On October 19th, at the 2021 Yunqi Conference, Zhang Jianfeng, President of Alibaba Cloud Intelligence, announced that Pingtou Ge open sourced the Xuantie RISC-V series processors, and opened up a series of tools and system software. This is the world’s first full-stack open source for a series of processors and basic software, which will promote the maturity of the RISC-V architecture, help RISC-V software and hardware technologies accelerate the integration and development, and promote the implementation of innovation.
In the AIoT era, the RISC-V architecture is expected to become the next generation of widely used CPU architecture after Intel X86 and ARM due to its openness and flexibility. However, the current RISC-V architecture faces problems such as application fragmentation, low development efficiency, and difficult software and hardware adaptation, and the software and hardware ecosystem is not yet mature.
Xuantie RISC-V series processors adopt self-developed technology, covering various scenarios from low power consumption to high performance, supporting AliOS, FreeRTOS, RT-Thread, Linux, Android and other operating systems, and have been successfully applied to microcontrollers , industrial control, smart home appliances, smart grid, image processing, artificial intelligence, multimedia and automotive electronics. Not long ago, the Xuantie 910 was compatible with Android for the first time in the world, which greatly expanded the imagination of the RISC-V architecture for an open ecosystem.
At present, Xuantie series processors have shipped more than 2.5 billion units, with more than 150 customers and more than 500 licenses, and have become the domestic CPU with the largest application scale in China.
The open source Xuantie series RISC-V processors include four mass-produced processor IPs, including Xuantie E902, E906, C906, and C910, as well as full-stack software and tools based on Xuantie’s multi-operating systems. Developers can download the source code of Xuantie through Github and the Open Chip Community. On this basis, they can realize open source EDA collaboration, innovate hardware architecture, and enrich software application ecology.
Calista Redmond, CEO of the International RISC-V Foundation, said, “Alibaba has become a true leader in the RISC-V community through continuous contributions, leading technologies and in-depth cooperation with the RISC-V ecosystem. Iron Open Source), will stimulate the development of innovative chips in the global RISC-V community, and the global RISC-V ecosystem will benefit from it.”
Brother Pingtou has been deeply cultivating self-developed chip technology for many years, and insists on open source and open source, and makes continuous efforts to promote inclusive computing power. As early as 2019, Xuantie 910 was opened to the outside world, and the first open source low-power microcontroller chip design platform “Wujian 100 Open”. This full-stack open source provides global developers with new options for architecture, and will also promote the further maturity of RISC-V technology and ecology.
Zhang Jianfeng said, “After three years of hard work, we have released the open source version of the Xuantie RISC-V series today. In the future, we will open source more RISC-V processors, and hope to have more partners to develop on the basis of Xuantie. We will produce more valuable IP cores and basic software to jointly build an open, transparent and inclusive RISC-V ecosystem.”
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