German Economy Innovation Award-Winning Technology Creator Wolf Richter to Lead EPIC Semiconductors Showcase at GSIX & Fed Supernova

One of only eight Canadian companies selected for the Canada–Q-Branch Dual-Use Accelerator, EPIC Semiconductors will present SmartDust—a new semiconductor platform designed to enable battery-free sensing, persistent digital twins, autonomous systems and the next generation of AI-powered physical intelligence.

Vancouver, Canada (PRUnderground) July 21st, 2026

EPIC Semiconductors, a pioneer in deep-technology semiconductor platforms, today announced that President Wolf Richter and Co-Founder & COO Nasrin Zadeh will lead the company’s strategic deployment at Fed Supernova 2026, GSIX 2026, and the Q-Branch Dual-Use Accelerator in Austin, Texas.

EPIC’s presence in Austin is established through a formal accord with His Majesty the King in Right of Canada (as represented by the Minister of Foreign Affairs through Global Affairs Canada and the Consulate General of Canada in Dallas) in direct collaboration with Q-Branch. As one of eight elite Canadian deep-tech companies driving this initiative, EPIC is advancing sovereign semiconductor capabilities directly into U.S. defence, government, and high-value industrial markets.

During the summit, EPIC will conduct operational testing at the Texas A&M Bush Combat Development Complex (BCDC) and engage in high-level defense acquisitions and institutional investor showcases.

Beyond Software: The Missing Layer of AI

While giants like NVIDIA, Microsoft, and Palantir have transformed AI reasoning and enterprise analytics, every modern AI platform shares a critical bottleneck: AI can only analyze the physical world it can observe. Today’s critical infrastructure, aircraft, ships, and supply chains remain sparsely instrumented, limiting the true potential of AI.

EPIC is solving this bottleneck by deploying the physical intelligence layer needed to continuously feed next-generation AI models.

Introducing SmartDust®: “The Breathable Digital Twin”

Unlike conventional sensors or single-purpose hardware, EPIC’s flagship SmartDust® is a semiconductor platform that provides:

• Battery-Free & Persistent Sensing: Continuous monitoring without power grid or battery constraints.
• Localized Intelligence: Detects physical changes and processes events at the edge rather than flooding networks with raw data.
• Cross-Domain Utility: A single architecture engineered for Air, Land, Sea, Space, and Subsea environments.

SmartDust introduces “The Breathable Digital Twin”—a continuous, unmanipulated physical sensing layer designed to complement existing platforms and give AI real-time insight across defence, energy, aerospace, and critical infrastructure.

World-Class Leadership Driving Execution

EPIC’s delegation in Austin brings together breakthrough invention and global commercial scale:

• Wolf Richter (President): One of Europe’s premier semiconductor inventors, Richter holds 150+ patents covering low-power architectures, capacitive sensing, and wireless power. His pioneering breakthroughs in contactless and zero-power sensing earned the prestigious German Economy Award for Best Innovation and the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Award, recognizing both his scientific excellence and commercial impact. He is also the inventor of GestIC® (acquired by Microchip Technology) and a veteran keynote speaker at IEEE and Fraunhofer forums.“GestIC transformed how humans communicate with machines. SmartDust is designed to transform how machines perceive and understand the physical world.” — Wolf Richter
• Nasrin Zadeh (Co-Founder & COO): Bringing a foundational background in Computer Hardware Engineering, an MBA, and over twenty years of executive leadership, Zadeh combines technical mastery with global commercial strategy. Her passion lies in translating complex, deep-tech semiconductor innovations into scalable physical reality—bridging the gap between hardware engineering, operational execution, and international business growth. Driven by a passion for bridging complex semiconductor architecture with real-world deployment, she oversees day-to-day operations, supply chain execution, manufacturing strategy, and corporate governance. Her focus ensures that EPIC’s breakthrough IP seamlessly transitions from design phase into industrialized, globally scalable semiconductor platforms across defence and commercial markets.“Transformational semiconductor innovation requires more than breakthrough engineering. It requires the ability to industrialize technology, build trusted partnerships, and create platforms that scale globally.” — Nasrin Zadeh

EPIC extends its appreciation to Brandon Schreiner, Masey Williams, and the Q-Branch team for creating an elite operational ecosystem connecting innovators, prime contractors, and government defense operators.

A key highlight of the collaboration is live operational testing at the Texas A&M Bush Combat Development Complex (BCDC), where EPIC will demonstrate SmartDust’s persistent sensing capabilities under rigorous, real-world defense conditions.

Designed in Canada. Built for Allied Security.

Headquartered in Vancouver, EPIC Semiconductors is setting a new standard for advanced semiconductor IP. By embedding foundational hardware directly into next-generation AI and defense systems, EPIC strengthens allied resilience, national security, and global industrial competitiveness.

About EPIC Semiconductors

EPIC Semiconductors is a Canadian-based technology company pioneering a new category of energy-autonomous semiconductors purpose-built for mission-critical defense applications. Its Smart Dust platform integrates sensing, AI, energy harvesting, and secure communication — all without batteries, antennas, or RF transmission. Engineered for performance in metal-dense, underwater, and high-interference environments, EPIC’s technology enables real-time tracking, monitoring, and decision support where conventional systems fail. EPIC’s solutions are designed to strengthen situational awareness, operational readiness, and resilience across a wide range of defense and security scenarios.

For more information or media inquiries, contact:
info@epic-semiconductors.com

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