Top Researchers Leave Intel to Build RISC-V Startup
June 6th, 2025I wonder what computer hardware will be like a decade from now…
(Assuming, of course, that the machine overlords let us meatsacks have computers of our own by then.)
Via: The Oregonian:
Together, the four founders of Beaverton startup AheadComputing spent nearly a century at Intel.
They were among Intel’s top chip architects, working years in advance to develop new generations of microprocessors to power the computers of the future.
Now they’re on their own, flying without a net, building a new class of microprocessor on an entirely different architecture from Intel’s. Founded a year ago, AheadComputing is trying to prove there’s a better way to design computer chips.
“AheadComputing is doing the biggest, baddest CPU in the world,” said Debbie Marr, the company’s CEO.
…
RISC-V, pronounced “Risk-five,” is especially inviting to startups because it’s an open technology, overseen by a consortium of tech firms. Unlike processors based on x86 or ARM designs, there’s no licensing fee to use RISC-V.
AheadComputing maintains that open standards are the future for microprocessors, giving technology companies more opportunity to customize chip designs to suit their specific needs.
It will be years before AheadComputing’s designs are on the market, but it envisions its chips will someday power PCs, laptops and data centers. Possible clients could include Google, Amazon, Samsung or other large computing companies.
