RISC-V CEO Talks Chips Act Boost

Nick Flaherty recently had a conversation with Calista Redmond, the CEO of RISC-V International, to discuss how the European Chips Act is propelling the open instruction set architecture forward. Redmond highlighted the impact of the recent European summit, emphasizing the stronger path from research to commercialization facilitated by EU funding. She expressed optimism about the collaborative efforts within the community, citing increased confidence in projects and outcomes.

Redmond pointed out the significance of organizations like Quintauris and OpenCHIP coming together for commercialization purposes. She emphasized the importance of satisfying and aligning the requirements of various stakeholders to drive innovation. With 80 workgroups and committees collaborating, RISC-V is evolving into a global incubator that showcases a broad approach to investors and governments.

Quintauris, based in Germany, aims to accelerate the commercialization of products utilizing the RISC-V architecture. Backed by prominent companies like Bosch, Infineon, and Qualcomm Technologies, Quintauris focuses initially on automotive applications with plans for expansion into mobile and IoT sectors. The flexibility offered by RISC-V is crucial for global stakeholders, including China, which accounts for 17% of RISC-V International's membership.

Redmond emphasized the importance of RISC-V as a global standard, promoting collaboration and avoiding vendor lock-in. She highlighted the role of RISC-V in fostering diverse relationships and preventing the creation of region-specific technologies. While allowing for proprietary extensions, RISC-V aims to maintain a unified ISA to drive innovation and interoperability.

Security remains a top priority in RISC-V chip designs, with proactive measures to address vulnerabilities. Redmond discussed a recent security flaw, GhostWrite, impacting RISC-V CPUs designed by T-Head in China. The vulnerability underscores the importance of ongoing security assessments and the need for hardware-level fixes to ensure robust protection against cyber threats.

Redmond emphasized the critical role of software in advancing the RISC-V ecosystem. With a focus on accelerating software stacks and workloads, RISC-V is poised to expand its market presence in embedded systems, mobile devices, and data centers. The growing interest from startups and established players alike underscores the momentum behind RISC-V as a leading open architecture driving innovation across diverse industries.