How Alibaba new RISC-V chip hits the mark for China’s tech self-sufficiency drive
The server-grade XuanTie C930 processor launched by Alibaba Group Holding is injecting fresh momentum into China’s semiconductor industry, according to analysts, for its potential to broaden domestic use of open-source chips built on the RISC-V instruction set architecture, countering US tech restrictions.
The e-commerce giant’s research arm, Damo Academy, last month unveiled the C930 central processing unit (CPU) design, developed by Alibaba semiconductor unit T-Head, which is geared towards high-performance computing applications, including data-centre servers and autonomous vehicles. Alibaba owns the Post.
The C930 will begin shipping to clients this month, according to Damo, without providing figures, at a the chip’s launch on February 28 in Beijing. Its CPU design is available for licensing to integrated-circuit (IC) developers.
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Ni Guangnan, a Chinese Academy of Engineering academician, said at the event.
The open-source model will help build an inclusive and collaborative global RISC-V ecosystem, making it the new engine for chip industry disruption,
Hangzhou-based Alibaba’s latest open-source initiative not only shows the company’s progress in RISC-V chip design over the past few years, but also reflects China’s commitment to overcome US sanctions.
US trade restrictions have curtailed China’s access to advanced semiconductor technology and chipmaking equipment amid growing demand from domestic artificial intelligence (AI) development projects.
Analysts at Guotai Junan Securities wrote in a research note on Wednesday,
Just as DeepSeek has disrupted OpenAI‘s monopoly with its open-source, low-cost and high-performance advantages, RISC-V demonstrates significant potential in the AI era,
The breakthrough achieved by DeepSeek is its development of advanced open-source AI models, V3 and R1, at a fraction of the cost and computing power that major tech companies typically require for large language model (LLM) projects.
How Alibaba new RISC-V chip hits the mark for China’s tech self-sufficiency drive, source
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