The founding of Chipidea Microelectrónica, S.A., in 1997, marked a defining moment in the history of technological entrepreneurship in Portugal — not only for its technical achievements, but for its transformational role in retaining highly qualified national talent. At a time when Portugal offered no viable professional opportunities for engineers trained in microelectronics and integrated circuit design, Chipidea became the first company to create advanced, globally competitive careers in this field within the country. It reversed the brain drain dynamic by
providing a platform where Portuguese engineers could apply their expertise, grow professionally, and contribute to a company with international ambition and relevance.
Under the leadership of its co-founder, Chairman, President, and CEO, José Epifânio da Franca, Chipidea bridged the gap between academic excellence and global markets. It became the first Portuguese startup to establish a global footprint in the highly specialized and competitive field of semiconductor design, focusing on the development and licensing of analog and mixed-signal integrated circuit (IC) intellectual property (IP).
At a time when Europe was still solidifying its position in the fabless IC design space, Chipidea boldly entered the international stage, pioneering a business model based on IP licensing—an approach that would later become mainstream among design houses and R&D-driven startups.
In the aftermath of the global financial crisis, Portugal faced a profound structural challenge: the absence of a venture capital infrastructure capable of financing early-stage, tech-based entrepreneurship. Despite world-class talent in its universities and a growing awareness of global startup trends, the country lacked the institutional capacity to translate innovation into globally competitive ventures.
It was in this context that Portugal Ventures was founded in 2012 through the strategic consolidation of three publicly owned investment entities:
AICEP Capital Global (traditional industry and internationalisation),
Turismo Capital (tourism and regional development), and
Inov Capital (science and innovation).
This merger marked a paradigm shift in public policy: a move from fragmented, reactive funding schemes toward a proactive, integrated investment platform designed to catalyze high-potential, innovation-driven businesses in Portugal.
As the founding CEO of Portugal Ventures, with the unique combination of academic distinction, entrepreneurial success (founder of Chipidea), and international investment experience, José Franca was well positioned to lead this ambitious transformation.
Under his leadership, Portugal Ventures quickly became a landmark institution, driving structural change in the Portuguese innovation ecosystem.
Entrepreneurship in Academia
The EITT Course: A Pedagogical Anchor of Entrepreneurial Culture at Técnico
Instituto Superior Técnico (IST) has long fulfilled its dual mission of training high-caliber professionals and conducting frontier scientific and technological research. More recently, it has embraced a “third mission”: to foster a vibrant entrepreneurial culture, one capable of converting research and talent into globally competitive ventures. This shift is essential to retain national talent, attract international know-how, and project high-impact technology-based entrepreneurship onto the world stage.
Within this context, Professor José Epifânio da Franca designed and led the course Entrepreneurship, Innovation, and Technology Transfer (EITT)—arguably the most representative example of entrepreneurship education at IST during this period.
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Key characteristics of EITT include:
High enrolment (160–210 students per year)
Strong international participation (20–30% of students from Europe, Asia, North and South America, and Africa)
Curricular diversity, with students from Electrical and Computer Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Computer Science, Mechanical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, Applied Mathematics, among others
A deliberately unstructured format, promoting independent, critical thinking, intellectual curiosity, and global perspective
The pedagogical objectives of EITT are:
To instill awareness of the critical importance of knowledge valorization in global economic competitiveness
To foster entrepreneurial thinking, creativity, and innovation through an informal, interactive, and intellectually stimulating environment
To promote curiosity-driven exploration and critical engagement with the unknown
To encourage peer learning and collaboration through shared knowledge and experiences
To bridge academic and industrial worlds through initiatives that expose students to real-world entrepreneurial ecosystems
To support extracurricular initiatives that strengthen IST’s entrepreneurial community (e.g., student associations, Junitec)
Rather than adhering to rigid teaching formats, EITT follows a “mentorship and coaching” model, akin to the role of a senior advisor or independent board member in a startup. It emphasizes experience-sharing, critical reflection, and close engagement with student teams and projects. The course aligns closely with international best practices and echoes the call for pedagogical reform highlighted by Professor Michael Athans in Portuguese Universities: Why Not the Best? (2001).
The course consistently receives excellent student evaluations and has served as a launchpad for award-winning projects, including:
1st Prize at IST’s E.Awards in 2018 and 2019
1st Prize at the NEEC Hackathon in 2019
Broader Pedagogical Engagement
Other academic initiatives on entrepreneurship and innovation
In addition to EITT, Professor Franca has contributed to various other academic initiatives on entrepreneurship and innovation:
At IST, he has been invited to lecture in the course Innovation and Sustainable Development, focusing on the journey “From the Lab to the Market” and outlining key stages in the creation of science- and technology-based startups.
At Nova School of Business and Economics (Nova SBE), he delivered an annual lecture on scientific entrepreneurship, tailored to an international audience, combining perspectives from academia, startup founding (Chipidea), venture capital leadership (Portugal Ventures), and teaching.
At Nova SBE’s Scienpreneur doctoral program, he has also delivered the opening lecture to stimulate doctoral candidates in developing their capacity to translate science into economic and social value.
Societal Contributions
Startup Mentorship and Early-stage Advisory
His contributions include guidance in pre-seed fundraising, international incubation programs, and venture development strategy, particularly for startups emerging from IST, FEUP, and the Portugal Ventures portfolio.
Societal Engagement and Policy Contributions
Beyond academia, Professor da Franca has actively contributed to shaping Portugal’s innovation policy and industrial strategy:
CIP – Portuguese Industry Confederation
As a member of the Industry Council, he coordinated the working group on Entrepreneurship, producing the national policy document Entrepreneurship and New Business Creation, within the broader strategic framework Reindustrialization, Industry 4.0, and 21st Century Industrial Policy (2017).Parliamentary Program “Empresas Parlamento”
Invited by the Forum for Corporate Executives, he co-authored with MP Professor Luís Leite Ramos a legislative guidance proposal on Entrepreneurship and Innovation (2017).SEDES – Association for Economic and Social Development
As coordinator and rapporteur of the Working Group on Innovation and Development during SEDES’s 50th Anniversary Congress, he led a year-long effort involving ~20 national figures—including academics, policymakers, and business leaders—to draft comprehensive innovation policy proposals for Portugal 2022–2030. The goal: to position Portugal for a significant technological leap as a pathway to European convergence.