RISC-V set to announce 25% market penetration — open-standard ISA is ahead of schedule, securing fast-growing silicon footprint
Qualcomm acquires Arduino to make AI development more accessible — microcontroller maker's hardware becomes the foundation of mobile tech giant's edge AI stack
None of this is to say that Qualcomm is abandoning Arm, though. The duo’s relationship remains central to its smartphone and PC businesses, and Arm-based cores will continue to dominate shipping volumes in the near term, but roadmap alignment and geopolitical risk have become more visible considerations for large chipmakers. RISC-V offers a way to diversify architectural exposure without committing to a clean break, something that, for Qualcomm, offers value even if RISC-V volumes ramp gradually.
Ultimately, RISC-V has moved past its early microcontroller roots and is now entrenched in storage controllers, networking gear, industrial controllers, and an increasing share of automotive silicon. Competition within the ecosystem is intensifying as major vendors seek influence over extensions, toolchains, and software support. Owning a credible in-house CPU team gives Qualcomm leverage in those conversations and reduces dependence on external roadmaps.
Outside consumer devices, RISC-V is becoming mainstream in areas that value long product lifecycles and architectural stability, like industrial control systems and embedded platforms. Qualcomm has been expanding its presence in these markets through its IoT and industrial compute groups, and deeper RISC-V capabilities will help it compete against vendors that already ship large volumes of RISC-V silicon.
The automotive sector is following a similar trajectory, with software-defined vehicles driving consolidation of compute functions into centralized platforms. Automakers in particular are increasingly sensitive to licensing costs and supply chain risk — as we saw during the chip shortage of 2020 to 2023, and more recently with the Nexperia-China drama — which is leading them to prepare RISC-V-based compute platforms for systems like infotainment and ADAS.
Speaking of China, customers in the region who are facing uncertainty around access to certain Arm-based products have become more receptive to RISC-V as a neutral alternative. That demand shift has contributed to a rapid increase in RISC-V investment and product development across the region. While Qualcomm does not need to tailor products exclusively for China to benefit from that momentum, having strong RISC-V capabilities lowers barriers to participation in markets where openness and local control are being increasingly prioritized.
One of the more interesting implications of the deal is the intersection of RISC-V flexibility and AI workloads. As AI inference spreads across edge and embedded devices, the line between CPU, GPU, and NPU responsibilities is blurring. In certain classes of workloads, especially control-heavy or sparsely parallel tasks, a well-designed CPU can approach accelerator-class efficiency when paired with the right extensions and memory architecture.
RISC-V’s modularity makes it very attractive in this context, with custom extensions allowing vendors to tailor cores for specific inference patterns without waiting for standardization cycles. Qualcomm’s Oryon CPUs are already positioned as high-performance general-purpose cores optimized for AI-adjacent workloads. Integrating Ventana’s RISC-V expertise creates room for parallel exploration, where RISC-V designs could complement Oryon in products that prioritize consolidation of compute over raw peak throughput.
Qualcomm acquires Arduino to make AI development more accessible — microcontroller maker's hardware becomes the foundation of mobile tech giant's edge AI stack
Intel officially becomes a contract custom chip designer, Nvidia among lead customers
Meta reportedly buying RISC-V AI GPU firm Rivos
Key considerations
- Investor positioning can change fast
- Volatility remains possible near catalysts
- Macro rates and liquidity can dominate flows
Reference reading
- https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/semiconductors/SPONSORED_LINK_URL
- https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/semiconductors/qualcomms-ventana-acquisition-points-to-a-long-term-risc-v-strategy#main
- https://www.tomshardware.com
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Informational only. No financial advice. Do your own research.