NVIDIA, Qualcomm, Google, Samsung team up to take on Intel, AMD with new CPU architecture

At the recent RISC-V Summit in Santa Clara, California, industry heavyweights including NVIDIA, Qualcomm, Google, and Samsung came together to explore the potential of the RISC-V architecture. This collaborative effort signals a shift towards open-source computing, positioning RISC-V as a strong alternative to the well-established Arm and x86 architectures.

NVIDIA, which has quietly integrated RISC-V into its GPU microcontrollers for nearly ten years, shared insights on how the architecture has transformed its product design. In a presentation titled “One Architecture, Dozens of Applications, Billions of Processors,” the company highlighted the versatility of RISC-V. NVIDIA’s focus was on how this open standard supports the development of powerful GPUs and opens doors to a broader range of applications.

Qualcomm and Samsung join forces
Qualcomm doubled down on its commitment to RISC-V, using the summit to introduce new approaches for refining the RISC-V instruction set architecture. The company also participated in a panel discussion with NVIDIA and other tech leaders, covering the evolving relationship between AI development and secure computing.

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Samsung, meanwhile, showcased how RISC-V CPUs are becoming integral to its embedded systems. The company highlighted its efforts to boost chip performance and revealed how Samsung Foundry is helping clients push the boundaries with RISC-V technology.

Google’s AI innovations with RISC-V
Google DeepMind also took centre stage, sharing experiences with RISC-V-based AI accelerators. Representatives from Google discussed the triumphs and challenges of building Tensor Processing Units (TPUs) with the open-source architecture, underscoring RISC-V’s potential to revolutionise AI hardware.

RISC-V gathers speed in AI and automotive usage
Although it might be some time before RISC-V chips appear in mainstream PCs and servers, the architecture is already making waves in the AI and automotive sectors. Speakers throughout the summit delved into how RISC-V could reshape the future of generative AI and high-performance computing.

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With more companies embracing it, RISC-V seems poised to play a central role in the next wave of technological innovation.

The message from Santa Clara was clear: while Intel and AMD still dominate the traditional CPU market, RISC-V’s open and flexible design is steadily gaining traction. As more tech giants get on board, the computing landscape could shift dramatically in the coming years.