Q. Pavona introduces a new open-source silicon distribution model focused on certification-ready secure silicon. What industry challenges or market gaps motivated the creation of Pavona, and why is this initiative particularly relevant at this stage of the semiconductor industry’s evolution? 

Modern silicon development is becoming increasingly complex and fragmented. A single chip may incorporate IP from multiple suppliers, open-source components, proprietary technologies, and software developed by different organisations. At the same time, demand for trusted silicon is expanding rapidly across markets such as AI infrastructure, automotive, industrial systems, and connected devices. The challenge is that, while innovation has accelerated, integrating, validating, and securing these components remains complex and costly.

Many organisations are solving the same problems repeatedly—whether that is implementing roots of trust, integrating cryptography, establishing secure boot processes, or preparing designs for security evaluation. This duplication slows development, increases costs, and can introduce inconsistencies in how security is implemented across industries.

What makes this moment particularly significant is the convergence of several major trends. AI is driving demand for specialized silicon. Chiplet-based architectures are making system designs more modular. Meanwhile, regulators, customers, and certification schemes are placing greater emphasis on demonstrable security and assurance.

The industry has mature examples of open-source collaboration in software, where shared infrastructure allows organizations to focus effort on differentiation rather than rebuilding common foundations. Silicon development is beginning to follow a similar path. The opportunity is not simply to make hardware more open, but to create reusable, production-quality building blocks that can be adopted, validated, and improved by a broader community.

As systems become more interconnected and security-critical, the ability to build on trusted, well-maintained foundations will become increasingly important for organisations of all sizes.

Q. One of Pavona’s major differentiators is the inclusion of a production-grade post-quantum cryptography stack for embedded silicon. How significant is the transition to post-quantum security for semiconductor and embedded system developers, and what adoption challenges still remain?

The transition to PQC is one of the most significant security shifts the technology industry has faced in decades. Unlike previous cryptographic migrations, this one is being driven by a future threat rather than a current one. While large-scale quantum computers capable of breaking today’s public-key cryptography may not yet exist, many connected devices being designed today are expected to remain in service for decades. That means developers need to start planning now.

For semiconductor and embedded system developers, the challenge extends beyond simply replacing one algorithm with another. PQC algorithms can have different performance, memory, power, and silicon area requirements compared to traditional cryptography. Designers need confidence that these technologies can be implemented efficiently without compromising cost, battery life, or device performance.

A further challenge is the scale of the transition. Hardware, firmware, software, certification processes, and supply chains all need to evolve together. Organisations are understandably cautious about adopting new cryptographic technologies that will underpin long-lived products.

What is encouraging is that the conversation has moved beyond theory. The focus is increasingly on practical implementation, interoperability, and real-world performance. As standards mature and deployment experience grows, the industry’s attention is shifting from whether post-quantum security will be required to how quickly it can be integrated into production systems. The organisations that begin preparing now will be in a far stronger position than those waiting for the transition to become urgent.

Q. Pavona moves away from monolithic open-source chip designs toward a modular, composable framework. How does this approach improve flexibility for organisations developing silicon across AI, automotive, datacenter, and IoT applications? 

A: Different markets have very different requirements, but they often rely on many of the same underlying security and infrastructure components. An automotive platform, an AI accelerator, and an industrial IoT device may all require trusted boot, cryptographic services, key management, and device identity, even though their performance and functional requirements differ dramatically.

Historically, organisations have often had to choose between adopting a complete reference design or building these capabilities themselves. Neither approach is ideal. Complete designs can be difficult to adapt to specific requirements, while developing everything from scratch consumes valuable engineering resources.

A composable approach provides a middle ground. Instead of treating silicon designs as monolithic projects, developers can assemble systems from reusable building blocks that have been designed, validated, and maintained by a broader community. This allows organisations to focus effort on the areas that create competitive differentiation rather than repeatedly solving common infrastructure problems.

This becomes particularly important as chiplet architectures and heterogeneous computing platforms become more common. Future systems are increasingly being assembled from components developed by different teams, suppliers, and technology partners. A modular approach aligns naturally with that trend.

Ultimately, flexibility is not just about reducing development effort. It is about enabling organizations to move faster, adapt designs more easily, and incorporate new technologies without having to redesign entire platforms whenever requirements change.

Q. The initiative brings together a broad ecosystem of semiconductor companies, AI firms, research institutions, and IP providers. How important is cross-industry collaboration in building trusted, certification-ready open-source silicon platforms that can achieve commercial scale? 

A: No single organisation possesses all the expertise required to address the security, performance, verification, certification, and deployment challenges involved in modern silicon development. The complexity of today’s semiconductor ecosystem makes collaboration a necessity rather than a preference.

Research institutions often lead innovation in areas such as cryptography and security architectures. Semiconductor companies contribute practical implementation experience and product requirements. IP providers bring specialised capabilities, while system developers provide insight into real-world deployment challenges. Each plays a different but essential role in moving technologies from research into production.

Collaboration is particularly important for security technologies because trust cannot be established in isolation. Broad review, transparent development processes, and diverse technical input generally lead to stronger and more resilient solutions. They also help accelerate adoption by giving organisations confidence that technologies have been scrutinised by a wider community rather than developed behind closed doors.

Open-source software has demonstrated the value of this model over many years. Some of the most widely deployed technologies in the world are maintained through collaborative ecosystems rather than by individual companies acting alone.

For silicon, the opportunity is similar. By bringing together stakeholders from across the value chain, the industry can reduce duplicated effort, share expertise, and establish common foundations that benefit everyone. That creates a stronger basis for commercial adoption than any single organisation could achieve independently.

Q. Pavona’s governance model combines community-driven development with certification alignment for standards such as FIPS 140-3 and Common Criteria. How do you see open-source silicon balancing innovation speed with the rigorous security and compliance requirements of commercial deployments? 

A: There is sometimes a perception that openness and assurance are competing objectives, but in practice they can be highly complementary. Open development can accelerate innovation by encouraging broader participation, faster feedback, and greater transparency. At the same time, commercial deployments require evidence that security claims have been validated through structured and repeatable processes.

The challenge is not choosing between innovation and assurance. It is creating development models that support both.

Many organisations are interested in open-source technologies but remain concerned about the effort required to integrate them into products that must satisfy customer, regulatory, or certification requirements. If security evaluation is treated as an afterthought, the cost and complexity can increase significantly.

By considering assurance requirements earlier in the development process, it becomes easier to build solutions that are both innovative and deployable. This does not eliminate the need for formal evaluation, but it can reduce friction between development and certification activities.

The broader industry is moving toward greater accountability in how security is implemented and maintained. Customers increasingly expect evidence, not just claims. Regulators are demanding more transparency, while critical industries require higher levels of assurance than ever before.

In that environment, success will depend on combining the speed and collaborative benefits of open development with the discipline required for long-term commercial deployment. The organisations that can achieve both will be best positioned to build trusted platforms at scale.

Q. Looking ahead, how do you expect open-source silicon initiatives such as Pavona to influence the future semiconductor landscape, particularly as AI infrastructure, chiplet architectures, and secure edge computing continue to expand globally?

A: The semiconductor industry is entering a period where system complexity is growing faster than any single organisation can manage alone. AI infrastructure is driving demand for increasingly specialised hardware. Chiplet architectures are enabling systems to be assembled from multiple components rather than built as single monolithic devices. At the edge, billions of connected systems must operate securely in environments that are often difficult to update or manage.

These trends create significant opportunities, but they also increase the importance of interoperability, reuse, and trust.

Open-source silicon is unlikely to replace proprietary innovation. Instead, it is more likely to change where innovation occurs. Organisations will continue to differentiate through architecture, performance, software, and system-level capabilities, while relying more heavily on shared foundations for common security and infrastructure functions.

A similar transition has already occurred in software. Open-source platforms did not eliminate competition; they accelerated it by reducing duplicated effort and allowing developers to focus on higher-value problems.

Over time, we are likely to see greater reuse of validated silicon components, broader collaboration across the ecosystem, and stronger links between open development and security assurance. As AI, edge computing, and heterogeneous system design continue to expand, the ability to build on trusted and widely adopted foundations will become increasingly valuable.

The long-term impact may be a semiconductor industry that can innovate more rapidly while maintaining higher levels of security, transparency, and confidence across the supply chain.