On February 18, Krste Asanovic, the chairman of the RISC-V Foundation, unexpectedly published a blog on their official website titled “RISC-V is not an ‘open-source processor'”. Upon seeing the title, I was taken aback, thinking, “Huh? You’ve been promoting open-source for years globally and in China, and now you’re coming out to contradict yourselves?”
To understand what this surprising move was all about, I read the article three times and finally grasped what the title was trying to convey: RISC-V refers to the Instruction Set Architecture (ISA), and nothing more. The chairman specifically pointed out that there is no such thing as a ‘RISC-V core’; the accurate term should be ‘processors designed by various companies or teams based on the RISC-V instruction set architecture’, which he referred to as ‘implementations’. He also noted that these implementations can be both open-source and commercial.
Well, it seems that this article is quite short, just over 200 words, but upon careful reading, it reveals profound implications:
01
In recent years, many domestic and international RISC-V vendors have been loudly proclaiming that “RISC-V is open-source”. However, now the chairman of the RISC-V Foundation has taken the time to clarify this, which indicates how much these vendors have blurred the lines in their marketing and public relations, misleading many unsuspecting individuals. Now, the big boss has come out to make a statement, clearly indicating that he can no longer ignore the actions of these vendors.
02
The article specifically points out that the foundation’s website lists some “open-source RISC-V processor implementations”. However, (more importantly), commercial RISC-V processor suppliers “can provide core designs and technical support to customers who have paid licensing fees (just like other proprietary ISA suppliers)” (though it’s not explicitly stated, we all know they are referring to Arm). What does this mean? It means that the open-source aspect does not include the core; it is merely the small ISA. If you want the core, you need to pay. To put it bluntly, the chairman is saying: “Sorry everyone, we misled you before; the fact is, if you want to use the RISC-V core, you still have to pay; we are not open-source!”
Why would the chairman of the RISC-V Foundation choose to publish such an article at this particular time? I believe there are three possible reasons:
01
Previously, RISC-V vendors have been exaggerating their claims globally and in China, and the chairman, as the head of the organization, could no longer stand by and let this continue, so he stepped in to correct the situation;
02
Those commercial companies providing RISC-V cores might be facing tough times, and the chairman quickly stepped in to lend support;
03
When it comes to the popularity of RISC-V, China claims to be second, but no one dares to say they are first. However, let’s not forget that RISC-V is fundamentally made in the USA. If China becomes its largest market, some people might not be pleased. Who? Trump! What is the biggest selling point of RISC-V in China? Open-source. Now, with the foundation’s highest leader coming out to clarify that we are not open-source and we are still selling, could this be a way to express loyalty to the U.S. government? I think this possibility is quite significant.
There are reports that the U.S. government is considering increasing technology export bans on Chinese companies (especially Huawei). At this critical juncture, the publication of this blog deserves our close attention.
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