Focus


International in 2021. Additionally, the Neuromorphic Engineering Lab at the American University of Ras Al Khaimah is pioneering open-source chip design research in the northern emirate. In a notable fi rst for the UAE, the research team successfully taped out an open-source healthcare platform using Google’s SkyWater 130nm process, setting a foundational step for domestic innovation. Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, is laying the


groundwork for a national semiconductor ecosystem that may soon embrace RISC-V. As reported by Arab News in 2024, the Saudi government launched the National Semiconductor Hub (NSH) with a strategic funding commitment of $266m, aiming to incubate 50 fabless chip companies by 2030. While current investments are broad-based and not RISC-V specifi c, the infrastructure and funding environment are well-positioned to support open-source architectures in future Saudi chip initiatives. As reviewed by Reuters, the number of RISC-V patents fi led during 2018 – 2022 has grown signifi cantly, primarily dominated by the US and China. T e open nature of RISC-V can sometimes


gives the wrong impression that “open” automatically means “safe”. But that is not the case. Developers, especially those in universities or startups, need to understand that while the instruction set is free to use, the specifi c designs built on top of it can still run into patent issues. As RISC-V moves from the lab into commercial products, this misunderstanding can become a serious risk. Startups are particularly vulnerable.


T ey tend to focus on performance, power effi ciency and chip size, but oſt en do not have the legal resources to fully check for intellectual property problems. A clever new memory controller or accelerator can quickly become a liability if it overlaps with an existing patent. T at could mean a costly redesign, licensing fees, production delays, or even losing investor confi dence. A notable example is the Apple versus Rivos case (2022–2023), which highlighted how even open-source hardware projects can become entangled in serious legal disputes over intellectual property.


www.electronicsworld.co.uk July/August 2025 07


Most mainstream chip standards and architectures are predominantly controlled by major commercial entities such as Intel, AMD and ARM


Making openness sustainable For RISC-V to deliver on its promise, the community must evolve, not just technically, but legally. Developers need to treat intellectual property with the same rigour as performance or power effi ciency. T at means evaluating the originality of designs, considering potential patent overlaps, and building innovations defensibly. T ere are promising signs of progress. In 2023, nine major Chinese chipmakers, including Alibaba’s THead, StarFive, and VeriSilicon, formed a patentsharing alliance, agreeing


not to sue one another over RISC-V implementations. T is model of cross- licensing off ers a path for reducing litigation risk and fostering collaboration. To extend this model globally, the RISC-V


community can form a global patent pool where companies share key patents under fair, low-cost, or royalty-free terms, providing legal clarity for startups and opensource developers. Another suggestion could be to create a certifi cation scheme for “IPsafe” RISC-V cores, off ering assurance to downstream users and strengthening the ecosystem. Going forward, RISC-V is one of the most


exciting shiſt s in computing architecture in decades. It provides a democratised route to processor design, challenges the ARM– x86 duopoly, and drives global innovation forward. However, openness alone is not suffi cient. To ensure it creates genuine opportunities rather than recreating old barriers, RISC-V must combine technical excellence with legal strategy, shared governance and community accountability. Only then can openness genuinely translate into opportunity and long-term progress.


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