Defacto Technologies, founded in Grenoble in 2003 and led by chief executive Chouki Aktouf, makes SoC Compiler, software that automates the assembly of systems-on-chip, the chips that combine processor cores, memory and many other blocks of intellectual property. The EIC Accelerator granted €2,499,999 towards a total cost of €4,078,656 for EmpoSoC, "a paradigm change for system-on-chip design", which ran from April 2024 to September 2026, according to CORDIS. The project report says Defacto extended SoC Compiler to generate pre-connected subsystems and complete systems for Arm and open-source RISC-V designs, focusing on IoT and high-performance computing, according to CORDIS.
On 21 July 2026 Siemens announced an agreement to acquire Defacto to extend its electronic design automation (EDA) portfolio with automated SoC design creation, according to Siemens. The terms were not disclosed, and completion of the deal has not been separately announced. In August 2026 Dominique Thiriet was registered as Defacto's director general, according to the official gazette BODACC.
Company file
- Legal entity
- Defacto Technologies SAS, SIREN 449 565 241
- Founded
- July 2003, Grenoble
- CEO
- Chouki Aktouf
- Product
- SoC Compiler, SoC Planner
- Acquirer
- Siemens, announced July 2026
- EIC funding
- Grant first, €2.5M
Where Defacto Stands Now
Defacto is becoming part of Siemens EDA. Before the deal it added an AI layer to SoC Compiler that generates pre-synthesis SoCs and subsystems, shown at the Design Automation Conference in 2026, and it developed SoC Planner, a design exploration tool, in three years of collaborative research with the French research agency CEA, according to Defacto.
"Joining Siemens represents an important next step for our organization and our customers."
Chouki Aktouf, CEO, July 2026The Technology: Assembling Chips Automatically
Modern chips integrate hundreds of blocks, and connecting them by hand at the register-transfer level is slow and error-prone, Siemens says. Defacto's tools build and restructure the design automatically from a unified database, handling connectivity, timing constraints and power intent. EmpoSoC added the ability to reuse information from previous projects and to generate subsystems from minimal user requirements.
What the EIC Award Promised, and What the Record Shows
EmpoSoC promised a new way to design systems-on-chip with better performance, shorter time to market and lower cost. The record shows the subsystem generation working, a new AI-assisted release and a major EDA vendor buying the technology. The project's final report is not yet public.
- Subsystem generationDeliveredProject report.
- Arm and RISC-V supportDelivered2025 release.
- AI-assisted designReleasedDAC 2026.
- Commercial scale-upVia SiemensAcquisition, 2026.
The Money
Defacto's published revenue ranged from €1.5 million to €3 million between 2018 and 2023, while its net profit ranged from €0.47 million to €1.96 million. How much of that profit came from sales rather than other income is not public. In 2024 it reported a net profit of €4.47 million, with revenue filed as confidential, according to the INPI financial ratios dataset.
What Cannot Be Checked
Questions for the EIC
What Siemens paid, whether the deal has closed, what share of Defacto's profit came from public money, and whether the EmpoSoC results remain available to European users under Siemens are not public.
Why Europe Should Care
A European EDA tool, part-funded by the EIC and supporting the open RISC-V architecture, now goes to Siemens, a German group. That keeps it European, but inside one of the large vendors rather than as an independent challenger.
What the award promised
A paradigm change in how systems-on-chip are designed.
What the record shows
Working subsystem generation, steady profits and an exit to Siemens.
The Verdict
Delivered, then sold
Defacto built what the EIC paid for and found a buyer. The technology now serves Siemens' portfolio.
Defacto Technologies, Siemens and the EIC have not been asked for comment for this article. It is based entirely on public records and published statements, linked throughout.
