Baidu invests in RISC-V firm StarFive
Chinese search giant Baidu has invested an undisclosed sum in the Shanghai-based RISC-V chip technology company StarFive.
This new funding move brings StarFive's total financing to USD 146.46 million and reflects the growing enthusiasm for RISC-V tech in China's chip sector. According to some observers, the open-source tech is less susceptible to increasingly strict US sanctions, and offers a viable alternative to Arm and x86 (Intel and AMD) computing architectures.
RISC-V combines a modular technical approach with an open, royalty-free ISA. Anyone, anywhere can build their own solutions and services on. And in fact the RISC-V association specifically stresses this, saying: "RISC-V does not take a political position on behalf of any geography. We are proud to see organizations from around the world working together in this new era of processor innovation".
In a statement, StarFive said it would work with Baidu to implement RISC-V products in data centres.
In related news, Starfive also revealed plans to set up a research and development centre in Hong Kong. The firm is teaming up with data server specialist Xfusion Digital Technologies to establish the R&D facility.
