SCI Semiconductor Announces First Silicon of Cybersecure MCU, ICENI™

First commercial CHERI implementation in silicon.

Sheffield & Cambridge -- March 5, 2026 -- SCI Semiconductor, the UK-based company pioneering cyber-resilient microcontroller (MCU) solutions for security-critical use cases, today announces first silicon availability of its ICENI cybersecure MCU family, the world's first commercial CHERI implementation in silicon. 

Memory-safety vulnerabilities account for approximately 70% of all reported security flaws in embedded software. ICENI eliminates this entire class of vulnerability at the hardware level while also delivering strong system resilience through robust compartmentalisation of functions. This architecture provides world-leading operational integrity and an ideal platform for Critical National Infrastructure (CNI) applications.

Memory safety in ICENI is achieved through CHERI’s hardware-enforced capability model. This model replaces traditional pointers with unforgeable, bounded capabilities that include metadata specifying the precise memory regions and permissions they grant. By ensuring that software components can access only the memory explicitly delegated to them, ICENI enforces strong spatial memory safety by construction, preventing entire classes of exploits before they can occur.

ICENI extends hardware-enforced memory safety to provide robust compartmentalisation. Fine-grained capabilities enable tightly bounded software compartments and scalable, component-level isolation. This approach contains faults or compromises and prevents lateral movement within the system, avoiding the complexity and performance penalties of traditional coarse, region-based protection model used by legacy MPUs.

By bringing the industry-leading CHERI architectural extensions into production silicon, ICENI turns decades of academic research into commercially deployable cybersecure hardware. The platform enables next-generation digital transformation across Critical National Infrastructure (CNI), industrial systems, defence, and high-assurance IoT applications where resilience and security are critical.

Come to SCI Semiconductors Stand 4A - 131 at Embedded World 2026 in Nuremberg. Or book a meeting with the SCI Team via events@scisemi.com

About SCI Semiconductor

SCI Semiconductor enables proven robustness for security-centric applications by delivering ultra-secure computing. As a fabless semiconductor company, we provide sovereign capability solutions designed and implemented in the UK and fabricated in Dresden, Germany. Our MCU portfolio delivers a memory-safe future for compute, combining the highest levels of security enabling code reuse, simpler development and streamlined lifecycles. Through established partnerships with government, world-renowned technology leaders, and academia, we bring trusted, scalable security to AI/ML, control systems, and mission-critical applications across critical infrastructure, industrial, and defence sectors.