Overview
It was founded in 2015 as a spin-off from KU Leuven and SCK CEN, the Belgian nuclear research centre, by Jens Verbeeck and Ying Cao, who developed a radiation-hardening-by-design methodology during their PhD research in the MICAS research group at KU Leuven. Verbeeck is chief executive officer and Cao is chief technology officer. The chips are grouped into product families for vision, timing, motion control, AI processing, communication and power, and are specified to withstand up to 100 Mrad total ionising dose. Magics raised 2.4 million euros in 2021 from Invest for Jobs, the Gemma Frisius Fund and KU Leuven, and 5.7 million euros in April 2025, when the Flanders Future Tech Fund managed by PMV joined. A second closing in October 2025 brought that round to 9.7 million euros and was led by SC One, a vehicle of the Schaubroeck family and the Cipal intercommunal.
Funding history
- 2021 round: 2.4M EUR led by Invest for Jobs, with the Gemma Frisius Fund and KU Leuven
- April 2025 round: 5.7M EUR with the Flanders Future Tech Fund managed by PMV joining Invest for Jobs, KU Leuven Research & Development, the Gemma Frisius Fund and the founders
- October 2025 second closing: 4M EUR led by SC One, bringing the round to 9.7M EUR, with PMV, KU Leuven Research & Development, the Gemma Frisius Fund, Invest for Jobs, SCK CEN and the founders following on
Stated facts & numbers
- Founded: 2015
- Headquarters: Cipalstraat 3, 2440 Geel
- CEO: Jens Verbeeck, co-founder
- CTO: Ying Cao, co-founder
- COO: Hagen Marien
- CFO: Marijke Vanderstukken
- Employees: 42 full-time
- Origin: Spin-off from KU Leuven and SCK CEN
- Business model: Off-the-shelf chips, custom IC design services and IP licensing
- Product families: Vision, Time, Motion, AI, Communication, Power
- Markets: Space, nuclear, defence and aerospace
- Customers and partners: European Space Agency, ITER, Fusion for Energy, Veolia Nuclear Solutions
- US office: Osceola County, Florida, opened August 2026
- EU funding: Selected for the EIC Accelerator in February 2026 with the HEROS project
Key people
In the news
- We’re heading to @RADECS 2026 in Prague. From 28 September to 2 October, meet the Magics team at booths #64–65 to explore our critical electronics for demanding space and nuclear applications, built on scalable standard CMOS technology. Our portfolio spans Clock & Timing, Imaging, and Motion Control & Sensor Interfaces, bringing critical functions to chip level to simplify high-reliability systems. Magics will also be part of the technical program. @Maarten Strackx will present our work on the single-event characterization of
- Magics will participate in IEEE WiSEE 2026 in Leuven, Belgium. WiSEE brings together researchers, engineers, and industry experts working on wireless technologies for space and extreme environments, including communications, sensing, satellite systems, and mission-critical architectures. As a sponsor, Magics will contribute to the discussion on space-grade CMOS ICs and critical electronics for reliable operation in radiation environments. 📅 14–16 September 2026 📍 Leuven, Belgium If you are attending WiSEE 2026, let’s connect.
- Live from Bengaluru Space Expo (BSX) 2026. Magics is at Booth C12 with our distributor Muspark Technologies Private Limited, meeting teams across the Indian space ecosystem and following up on design wins and ongoing evaluations with our components in India. A good opportunity to discuss space-grade CMOS ICs, radiation-tolerant electronics, and critical components for space applications. 📅 7–9 September 2026 📍 Bengaluru, India 📌 Booth C12 #BSX2026 #SpaceElectronics #Semiconductors #SpaceTech #Magics
- Magics will be represented at Bengaluru Space Expo 2026 by our distributor Muspark Technologies Private Limited. Bengaluru Space Expo (BSX) brings together the Indian and international space ecosystem to discuss satellite systems, space applications, emerging technologies, and the future of the space economy. Through MUSPAK, visitors will be able to learn more about Magics’ space-graded IC portfolio, built on scalable standard CMOS technology for mission-critical space architectures. 📅 7–9 September 2026 📍 Bangalore International
- We’re live at SmallSat 2026 until August 26. Visit Magics at Booth #113 to discuss space-graded ICs for mission-critical space systems. #SmallSat #SpaceElectronics #Semiconductors #SpaceTech #Magics
- We're proud to announce the opening of our first U.S. office, based in Osceola County, Florida 🇺🇸 This new site becomes our U.S. headquarters, bringing sales, business development and application engineering closer to the American space, defense and nuclear customers we serve, backed by local inventory and technical support. Osceola County's NeoCity innovation district gives us direct access to top-tier semiconductor infrastructure, skilled talent and a fast-growing space and defense ecosystem, the right base for our next
- How do you make clearance measurements faster, more reliable, and fully traceable during nuclear dismantling? Together with SCK CEN, we developed O.S.C.A.R. (Optimised System for Contamination Assessment and Reporting): a smart add-on that turns any handheld contamination monitor into a self-logging device. It automatically reads each measurement and pinpoints exactly where it was taken, cutting out manual transcription and the errors that come with it. No new hardware to learn, no vendor lock-in, just existing equipment, made
- Magics is one of only 14 EIC-backed deep-tech scale-ups selected for this year's Global Business Expansion mission, a direct line to the investors and partners shaping the US deep-tech ecosystem. Big step. More soon. 🚀 #eicBAS #SiliconValley
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