Semiconductor Giants Join Forces to Accelerate RISC-V Chip Technology

Qualcomm Inc., NXP Semiconductors NV, Nordic Semiconductor ASA, Robert Bosch GmbH, and Infineon Technologies AG have formed a consortium to establish a new company dedicated to advancing RISC-V, an open-source technology that competes with Arm Ltd.’s chip architecture.

With a primary focus on automotive applications, the semiconductor companies will invest collectively to create the new firm in Germany, a country known for its automotive industry, including giants like Volkswagen AG. The initial aim is to promote the RISC-V architecture for chip design, targeting the automotive sector. However, the consortium intends to expand the company’s scope to include mobile and internet-of-things (IoT) chips in the future.

Global chipmakers have expressed concerns about being overly dependent on SoftBank Group Corp.’s Arm technology, which is widely used in smartphones and increasingly being adopted in larger devices, data centers, and automotive applications. As Arm seeks to go public with an anticipated valuation of $60 billion, other chip design companies are seeking alternatives to reduce reliance on Arm’s offerings.

The formation of this new venture comes as a response to these concerns, as the companies aim to foster open collaboration in the development of innovative RISC-V microprocessor intellectual property (IP). By doing so, they seek to ensure a reliable and robust supply of RISC-V technology.

Svein-Egil Nielsen, Chief Technology Officer of Nordic Semiconductor, stated that the collaboration with like-minded companies is essential to continuously enhance RISC-V technology and create a steady supply of the technology.

The jointly funded company will actively engage with industry associations and government bodies to advocate for standardization and the accelerated development of RISC-V technologies. The goal is to become a single source that enables compatibility between products, establishes widely used standards, and provides reference architectures.

RISC-V has been gaining traction as a compelling alternative to Arm technology due to its open-source nature and potential for customization. The new consortium’s efforts aim to bolster the adoption and advancement of RISC-V in various sectors, promoting competition and innovation in the chip design industry.

As the semiconductor industry evolves, companies recognize the need for diversification and collaboration to meet the demands of emerging technologies and applications. By investing in RISC-V, the consortium aims to shape the future of chip design and contribute to the advancement of next-generation automotive, mobile, and IoT devices.