RISC-ing It: An incoming landscape shift?
The implications of China's RISC-V strategy on global semiconductor and open source ecosystems.
A couple of days back, Reuters reported China's plans to issue guidance encouraging the use of open source RISC-V chips nationwide, in a bid to reduce dependence on western-owned technologies. Given the state of affairs today, this could have significant implications on the global open source and semiconductor ecosystems.
What is RISC-V?
Pronounced as Risk-five, RISC-V is an open standard instruction set architecture based on Reduced Instruction Set Architecture (RISC) principles. Owing to its open source nature, it's deemed an attractive option in comparison with more proprietary alternatives that dominate the ISA space.
China's RISC-V stance
According to Reuters, China's decision to promote RISC-V nationwide is part of a broader strategy to enhance its semiconductor self-reliance and promote technological autonomy. The policy, expected to be released soon, will be drafted by several key government bodies, including the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the Cyberspace Administration of China. This move reflects China's commitment to leveraging RISC-V as a geopolitically neutral technology to reduce its reliance on US-dominated semiconductor standards.
Impact on the global open source ecosystem
While its open source nature encourages a collaborative environment contributing to the evolution of the ISA & related extensions, as well as promoting adoption, existing geopolitical tensions between the West & China could lead to a RISC-V ecosystem that is fractured at its core.
This is because, as explored in this New Stack Article by Amanda Brock earlier this year, laws trump licensing. Since open source is subject to the laws of the land, these tensions (potential sanctions and/or tariffs) could also lead to different countries developing and maintaining their versions of RISC-V. Not only would this impede interoperability and future adoption, but it would also affect further upstream development reliant on a diverse global community, complicating standardization and maturity.
In conclusion, China's upcoming RISC-V policy will have profound implications for the global tech ecosystem, influencing both the open source community and the broader semiconductor industry supply chain. While presenting opportunities for greater diversity and collaboration, there's also the looming threat of a fragmented ecosystem and delayed maturity, due to existing global tensions.