➀ lowRISC CIC and SCI Semiconductor collaborate to tape out the Sonata design; ➁ The collaboration aims to move CHERI technology to commercial adoption; ➂ The project is funded by UKRI and focuses on the ICENI device family for OT applications.
Recent #RISC-V news in the semiconductor industry
➀ FPGAs can be made more programmable by integrating a soft-core RISC-V processor; ➁ Loren Hobbs from Bluespec discusses the implementation of this concept; ➂ The benefits of improved programmability are highlighted.
➀ RISC-V firm Milk-V demonstrates compatibility of AMD's RX 7900 XTX GPU with its RISC-V board; ➁ The system runs the glmark2 benchmark on Debian Linux; ➂ Milestone for RISC-V in PCs, though not yet widely adopted.
1. China emphasizes digital and intelligent development, focusing on digital economy growth and integration of the internet, big data, AI, and real economy.
2. SimCom Computer Technology Co., Ltd. (SimCom) is a company dedicated to RISC-V-based AI processors, providing a comprehensive solution for digital transformation.
3. SimCom's products include Jiuzhou large model, Xuan Shu data governance platform, and Qingtian intelligent agent development platform, creating an efficient data processing ecosystem.
4. SimCom's RISC-V-based solutions aim to address the AI computing power anxiety and provide a stable and secure computing environment.
➀ Fractile and Andes Technology collaborate to develop AI inference accelerators using in-memory compute for running cutting-edge AI models; ➁ Fractile licenses Andes AX45MPV RISC-V vector processor and plans to integrate it into their first generation data center AI inference accelerator; ➂ Fractile's innovative circuitry enables 99.99% of model inference operations in on-chip memory, improving energy efficiency and reducing latency.
➀ Lumissil Microsystems introduces a specialized RISC-V microcontroller for touch-controlled LED interfaces; ➁ Two versions are available, one for industrial and one for automotive use; ➂ The microcontroller features an LED matrix driver, touch controller, and sound feedback capabilities.
➀ Nvidia and Google are discussing the use of RISC-V architecture at the RISC-V Summit;
➁ Nvidia has been using RISC-V CPU architecture for nine years and will have a 20-minute keynote speech at the summit;
➂ Google employees, including Cliff Young, the designer of TPU, will discuss the advantages of RISC-V in AI chips;
➃ RISC-V is gaining influence as companies seek cheaper and faster CPU design methods;
➄ Apple is also using RISC-V microcontrollers in its M series CPUs;
➅ RISC-V is trying to capture a market tired of proprietary options like x86 and ARM;
➆ Omdia predicts that by 2030, the shipment of RISC-V processors may reach 17 billion, with about 46% for automotive use;
➇ RISC faces challenges such as security issues and political concerns;
➈ Alibaba has released a new chip for embedded devices with many new security extensions;
➉ Some companies have discussed selling RISC-V chips, but manufacturing issues will not be widely discussed at the summit.
➀ Codasip has announced the L730 RISC core designed for automotive safety and security, meeting ISO/SAE 21434 and ISO 26262 compliance up to ASIL D. The core includes optional safety features and security mechanisms. ➁ The L730 is available in pre-verified configurations with custom instruction extensions via Codasip Studio Fusion's Bounded Customization. ➂ The core supports RISC-V Scalar Crypto Extension and CHERI for advanced memory safety. Custom Compute is enabled by Codasip Studio Fusion, allowing for optimized processors for specific applications.
➀ Jianxin Technology remains optimistic about the future applications of the RISC-V architecture across various fields, particularly in AI, automotive electronics, and IoT. ➁ The company expects a significant increase in licensing fee revenue in the second half of 2024 as customer projects restart. ➂ The royalty revenue is also expected to grow as chips begin mass production. ➃ Despite previous losses due to increased research and development expenses, Jianxin Technology is expected to achieve profitability in the fourth quarter of 2024.
➀ Scientists have created a flexible, programmable chip not made of silicon; ➁ The chip operates while bent and can run machine learning workloads; ➂ The microchip's open-source RISC-V architecture suggests it might cost less than a dollar; ➃ The chip could power wearable healthcare electronics, smart package labels, and other inexpensive items; ➄ The chip is based on the RISC-V instruction set and is programmable, running compiled programs in high-level languages; ➅ Flex-RV microprocessors can run as fast as 60 kilohertz while consuming less than 6 milliwatts of power; ➆ The researchers found that Flex-RV could still execute programs correctly when bent to a curve with a radius of 3 millimeters; ➇ The scientists detailed their findings in the journal Nature.
➀ The Zijing M100 chip, the first domestic RISC-V-based microcontroller chip with the highest level of localization, was successfully lit up on September 20th, marking a significant breakthrough for Great Wall Motors in the chip industry. The chip, developed by Great Wall Motors, is designed for automotive use, featuring high performance and an autonomous intellectual property. It is set to be integrated into multiple models and is expected to be installed in over 2.5 million vehicles within five years. ➁ The chip's successful lighting represents a substantial step in China's path to chip localization, contributing to the intelligent development of the automotive industry and the pursuit of self-reliance in technology. ➂ Great Wall Motors plans to establish a chip R&D company in Nanjing Research and Innovation Park, leveraging the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Institute of Computing Technology to develop automotive MCU function chips and high-performance chips.
➀ SiFive推出针对加速高性能AI工作负载的XM系列；➁ XM系列是SiFive的第一个包含可扩展AI矩阵引擎的IP，旨在加速边缘物联网、消费设备、下一代电动/自动驾驶汽车、数据中心等领域的芯片解决方案上市时间；➂ XM系列采用SiFive Kernel Library (SKL)的开源参考实现，提供高效的内存带宽。
➀ Intel is facing a major talent exodus with high-level employees leaving the company rapidly; ➁ Habana Labs co-founders David Dahan and Ran Halutz have left Intel to start an AI startup named Touch; ➂ Four senior CPU engineers from Intel have also left to found a new RISC-V core IP development company named Ahead Computing Inc.
➀ The popularity of RISC-V is rising, with industry giants like Intel, STMicroelectronics, and others investing in RISC-V startups; ➁ RISC-V is seen as a foundational technology for the digital infrastructure of the AI era, offering simplicity, openness, flexibility, low power consumption, modularity, and scalability; ➂ RISC-V is expected to become the native computing architecture for the AI era, with a significant market opportunity in the digital infrastructure sector.
➀ Nee Guohua emphasized that the integration of RISC-V and Chiplet will promote the innovation of DSA (Domain Specific Architecture) and lead to the 'Hardware Defined by Demand' era; ➁ The level of China's chip design has reached the world's advanced level in digital chips, but there is still a gap in analog chips; ➂ Scientists must not only have solid professional knowledge but also be brave in innovation and willing to take responsibility; ➃ RISC-V, as an emerging open instruction set architecture, is gaining global attention and is expected to promote innovation with its openness, efficiency, flexibility, low power consumption, modularity, and scalability; ➄ Chiplet technology, which encapsulates multiple pre-designed small chips into a complete SoC, is introduced to lower design complexity and cost while improving performance and flexibility; ➅ DSA (Domain Specific Architecture) computing architecture, characterized by customized design to better meet specific needs, shows great potential in emerging fields such as AI and IoT; ➆ The integration of RISC-V, extended instruction sets, Chiplet, and interconnect technologies in DSA new servers is expected to replace traditional X86 servers in terms of cost-performance and energy consumption, thus promoting the transformation and development of the Chinese server market; ➇ In the new era of 'Hardware Defined by Demand', hardware design will no longer rely solely on traditional standardized and generalized approaches but will be more closely integrated with actual application needs.
➀ The Orange Pi RV is a single-board computer featuring a RISC-V processor, making it one of the first in the Orange Pi lineup to adopt this architecture. ➁ It measures 89 x 56mm and is powered by a 1.5 GHz StarFive JH7110 processor with up to 8GB of LPDDR4-2800 memory. ➂ The board includes a variety of ports and connectors such as 4 USB 3.0, 1 USB 2.0 Type-C, HDMI, and Gigabit Ethernet, along with support for WiFi 5 and Bluetooth 5.
➀ ST has joined Quintauris, a RISC-V facilitator, as its sixth shareholder. ➁ Quintauris aims to advance the adoption of RISC-V-based products. ➂ Initial applications will focus on the automotive sector, with plans to expand to mobile and IoT.
➀ Four senior Intel CPU experts have left to form a RISC-V startup called AheadComputing. ➁ The team, with over 80 years of combined experience at Intel, aims to develop open specification core IP. ➂ AheadComputing could be an attractive acquisition target for companies like AMD.
➀ SiFive and PQShield have partnered to integrate post-quantum cryptography into SiFive’s high-performance processor families. ➁ This collaboration aims to protect critical systems from quantum attacks and accelerate the adoption of NIST's post-quantum cryptography standards on RISC-V technologies. ➂ The integration of PQShield’s PQPlatform-CoPro technology with SiFive’s processors ensures quantum-resistant hardware security and compliance with NIST standards without compromising performance.