Google’s recent decision to remove support for RISC-V from the Android kernel has raised concerns among chip vendors targeting Android systems and devices. However, analysts believe that developers will have to put in extra effort to restore RISC-V support on their own. 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.
In China, there are over 300 companies using RISC-V, with major tech players supporting the standard. Companies such as Alibaba Cloud, Huawei Technologies, and ZTE are actively developing chips based on RISC-V, with Alibaba’s Damo Academy expanding its XuanTie series of processors for various applications. Other premier members of RISC-V International include Google, Intel, and Qualcomm.
Baidu-backed chip maker StarFive Technology is also working on RISC-V-based CPUs and plans to establish a semiconductor research-and-development lab in Hong Kong. Despite concerns in the US, China continues to contribute significantly to RISC-V development. While some companies may be impacted by this change, those already invested in RISC-V support for Android are expected to continue their projects. There is still considerable work ahead for developers looking to restore RISC-V support on their own.