Research & Development | Technology, Innovation & Growth

Research & Development

R&D with a
verifiable record

We have been participating in European R&D programmes since the early 2000s. Horizon Europe consortia, proof-of-concept engineering, technology validation, with a track record you can actually check.

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What is Caixa Mágica's R&D practice?
Caixa Mágica has participated in European R&D programmes since the early 2000s, including Horizon Europe consortia alongside research institutions and companies across the EU. It conducts proof-of-concept engineering, technology validation, and pilot programmes and acts as technology transfer partner for research institutions bringing new technology into production deployment. Its commercial products, Qualigentic and eID Box, grew directly from R&D work.

Services

R&D services

This is not R&D as marketing. It is real technical work with deliverables, consortium partners, EU funding obligations and products that grew directly from the research. The claims here are verifiable.

Horizon Europe Participation

We participate as technology partners and sometimes as consortium coordinators in Horizon Europe projects. Our role is on the applied engineering side, implementing and validating the systems that researchers are designing and building the software infrastructure that demonstrations and pilots require.

Proof of Concept Engineering

Before committing to full-scale development, organisations need to know whether a technology actually works in their specific context. We design and build PoCs that test real technical hypotheses under realistic conditions. The output is evidence that can support a go/no-go decision, not a pitch document for further services.

Pilot Programmes

When a technology has been validated at PoC stage, we design and run pilot programmes that bridge the gap between a working prototype and a production system, defining success metrics, managing operational constraints and producing the data needed to make the case for full deployment.

Technology Assessment

Structured assessments covering technical feasibility, maturity level, integration complexity and an honest view of what is production-ready versus what is still research-grade. This saves organisations from investing in technologies that are not yet ready, and from missing ones that are.

Technology Transfer

For research institutions and universities that have developed technology they want to see deployed in commercial or public sector contexts, we act as the engineering bridge, taking research outputs and turning them into production-viable systems.

Open Source Strategy

We have a long history with open source. Our Linux Caixa Mágica distribution was deployed on the Magalhães laptops, reaching hundreds of thousands of Portuguese schoolchildren. We contribute to open source projects and advise organisations on adoption, licensing, and governance.

Technical focus

Areas of active R&D

Research that became products

Qualigentic and eID Box both exist as a direct result of R&D work, not alongside it. In practice, this is the clearest signal of how the R&D practice operates: the research question comes first, and the product is the answer. As a result, the areas below are not just topics we research. They are the foundations of what we ship.

Digital Identity & eIDAS

We have been building digital identity systems since the Portuguese Citizen Card, a deployment that preceded most of what is now called eIDAS infrastructure by nearly a decade. The Citizen Card middleware was used by the entire Portuguese population under strict security, reliability, and regulatory compliance requirements.

As eIDAS 2.0 and the European Digital Identity Wallet create new requirements for public sector and private service providers across the EU, we are working on the next generation of these systems. Our eID Box middleware product is a direct result of this long-term R&D investment.

AI & Machine Learning

Our AI Lab and R&D practice overlap significantly here. Qualigentic grew from applied research into how Large Language Models can be used reliably in regulated software development environments. The research question was specific: can an LLM generate test scripts from requirements in a way that produces audit-grade evidence for DORA compliance? The answer is the product.

We continue to explore on-device AI, privacy-preserving machine learning, and the application of AI to complex document-intensive processes in regulated industries.

Cybersecurity

Participation in R&D projects focused on authentication systems, secure communications protocols and threat detection. This work informs the security architecture of our commercial products and client engagements. This is particularly relevant for clients in financial services and public sector facing NIS2, DORA and related EU legislation.

Energy & Smart Systems

R&D work in collaboration with energy sector partners exploring intelligent monitoring, demand-side management and the integration of distributed energy resources into operational systems. Our work with EDP provides a direct line between research and operational deployment, validated against real infrastructure, not laboratory conditions.

Track record

Claims you can verify

R&D is an area where many companies make claims that cannot be checked. Our Horizon Europe participations are on the public record. The Portuguese Citizen Card middleware is documented history. The Magalhães programme is a matter of public record.

Horizon Europe

Participation in funded EU R&D consortia across digital identity, AI, cybersecurity and smart energy. Public record, verifiable through EU research databases.

Portuguese Citizen Card

Built the middleware for the national identity card deployed to the entire Portuguese population. One of the largest digital identity deployments in EU history at the time.

Magalhães / Linux CMS

Linux Caixa Mágica deployed on government-funded laptops distributed to hundreds of thousands of Portuguese schoolchildren under a national programme.

Covid Pass, INCM

Built the national Covid Pass system used by 10M+ Portuguese citizens. Delivered under extreme time pressure with public health infrastructure requirements.

EDP Energy R&D

Applied R&D in collaboration with EDP on intelligent energy systems. Research validated against operational infrastructure, not laboratory conditions.

Qualigentic & eID Box

Two commercial products that exist because of the R&D : AI QA for regulated industries and digital identity middleware. Research that became products.

Working with us

Engagement models

There are several ways organisations engage with Caixa Mágica on R&D. Each is suited to a different starting point and a different relationship with the technology.

Consortium Partner

If you are assembling a Horizon Europe or national funding consortium and need a software engineering partner with a track record in funded projects, we are available to discuss participation.

Applied engineering capacity
EU project management experience
Reporting and compliance disciplines
2–4 year project horizon typical

Commercially Funded Exploration

For clients who want to investigate a technology before committing to production investment. Not all R&D requires external funding.

8–16 week engagement
Technical assessment report
Prototype or PoC where needed
Clear go / no-go recommendation

Technology Transfer

For research institutions and universities that have developed technology they want to see deployed in commercial or public sector contexts.

Research-to-production engineering
Commercial viability assessment
Pilot programme design
Ongoing development partnership

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Common questions from research institutions, enterprises and public sector organisations exploring R&D collaboration.

What is Horizon Europe and how does Caixa Mágica participate?

Horizon Europe is the EU's flagship research and innovation funding programme, with a budget of €95.5 billion for 2021–2027. Projects are carried out by consortia of research institutions, universities and companies from multiple EU countries. Caixa Mágica participates as a technology partner, contributing software engineering and systems integration expertise in projects covering digital identity, AI, cybersecurity and smart energy.

Can our organisation join a Horizon Europe consortium with Caixa Mágica?

Yes. If you are a research institution, university, public authority or company building a consortium for a Horizon Europe call, we are open to discussing participation. The right fit is projects where applied software engineering , building and validating the systems the research requires, is a meaningful part of the work.

What is the difference between a proof of concept and a pilot programme?

A proof of concept tests whether a technology works under controlled conditions: is this technically feasible? A pilot programme tests whether it works under real operational conditions with real users: does this create value at scale and what does full deployment require? We run both, and advise clients on which is the right starting point.

Working with Caixa Mágica on R&D

Does Caixa Mágica do R&D work without external funding?

Yes. We take on commercially-funded exploratory projects from clients who want to investigate a technology before committing to production development. We also run internal research programmes in areas where we see strategic importance, AI QA, digital identity, and privacy-preserving computation are current focus areas.

How is your R&D practice connected to your commercial products?

Directly. Qualigentic grew from applied research into the use of LLMs in regulated software development environments. eID Box is the product of 20+ years of digital identity R&D beginning with the Portuguese Citizen Card. The connection between research and product is not rhetorical . That is how our products were built.

What does a commercially-funded R&D engagement look like?

Typically 8–16 weeks. We start with a scoping call to understand the technology, the hypothesis, and the constraints. We design a research plan, build whatever prototype is needed, run the validation, and deliver a written report with findings and a clear recommendation. The output is evidence you can use to make a decision, not a document that creates more questions.