About us

That’s ICsense in a nutshell: a team of highly skilled and motivated IC developers, committed to delivering the best possible silicon—customized to your system requirements. From the first idea to full-scale production, we guide you through every step of the ASIC development journey.

From idea to production: your ASIC partner

We founded ICsense in 2004 as four PhDs in microelectronics, spinning off from the ESAT-MICAS research group at KU Leuven. Our vision was clear: sensors would become ubiquitous, and each would need a dedicated ASIC to extract data with the highest accuracy, lowest power, and at the lowest cost. That’s how the name ICsense was born—a play on words that turned out to be remarkably forward-looking.

A vision born from academic innovation

We started as an analog design team, but quickly realized that digital signal processing was essential to meet our customers’ needs. In 2011, we launched our digital design group. Since then, we’ve expanded our core strengths from sensor and MEMS ASICs to include high-voltage, power management, battery management, and wired communication. At the heart of all this is our proprietary design environment, featuring an integrated requirements management system that ensures the highest quality and lowest risk throughout the ASIC lifecycle.

From analog to mixed-signal mastery

As our team and expertise grew, so did our reputation—both as a trusted ASIC development partner and as an employer. In 2017, our success led to a strategic acquisition by the Japanese TDK Group, a global electronics leader known for its cassette tapes, but now present in nearly every modern electronic device. While we serve as TDK’s premium ASIC R&D center, the majority of our revenue still comes from customers outside the TDK group. This gives you the best of both worlds: the agility and focus of a specialized design house, backed operationally and financially by a multinational corporation.

Local focus, global reach

To support the high-volume ASICs we’ve developed for TDK and other customers, we’ve taken the final step toward becoming a full-service ASIC provider: in-house Automated Test Equipment (ATE) for test hardware and software development and in-house volume production. Combined with our well-equipped prototype test lab, this setup significantly shortens test development cycles, eliminates time zone delays, and minimizes test costs. Inspired by our design methodology, we created a modular test development framework that links directly to our requirements management system—saving time and ensuring quality. With wafer probers in our ISO-7 cleanroom and final test facilities on-site, we can manage volume production in-house, through TDK, or via trusted test partners using our validated test software and hardware.

In-house testing and production: speed and quality

Meanwhile, as part of our continued expansion, we launched design centers in key hubs such as Ghent and Antwerp. From a small analog design team to a powerhouse capable of delivering complex mixed-signal ASICs from concept to high-volume production—that’s our story so far. Our values have remained consistent.

They define how we work, how we innovate, and how we build lasting relationships with our customers:

• Excellence – We pursue the highest standards in technical quality and reliability across everything we do.
• Innovation – We design and deliver first-of-a-kind ASICs, getting it right the first time.
• Trust – We honor our commitments: we do what we say, and we say what we do.

But it’s not the end… We continue to invest in quality, talent, capabilities, and customer value—to build the best ASICs for you.

Bram De Muer
CEO