RISC-V,正式崛起
半导体行业观察·2026-01-08 02:13

Core Viewpoint - The global semiconductor industry is undergoing a transformative change with the rise of the open-source instruction set architecture (ISA) RISC-V, which has captured 25% of the global processor market as of January 2026, marking the end of the long-standing x86 and Arm duopoly and ushering in an era of shared resources in chip design [1] Group 1: Technological Evolution - RISC-V's rise is attributed to its modular architecture, allowing designers to customize chips for specific workloads without the legacy bloat of x86 or the strict licensing constraints of Arm [2] - The introduction of the RISC-V vector extension RVV 1.0 is crucial for high-throughput mathematical operations required in modern AI applications, enabling companies like Tenstorrent to develop competitive cores [2][3] - The deployment of out-of-order execution RISC-V cores has achieved single-thread performance comparable to high-end laptop processors, with the ESWIN EIC7702X SoC demonstrating neural processing capabilities of up to 50 TOPS [3] Group 2: Strategic Shifts - Qualcomm's acquisition of Ventana Micro Systems for $2.4 billion signifies a strategic move to independence from Arm, allowing Qualcomm to develop its own high-performance RISC-V cores without royalty payments [4] - Meta Platforms is restructuring its chip strategy towards open ISA, optimizing its Meta Training and Inference Accelerator (MTIA) based on RISC-V, achieving a 30% improvement in performance per watt compared to previous proprietary designs [4] Group 3: Competitive Landscape - RISC-V offers a cost-effective path for large AI labs and cloud service providers to vertically integrate, enabling startups to license high-quality open-source cores and create custom chips at significantly lower costs than traditional licensing [5] - The proliferation of high-performance chips based on RISC-V is disrupting the market positions of Intel and Nvidia, compelling these giants to integrate their own neural network processors (NPU) more aggressively [5] Group 4: Geopolitical Sovereignty - RISC-V has become a core tool for nations pursuing technological sovereignty, particularly in China, where it is seen as a strategic necessity amid strict U.S. export controls on advanced architectures [6] - The EU is similarly leveraging RISC-V through initiatives like the DARE project to reduce dependence on U.S. and U.K. technologies, with companies like Axelera AI delivering RISC-V-based AI units [6] Group 5: Future Outlook - The trend towards "AI PCs" is expected to drive RISC-V's growth, with second-generation RISC-V laptops anticipated to launch by mid-2026, promising superior battery life and dedicated NPU performance [8] - Challenges remain in traditional enterprise environments, as legacy software heavily relies on x86 optimization, but advancements in binary translation technology could facilitate RISC-V's adoption [8] - Successful integration of RISC-V systems could pave the way for achieving 40% to 50% market share by the end of the decade [8] Group 6: New Computing Era - RISC-V's market share reaching 25% signifies a pivotal moment in technology history, transitioning from a "black box" chip era to a transparent, customizable, and globally accessible architecture [9] - The emergence of "pure RISC-V" data centers and flagship devices based on open ISA is anticipated, marking the reality of RISC-V as a third pillar in computing [9]