Qualcomm Establishes a New Company to Drive RISC-V Ecosystem and Hardware Development

Though Qualcomm’s position in the ARM chip market is notably significant, it doesn’t necessarily imply that the company will go all-in on ARM. According to a report by Ars Technica, Qualcomm is collaborating with several major firms to form a new entity, specifically for the development of RISC-V processors.

The alliance’s lineup, apart from Qualcomm, includes Bosch, Infineon, Nordic Semiconductor, and NXP Semiconductors. It’s worth mentioning that these four are European companies, and thus, the newly formed enterprise will be situated in Germany.

In a press release, Qualcomm articulated its intention to accelerate the commercialization process for products based on the open-source RISC-V architecture. The company will concentrate on RISC-V compatible products, furnish reference architecture designs, and assist in establishing solutions that can find widespread application in the industry. Initially, the company’s focus will be on the automotive sector, but will eventually expand to encompass mobile and Internet of Things (IoT) devices.

“We are excited to come together with other industry players to drive the expansion of the RISC-V ecosystem through development of next-generation hardware. Qualcomm Technologies has been investing in RISC-V for more than five years and we’ve integrated RISC-V micro-controllers into many of our commercial platforms. We believe RISC-V’s open-source instruction set will increase innovation and has the potential to transform the industry.”

However, as the press release indicates, this company is still in its formative stages and has yet to be named. Therefore, if we anticipate seeing tangible products, or even utilizing smartphones based on their chips, we might be facing a considerably long waiting period.