Comcores brings small-footprint MACsec and Root of Trust Security to Europe’s RIGOLETTO RISC-V Automotive Platform

Copenhagen, Denmark – August 13, 2026 – Comcores, a leading provider of Ethernet IP and security solutions, is contributing to RIGOLETTO with its small-footprint MACsec and RISC-V based Root of Trust IP. The European research and innovation project is establishing the foundation for a next-generation automotive computing platform based on the open RISC-V instruction set architecture.

Supported by the Chips Joint Undertaking, RIGOLETTO brings together 64 leading European semiconductor companies, Tier 1 suppliers and research organisations from across Europe and associated countries, including Denmark, to develop the processor cores, accelerators, interconnects, memory hierarchies and peripheral subsystems required for future Domain Control Units (DCUs) and Zonal Control Units (ZCUs). The project aligns with the goals of the EU Chips Joint Undertaking and the industry-led Vehicle of the Future initiative.

As vehicle E/E architectures centralise and multiple ECUs merge into fewer, more powerful control units, every node on the in-vehicle network becomes a point that must be authenticated, encrypted and trusted. Comcores’ contribution to RIGOLETTO addresses exactly this problem: security IP that is dimensioned for the node it protects.

Comcores’ role in RIGOLETTO

Small footprint MACsec. Comcores is developing IEEE 802.1AE MACsec IP that scales from 10 Mbit/s automotive end nodes to multi-gigabit zonal and central compute links, so integrators deploy only the cipher suites, channel counts and key storage each node actually needs. The approach builds on Comcores’ Flexible Crypto Block, which deliveres a highly optimized core size, and on Comcores’ OPEN Alliance-compliant MACsec IP.

RISC-V native Root of Trust. Comcores’ Root of Trust is a Hardware Security Module built around a secure RISC-V processor with isolated memories and dedicated symmetric and asymmetric cryptographic engines. Because the architecture is RISC-V from the ground up, it is a natural fit for the RIGOLETTO platform. The solution provides secure boot, secure key generation and management, secure storage of critical assets, secure execution of authenticated applications, and hardware offload of security protocols.

Security that fits the area budget. In automotive silicon, security is only deployable if it is affordable at the edge. By keeping gate count, memory footprint and power within the budget of cost-sensitive nodes, Comcores enables consortium partners to secure the whole network rather than only its most capable endpoints.

“Europe’s move to a RISC-V automotive platform is an opportunity to get security right at the architectural level and the hard part is not building strong cryptography but building security that a sensor node can afford and a central compute domain can still rely on. That is what Comcores has spent years optimising, and it is what we bring to RIGOLETTO” , said Thomas Gerner Nørgaard, Founder. 

For more about the product write to sales@comcores.com or visit www.comcores.com

Explore Comcores IP:

• 100G / 200G / 400G / 800G / 1.6T MACsec
• Root of Trust
• 10M MACsec
• 1G/2.5G/5G/10G/25G/50G MACsec

About Comcores

Founded in Denmark in 2014, Comcores specializes in the development of advanced Ethernet IP solutions for industrial, automotive, and avionics. The company offers a diverse portfolio designed to meet the requirements of secure and time-sensitive communication. Comcores IP is proven in silicon, tracks the latest Ethernet, TSN and security standards, and scales from small end nodes to high-capacity infrastructure links.

To learn more about Comcores products and solutions, please visit www.comcores.com

About RIGOLETTO

RIGOLETTO (RISC-V Generation of High Performance Automotive Processors and Computing Platforms) establishes the foundation for a next-generation automotive hardware platform based on the open RISC-V ISA, strengthening Europe’s position in automotive electronics and supporting an open, software-defined vehicle ecosystem.

More information: https://rigoletto-project.eu/