Cost Rica Office

Alpinum Costa Rica provides world‑class nearshore semiconductor services primarily focused on design verification, AI development, and PC board design for North American companies. Leveraging Costa Rica’s highly educated engineering talent pool, strategic time‑zone alignment with U.S. clients, and modern industrial infrastructure, our local operation ensures seamless collaboration and rapid turnaround. Future offerings will expand to analog, digital, mixed‑signal/RF design and IC layout engineering. Our team of seasoned engineers are committed to achieving first‑pass success on complex IPs by employing the most advanced EDA tools, hardware description languages, and proven methodologies.

We combine experienced engineers with a pipeline of new engineers provided by the top two universities ranked amongst the highest in Latin America. Our team can run and manage full projects from start to finish or serve as a staff augmentation.

Ranked among the highest in the Political Stability Index in Latin America (World Bank, The Worldwide Governance Indicators 2010), Costa Rica’s enduring political stability and robust democratic tradition have earned it the nickname “Switzerland of the Americas.” With more than a century of uninterrupted democracy, the country enjoys a remarkably peaceful political climate and is also celebrated as the “Silicon Valley of Latin America” for its thriving technology sector.

The global semiconductor industry is projected to surpass $1 trillion by 2030, yet faces a looming talent crunch: Deloitte estimates that over one million additional skilled workers will be needed worldwide, while McKinsey projects U.S. demand for engineers will rise from 9,000 to 17,000 annually by 2025. In the United States, this surge in demand for qualified engineers, technicians, and computer scientists outpaces the available workforce, compounded by a decline in student enrollment in semiconductor‐focused programs.

According to the Consejo Nacional de Rectores (Conare), in 2021 Costa Rican universities awarded 3,986 engineering degrees—2,468 to men and 1,518 to women—while the combined total for engineering and computing programs reached 6,028 graduates that year

Costa Rica invests 7.4% of its GDP in education, making schooling free for all and fostering a world‑class talent pipeline. Its leading institutions—the University of Costa Rica (ranked 19th in Latin America and placed between 411th–420th globally) and the Costa Rica Institute of Technology, famed for its engineering programs—sit alongside several top private engineering schools. Graduates emerge with specialized expertise in integrated circuit design, from verification and back‑end layout to circuit design and Verilog development. Operating in a time zone perfectly aligned with U.S. clients, the country combines a high work ethic with over 70,000 professionals working remotely. As the United States moves to bolster its domestic semiconductor supply chain, Costa Rica’s skilled workforce makes it an ideal strategic partner.

July 2023, the United States Announces a partnership with the government of Costa Rica to explore opportunities to diversify and grow the global semiconductor ecosystem and create a more resilient, secure, and sustainable global semiconductor value chain.

Costa Rica is one of the best positioned countries for competing with Asian destinations in the supply chain. It also ranks as one of the top ten countries worldwide in terms of efficiency and speed of port operations according to the World Bank’s 2023 Logistics Performance Index. Its logistics performance exceeds the average of medium-high income countries, consolidating its position as a safe, stable destination that ensures business continuity backed by the rule of law.
Costa Rica boasts over twenty years of expertise in semiconductor packaging, design and testing, dating back to 1997 with the opening of Intel’s major assembly and test facility. The country also supports a robust and rapidly expanding medical device industry. Both sectors leverage Costa Rica’s strategic geographic location, advanced industrial infrastructure, and competitive cost structure, attracting global leaders such as Intel,Terradyne, Microsoft, Amazon, and HP.