Qualcomm, Intel, Samsung invest in US-based chip-maker

After cutting ties with Huawei because of US government's ban on the Chinese tech giant, Qualcomm, Intel and Samsung have invested money in a US-based chip-maker SiFive that produces computer chips based on the RISC-V instruction set architecture.

According to The Information, the chip-design company has raised $65.4 million as part of its latest funding round, Android Authority reported on Saturday.

To create RISC-V-based chip designs, SiFive teams up with other tech companies and churns out new designs in one to three months, promising to deliver sample chips "within weeks".

RISC-V is an open-source hardware instruction set architecture, based on established reduced instruction set computer principles, generally used in Internet of Things (IoT) devices, micro-controllers, network tech and even smart wearables.

Usually, gadgets such as smart speakers, smart watches, and smartphones use processors based on Intel's x86 and Arm's instruction sets.

SiFive chips based on Arm chips typically take roughly a year.

Founded in 2015 and headquartered in San Francisco, SiFive is being seen as an emerging competitor to UK-based chip-maker ARM Holdings.

After ARM Holdings cut trade ties with Huawei earlier in June, it is possible that in the future, Huawei could also have to turn to the RISC-V architectured chips to power its next bunch of handsets, the report added.

--IANS

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