara on 18 Sept 2026, industry minister Adolfo Urso announced that Invitalia's decision allocating the funding would come by the end of the month ("Entro la fine del mese, questo percorso si concretizzerà con la delibera di Invitalia per l'assegnazione del finanziamento"). The development agreement (Accordo di sviluppo) had already been signed at the ministry in March 2026; construction is due to start in spring 2027 (Corriere di Novara, 18 Sept 2026; Newsnovara, 19 Sept 2026). Update (01.10.2026): Invitalia's board approved the project ("Progetto Vulcan") together with €1.3bn in public support under the European Chips Act framework; the project documents are to be submitted by the end of 2026, after which a single authorisation (autorizzazione unica) is required, with construction scheduled to start in spring 2027 (Piedmont Region).