The SANDSTORM project confirms its position as a strategic ecosystem for national technological innovation. It is against this backdrop that Spoke 7 has developed Polheepo, the ‘Made in Italy’ chip designed to address the challenges of digital sovereignty and emerging technologies. 

A scientific and technological achievement

Developed and tested within Spoke 7 of Fondazione SERICS with the support of Politecnico di Torino, the Polheepo chip is not only a significant technological milestone, but also the culmination of cutting-edge research published in 2025 by the project team.

In a global market characterised by pressures in semiconductor supply chains and technological dependence on the major producing countries, Polheepo is a concrete Italian response to the need for technological autonomy. 

Chips are, in fact, now critical components in today’s digital ecosystem, playing a vital role in sectors such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), post-quantum cryptography and IoT (Internet of Things) infrastructure.

 

SANDSTORM’s legacy

Polheepo’s success embodies the aim of the SANDSTORM project: to strengthen Italy’s digital independence by promoting innovation, expertise and world-class research within the Partnership’s research activities. This achievement shows how Spoke 7’s cutting-edge scientific research and collaborative infrastructure are yielding tangible results, positioning Italy at the forefront of critical technologies in Europe.

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To learn more about the Polheepo chip and digital sovereignty, please see the article published on Cybersecurity360