RISC-V : a new arena in the US-China Chip War
RISC-V : a new arena in the US-China Chip War
After setting new export controls on semiconductors against China on October 2022, broadened and reinforced on October 2023, a potential new battlefield seems to have emerged in the US-China Chip War.
On November 1st, 2023 concerns have been expressed by US lawmakers regarding China's (not-so-new) interests in open-source technologies and in particular, “about the national security risks posed by the People’s Republic of China’s significant involvement in (…) RISC-V technology ”.
What is RISC-V ?
RISC-V is an open source instruction set architecture (ISA) based on an established reduced instruction set computing (RISC) principles. Which means that unlike proprietary ISAs, RISC-V is freely available enabling anyone to design, manufacture, and sell RISC-V-based chips without licensing fees. RISC-V is not a technology like Intel's x86 architecture or ARM's Cortex-A series processors in the sense that it is not a standalone technology in itself but rather provides a framework that others can use to create their own implementations, much like a standardized blueprint that allows interoperability and compatibility between different implementations of processors.
China and Open Source : a strategic tool for self-sufficiency and circumventing US restrictions
If late in the open source arena at first, China is now at the forefront of embracing open source technologies, and RISC-V is no exception.
The open source model for processors seems to have recently emerged as a challenger to the current dominance of Arm and Intel x86 processors. Initially created at the University of California, Berkeley, the RISC-V design is focused on power efficiency, high customizability and suitability for devices like smartphones. As an open source ISA, it eliminates the substantial expenses that companies typically encounter when obtaining licenses and, of greater importance to Chinese businesses, circumvents export restrictions. Alibaba Pingtouge unveiled China's inaugural RISC-V design in July 2019 via Xuantie 910, a processor engineered for edge server, networking, and autonomous vehicle workloads.
Chinese companies and research institutions have actively contributed to the RISC-V community, leveraging its capabilities to drive innovation and self-sufficiency in the semiconductor industry. Mirroring the RISC-V International Association recently relocated in Switzerland, two national organizations were created in China in 2018 in order to promote RISC-V :
● The China Open Instruction RISC-V Ecosystem Alliance (CRVA) with the aim of developing industry-university collaboration ;
● The China RISC-V Industry Consortium (CRVIC) with a mission to “commercializ[e] RISC-V in China.”
“CRVA explicitly educates its members on export restrictions, and promotes RISC-V as a possible route to national self-sufficiency in design. If China's tech giants become dominant in new classes of processor design, they may have the market power to set the ecosystem of the design tools as well.” (Harold and Hodiak, Institut Montaigne, 2020).
It seems evident that China’s interest and eagerness towards open-source alternatives and especially RISC-V is not new. But is the US will to restrict access to it feasible or even relevant ? Between the global adoption of RISC-V, its potential to revolutionize computing and China’s doubling down on the reduction of its dependence on foreign technologies, the US lawmakers’ attempt to impose restrictions on RISC-V's accessibility to China has raised concerns about the very essence of open source principles and its consequences on US businesses.
An attempt on weaponizing open source standards
The letter addressed to Gina Raimondo (Secretary of Commerce of the Biden administration) on November 1st, 2023 clearly shows the congressmen’s will to engage in a new field of restrictions towards China but this time, the task would be much harder on the open source fields. Restricting Chinese companies from using RISC-V does not affect their adherence to the standard. The very idea behind RISC-V is to encourage reusability of parts or code. Worst case scenario : the US would cut itself off from the global market for re-usable IC components.
What is important to understand is that ISA is open and widely used and understood1. There is no possible way for any government to restrict it, let alone stop the use of RISC-V.
Like the Internet, RISC-V is already a global phenomenon.2
In China, RISC-V has been out and used for years. Put bluntly, the US cannot restrict the use of RISC-V. There is no such thing as restricting knowledge and ideology, especially when it comes to open source. However, other scenarios could be possible : for example, restricting the sale of proprietary chip designs owned by U.S companies, that use RISC-V as their architecture, to China.
Engaging in the cultivation of global standards has long been a hallmark of technical leaders in the US as well as around the world.3
The possible consequences are not less significant. Implementing controls on RISC-V would only weaken the country's standing as a technological innovator. Extensive limitations could impede educators in higher education institutions from employing this widely used tool in computer science education. Additionally, specific limitations on RISC-V might obstruct US tech companies with potential connections to the Chinese market from accessing an economical and high-performing CPU technology compelling them to turn to Arm.
What’s next ?
Concerns for AMD, Qualcomm, Intel and Arm might be read in the watermarks since RISC-V is the possibility of a future where these companies don’t dominate the instruction set architectures, where the most advanced chips are based on a free open instruction set architecture and any company can work on it.
Nonetheless, this scenario is not imminent and should be treated with caution.
Looking at the technological landscape, RISC-V isn't poised to challenge Intel x86 and Arm in the near future. For instance, Amazon has Graviton, and major multinational corporations prioritize technological diversity for their growth, accommodating Intel, Arm, and RISC-V. This indicates a likelihood of long-term coexistence among these firms. Moreover, RISC-V is far from being as mature as Arm’s IPs. Therefor, Arm’s position isn't likely to vanish soon.
We look forward to hearing Raimondo’s response to these concerns.
In the meantime, the highly anticipated APEC Summit took place three days ago and was marked by the visit of Xi Jinping in San Francisco giving rise to mitigated reviews. What are your thoughts on this ?