腾讯研究院·2025-10-31 08:03Core Viewpoint - The article emphasizes the importance of unifying instruction set architecture (ISA) for the development of domestic computing chips in China, suggesting that RISC-V should be adopted as the standard ISA to enhance innovation and resource efficiency in chip development [6][14][36]. Group 1: Evolution of Chip Architecture - Over the past 40 years, processor chips have undergone a "negation of negation" spiral development path, with a recent trend of manufacturers re-entering the chip development arena, shifting from homogeneous computing systems centered on CPUs to heterogeneous computing involving CPUs and xPUs [6][7]. - The article discusses the historical evolution of computing architectures, highlighting the dominance of x86 and ARM architectures in the market, and the decline of many innovative architectures due to economic factors and ecosystem dominance [11][12][13][14]. Group 2: Challenges in Chip Development - Key challenges in the "chip war" include the level of innovation in xPU architecture, the sustainability of innovation, the ability to scale applications, and the costs associated with ecosystem innovation [7][15]. - The article points out that the economic scale and ecosystem costs are critical determinants of architecture viability, with software development costs significantly outweighing hardware costs, making it difficult for new architectures to gain traction [20][21]. Group 3: Future of Computing Chips - The article predicts that x86 CPUs will continue to dominate the server market for the foreseeable future, while ARM has potential to disrupt the x86 monopoly, particularly in cloud services and mobile applications [22][24]. - RISC-V is highlighted as a promising but challenging architecture, with its success largely dependent on overcoming commercialization hurdles and developing a robust hardware ecosystem [26][28]. Group 4: Importance of Software Ecosystem - The success of any new architecture, including RISC-V, hinges on the development of a strong software ecosystem that can support various applications and middleware, as seen with NVIDIA's CUDA ecosystem [19][20][33]. - The article stresses that software must define the success of hardware, and that many current projects in specialized architectures are limited by inadequate software support [33][34]. Group 5: Call for Unified Instruction Set - The article advocates for the unification of instruction sets, proposing that all CPUs, GPUs, and xPUs should be developed based on RISC-V and its extensions to avoid redundant efforts and resource wastage [36].