In recent news, Google has removed support for RISC-V from the Android kernel. This change will have a significant impact on chip vendors targeting Android systems and devices. While analysts believe that developers will need to put in extra effort to restore RISC-V support, this change is not expected to have a significant global impact as most companies designing chips around RISC-V are not focusing on Android devices. However, in China, there are over 300 companies using RISC-V, with major tech players supporting the standard.
RISC-V International, a non-profit group promoting RISC-V technology, has over half of its premier members from China, including companies like Alibaba Cloud, Huawei Technologies, and ZTE. Other premier members include Google, Intel, and Qualcomm. Alibaba, Huawei, and Tencent are actively developing chips based on RISC-V, with Alibaba’s Damo Academy expanding its XuanTie series of processors for various applications.
Baidu-backed chip maker StarFive Technology is also working on RISC-V-based CPUs, with plans to establish a semiconductor research and development lab in Hong Kong. Despite concerns in the US about Chinese contributions to RISC-V development, China continues to contribute significantly to the technology’s development. Companies already invested in RISC-V support for Android are expected to continue their projects but there is still considerable work ahead for developers looking to restore support for this architecture on their own.
