A: We present the first characterization results of Timespot1, an ASIC designed in CMOS 28 nm technology, featuring a 32 × 32 pixel matrix with a pitch of 55 µm. Timespot1 is the first-born small-size prototype, conceived to read-out fine-pitch pixels with single-hit time resolution below 50 ps and input rates of several hundreds of kilohertz per pixel. Such experimental conditions will be typical of the next generation of high-luminosity collider experiments, from the LHC run5 and beyond. Each pixel of the ASIC has been endowed with a charge amplifier, a discriminator, and a Time-to-Digital Converter with time resolution around 30 ps and maximum read-out rates (per pixel) of 3 MHz. To respect system-level constraints, the timing performance have been obtained keeping the power budget per pixel below 40 µW. The ASIC has been tested and characterised in laboratory concerning its performance in terms of time resolution, power budget and sustainable rates. The ASIC will be hybridized on a matched 32 × 32 pixel sensor matrix and will be tested under laser beam and Minimum Ionizing Particles in the laboratory and at test beams. In this paper we present a description of the ASIC operation and the first results obtained from characterization tests concerning its performance in tracking measurements.