Qualinx Raises €20M to Scale Market-Ready, Ultra-Low-Power GNSS Chip that Redefines the Connected Edge

Led by Invest-NL, the funding accelerates mass production of Qualinx’s QLX3Gx Series 3 chip, strengthening Europe’s semiconductor sovereignty and bringing affordable, ultra-low-power connectivity to every application and device

DELFT, The Netherlands & LAS VEGAS: #AssetTracking--Qualinx, the European semiconductor company redefining ultra-low-power connectivity at the connected edge, today announced a €20 million investment led by Invest‑NL, with additional participation from existing investors FORWARD.one, InnovationQuarter Capital and Waterman Ventures, and brings Qualinx’s total funding to date to €40 million. The funding supports and accelerates Qualinx’s growth to scale mass production of its market-ready QLX3Gx Series GNSS chip and fulfill demand from global OEMs across consumer electronics, including wearables, pet trackers, IoT, drones and UAVs, vehicle and asset tracking, telecommunications, satellites and more. A series B round is planned in H2 2026.

“The market has been forced to accept traditional semiconductor trade-offs in GNSS for far too long,” said Qualinx CEO Tom Trill. “With Qualinx, those trade-offs are now a thing of the past. Our market-ready QLX3Gx Series GNSS chip delivers ultra-low power consumption without compromising performance at a reduced system cost compared to incumbent solutions, democratizing access to connectivity and making GNSS viable at scale.”

The latest financing comes as governments and enterprises reassess their exposure to fragile, globally concentrated semiconductor supply chains and as demand for energy-efficient edge computing grows. Qualinx stands out as a European deep-tech company that combines European IP, European manufacturing, and hardware-level security to deliver resilient, ultra-low-power connectivity that does not rely on cloud-based processing. The QLX3Gx Series is manufactured in Dresden, Germany, by GlobalFoundries, anchoring production within the European Union and reducing supply-chain risk.

From Research Breakthrough to Scalable Production.

Founded in 2015 as a spin-off of TU Delft, Qualinx has methodically advanced its proprietary Digital Radio Frequency (DRF) technology from academic research to validated silicon and now into scalable, real-world deployment. DRF transfers a substantial portion of a wireless chip’s traditionally analog functions to the digital domain. The architecture of the QLX3Gx unlocks CMOS scaling for GNSS and other radios, delivering dramatic reductions in power consumption, chip size and cost, while allowing radios to be configured and reconfigured with software for different applications over time, extending product lifelines and enabling a single chip to support multiple applications.

QLX3Gx Series Chip: Key Features and Benefits:

• Market-Ready and Built for Scale: Highly integrated single-chip design combines an ultra-low-power Digital RF Front End with an advanced GNSS Digital Baseband engine, ready for high-volume production and OEM deployment.
• Ultra-Low-Power for Battery-Constrained Devices: Positioning and tracking account for up to 40–45% of total power consumption in wearables and connected devices. The QLX3Gx Series dramatically reduces this drain, using up to 10× less energy than conventional GNSS chips and significantly extending battery life and device longevity.
• Smallest-in-Class Form Factor: With a compact 5 × 5 mm footprint and on-die integration of numerous peripheral components, the QLX3Gx enables thinner, lighter designs and unlocks new form factors for wearables, pet trackers, IoT, asset trackers, UAVs and drones, where size and power budgets are critical.
• High-Performance Positioning: Delivers up to 5x the performance of conventional GNSS solutions while eliminating the traditional trade-off between power consumption and accuracy.
• Concurrent Multi-Constellation and Simultaneous Multi-Band Processing: Supports concurrent tracking of six constellations (GPS, Galileo, GLONASS, Beidou, IRNSS, QZSS and SBAS) and simultaneous multi-band processing, delivering superior accuracy and signal reliability compared to single-band solutions commonly used today.
• Hardware-Level Security and Resilience: Tracking is performed natively on-chip, not in the cloud, improving resilience to spoofing, jamming and interference.
• Endlessly Reconfigurable Architecture: Software-configurable radios allow OEMs to adapt functionality over time without hardware replacement-extending product lifecycles, reducing electronic waste, and fundamentally improving the economics and sustainability of connectivity.
• OSNMA-Ready: Qualinx has collaborated with EUSPA, the European Union Agency for the Space Programme, to fully integrate the Galileo OSNMA (Open Service Navigation Message Authentication) protocols, ensuring signal robustness and system resilience. The collaboration underscores Qualinx’s credibility in mission-critical GNSS environments where accuracy, reliability and security are non-negotiable.

“Qualinx is a standout example of Dutch deep-tech innovation in strategic semiconductor technology,” said Johan Stins, Senior Investment Manager at Invest-NL. “With its extremely energy-efficient and reconfigurable GNSS chip, Qualinx strengthens European technological autonomy and contributes to a more sustainable digital infrastructure.”

Ahead of mass production in 2026, OEMs are invited to register interest in the Qualinx developer kit to secure hands-on evaluation of the QLX3Gx Series for upcoming consumer, industrial and mobility applications.

Qualinx will showcase its technology at CES 2026 from January 6-9, as part of the NL Tech Pavilion at Eureka Park, Hall G, Booth 62100 in the Venetian Expo. Contact qualinx@wearemgp.com to set up a meeting at CES 2026, or learn more at https://www.qualinx.io.

About Qualinx

Qualinx is a deep-tech fabless semiconductor company redefining the connected edge by making ultra-low-power connectivity accessible to every application and device. Originating from research at TU Delft, Qualinx’s Digital Radio Frequency (DRF) technology enables highly efficient, reconfigurable GNSS and IoT chips designed for scalable, real-world deployment and long device lifecycles.

Headquartered in Delft, The Netherlands, Qualinx is a privately held company backed by Invest-NL, FORWARD.one, InnovationQuarter Capital and Waterman Ventures. Follow Qualinx on LinkedIn or learn more at https://qualinx.io.

About Invest-NL

Invest-NL is the National Promotional Institution of the Netherlands, committed to driving a sustainable and innovative future. We accelerate and finance major societal transitions across agrifood, bio-based and circular economy, deep tech, energy, and life sciences and health.

As a system player, we connect innovative entrepreneurs, financiers, knowledge institutions, and governments-both in the Netherlands and abroad. We remove barriers, mobilise capital, and help develop emerging sectors. Through capital, expertise, and new financial instruments, we invest in tomorrow’s solutions. That is how we create impact.

Fonte: Business Wire