# Microchip buys rad-hard chipmaker VORAGO and the hardening process it licenses out In 2023, the foundry SkyWater said it would offer the process, HARDSIL, to its customers. Microchip gave no terms in its announcement and doesn't expect the deal to be material. Published 2026-10-10 by TGOs. Canonical: https://tgos.io/news/2026/10/10/microchip-buys-rad-hard-chipmaker-vorago-and-the-hardening/ Microchip Technology said Friday, Oct. 9, that it has acquired VORAGO Technologies, a privately held Austin, Texas, provider of radiation-hardened and radiation-tolerant microcontrollers and microprocessors.[1] The deal also brings Microchip HARDSIL, the patented hardening process VORAGO licenses.[1] Microchip says HARDSIL can enhance the radiation tolerance of existing products without a redesign.[1] In January 2023, SkyWater Technology announced a partnership to move VORAGO's fabrication to its Category 1A Trusted Foundry, accredited by the Defense Microelectronics Activity.[3][4] SkyWater said HARDSIL would be available to SkyWater customers for new or existing designs, and that other semiconductor suppliers had used it under license.[3] The process now belongs to a broadline chip supplier that already sells rad-hard parts for space, including the SAMRH71, an in-production rad-hard Arm Cortex-M7 microcontroller for aerospace applications.[1][5][6] On the chip side, Microchip says VORAGO's family complements its existing aerospace and defense lines.[1] VORAGO announced in September 2024 that the Defense Logistics Agency had granted it Qualified Manufacturers List (QML) certification at class Q and V radiation hardness.[8] Its flight heritage page lists a September 2025 Space Development Agency Tranche 1 launch among select missions, alongside NASA's Artemis II and Blue Origin's New Glenn flights.[7] ## Why it matters Neither acquisition announcement says what happens to existing HARDSIL licenses or VORAGO's 2023 SkyWater partnership. The next word from Microchip or SkyWater on those arrangements will show who outside Microchip can use the process. ## Sources 1. Microchip Technology: Microchip Technology Acquires VORAGO Technologies (Oct. 9, 2026) 2. VORAGO Technologies: Microchip Technology Acquires VORAGO Technologies (Oct. 9, 2026) 3. SkyWater Technology: VORAGO Technologies to Move All its Manufacturing Stateside in Strategic Partnership with SkyWater's Trusted Foundry (Jan. 24, 2023) 4. SkyWater Technology: RH90: The Next-Generation Stateside Strategic Rad-Hard by Process Technology (March 14, 2023) 5. Microchip Technology: SAMRH71 product page 6. Microchip Technology: Space solutions 7. VORAGO Technologies: Flight heritage 8. VORAGO Technologies: Press releases