RISC-V: The Open-Source Revolution in the Processor World and Its Profound Impact on Hardware Design
How this technology, born at UC Berkeley, is breaking the shackles of expensive licenses and royalties to usher in a new era in the semiconductor industry.
The heart of any computer or smartphone is its processor, but the instructions for how this processor will operate are written in a specific language. In the technical world, this language is called the Instruction Set Architecture (ISA). Until now, major companies like Intel and ARM held a monopoly over this language. If any company wanted to manufacture its own chip, it had to pay millions of rupees in royalties—fees paid for using the technology—to these corporate giants. However, in 2010, a project began at the University of California, Berkeley that changed this entire game. Its name is RISC-V.
RISC-V is a free and open-source architecture—meaning its code or design can be viewed and used by anyone. It is based on the principles of the Reduced Instruction Set Computer (RISC). This means it operates on simple and small instructions instead of complex ones, making processors faster and more efficient. According to Wikipedia reports, RISC-V is the fifth generation of research ongoing at Berkeley since 1981. This project was initiated by luminaries such as Krste Asanović and David Patterson, who realized that for academic and commercial use, there should be an architecture not owned by any single company.
History and Institutional Framework
The history of RISC-V is quite fascinating. In the 1980s, when processor design was becoming exceedingly complex, David Patterson proved that processors with simpler instructions could achieve better performance. In 2010, when the Berkeley team needed an open-source CPU core for their research, they decided to build their own new architecture instead of using available alternatives. This project started merely as a three-month summer project, but its success was so immense that it spread globally. In 2015, the 'RISC-V Foundation' was established to manage this technology, which was later relocated to Switzerland in 2019 due to concerns regarding US trade regulations and renamed 'RISC-V International'.
Today RISC-V International has more than 4,500 members. These members include major companies like Google, Nvidia, Qualcomm, and Intel. The primary work of this organization is to determine the standards of RISC-V and maintain them. Any individual or company can build their own chip using this architecture, and for that, they do not have to pay a single rupee as royalty to anyone. This matter is akin to a major revolution in the semiconductor industry, as it opens the doors of processor design for small companies and startups.
| Extension | Name | Function |
|---|---|---|
| I | Integer | Basic integer computations |
| M | Multiplication | Multiplication and division facilities |
| A | Atomic | Synchronization for multi-core processing |
| F | Single-Precision FP | Floating-point computations (32-bit) |
| D | Double-Precision FP | Higher precision computations (64-bit) |
| C | Compressed | Instructions for reducing code size |
Modular Design: How RISC-V Works
The biggest specialty of RISC-V is its modular design—a design that can be built by connecting different parts together. In traditional architecture, all instructions must be taken together, whether you need them or not. But in RISC-V, there is a small 'base' architecture, and upon it, you can add 'extensions'—additional features—according to your requirement. Let us understand this with a simple example: just as you buy a simple car and then install AC, a music system, or a sunroof in it according to your need, in RISC-V too you can increase the capability of the processor.
In this architecture, there are mainly 32-bit and 64-bit base variants. For example, RV32I is a 32-bit base architecture. If you want to perform complex mathematical tasks, you can add the 'M' extension to it. If you need to perform floating-point calculations, the 'F' or 'D' extensions can be added. When all these main extensions (I, M, A, F, D) come together, it is called 'G' (General-purpose) in short. Due to this modular approach, the size of the processor remains small and it consumes less electricity, which is especially a boon for devices like smartwatches or sensors.
Numerical Comparison and Software Ecosystem
The popularity of RISC-V can be understood from its statistics. By 2025, the number of its members has crossed 4,500. Operating systems like Linux now fully support RISC-V. In May 2023, an initiative named 'RISE' (RISC-V Software Ecosystem) was launched, which companies like Samsung and Red Hat have joined so that software running on RISC-V can develop more rapidly. This architecture is not limited only to academic research, but now it is also making its entry into the server, desktop, and mobile markets.
- Architecture selectionDetermine 32-bit or 64-bit base and required extensions (M, A, F, etc.) as needed.
- Logic designWrite internal logic of the processor in hardware language and verify its functionality.
- Software testingRun programs using open-source compilers and fix bugs.
- ManufacturingSend the design for fabrication without paying any royalties.
To understand how RISC-V works in the chip design process, it is necessary to look at its steps. First of all, the designer selects a base ISA according to their requirement. Then, the necessary extensions are added to it. This design is written in a hardware description language like Verilog and is subsequently simulated. Finally, this design is sent to a fabrication plant to manufacture the silicon chip. Nowhere in this entire process is there any need to obtain license approval, which saves both time and money.
Importance and Future Direction for India
RISC-V is extremely important for India. Under the Government of India's 'Atmanirbhar Bharat' campaign, RISC-V is proving to be a foundational stone in the direction of creating indigenous microprocessors. The 'SHAKTI' processor developed by IIT Madras is based on the RISC-V architecture itself. This will help India reduce its dependence on foreign companies and build its own secure chips. When hardware is open-source, the possibility of having a 'backdoor'—a covert way to steal information—is reduced, which is also essential for national security.
However, there are still some challenges facing RISC-V. ARM and x86 have decades-old software ecosystems, and to compete with them, RISC-V still needs more software support. Furthermore, it still lags behind established architectures in high-performance gaming or complex server tasks. Nevertheless, given the way companies and researchers worldwide are joining it, it can be said that the future belongs to open-source hardware. The 'Ratified Specification Library' launched in 2026 has made it even easier for engineers to use this technology.
In conclusion, RISC-V is not merely a technical standard, but a democratization of the hardware world. It removes barriers to bringing innovation in the field of technology. Just as Linux changed the world of software, it is entirely likely that RISC-V will transform the shape of the hardware and semiconductor industry in the coming decade.
