Jičín, February 25, 2026 – Ing. Vladimír Šulc, Ph.D., founder and CEO of MICRORISC, has won the regional round of the prestigious EY Podnikatel roku 2025 competition in the Hradec Králové Region.
Organized by EY since 1986, the Entrepreneur Of The Year® program is one of the world’s most respected business awards. Each year, hundreds of nominations are submitted, and an independent jury composed of former winners selects only a limited number of regional laureates. The competition runs in nearly 60 countries across six continents.
From a Regional Company to Global Impact
Over more than three decades, Vladimír Šulc transformed a small company based in Jičín into a globally recognized technology and research center. He is the author and co-author of more than 46 patents registered in the Czech Republic, the EU, the USA, Japan, and China.
His most significant technological achievement is the development of IQRF®, a wireless mesh technology that he and his team not only created but opened to the world as a communication standard with global ambitions. Today, IQRF® is deployed in millions of devices worldwide — from industrial systems and smart cities to energy infrastructure, healthcare, railway applications, and intelligent buildings.
With a team of fewer than 40 experts, MICRORISC achieves global impact through systematic R&D, continuous innovation, and fully automated in-house production. The company operates its own robotic SMT line, testing systems, and programming facilities, ensuring technological independence and exceptional quality standards.
Openness, Long-Term Value and Responsibility
One of the key milestones in recent years has been opening IQRF® as an open communication platform (comparable in philosophy to Bluetooth or Wi-Fi), contributing to the development of an open standard in wireless mesh networking — a move typically associated with multinational consortia rather than regional companies.
“I see this award as recognition of the entire team. I would not be standing here without my colleagues. It is both a joy and a responsibility to continue building meaningful technologies,” says Vladimír Šulc. “MICRORISC has been more than half of my life. Our motto, Enabling Future Innovation, reflects our mission — helping customers innovate their products while continuously pushing technological boundaries ourselves.”
Beyond technological excellence, Vladimír Šulc is a long-term supporter of education and regional initiatives. Since 2011, he has organized the nationwide “Best Student” competition and actively supports schools and community projects. In 2014, he received the prestigious Česká hlava award.
Winning the regional EY Entrepreneur Of The Year confirms that world-class technological innovation can emerge outside global centers — with Czech roots and worldwide impact.
The competition is held under the patronage of the President of the Czech Republic Petr Pavel and with the support of the Governor of the Hradec Králové Region Petr Koleta.