China is ramping up its RISC-V ambitions with the launch of the Shanghai Open Source Computing Research Institute, unveiled at the 5th RISC-V Summit China on July 17, 2025. As the country's second key platform, following the Beijing Open Source Silicon Innovation Center, the institute aims to strengthen domestic innovation in open instruction set architecture (ISA) development.
Currently under development, the Shanghai-based institute plans to integrate government support, industrial demand, and academic research to advance RISC-V architecture and trusted system software. Its priorities include distributed AI systems, new AI programming language compilers, and vertically integrated software optimization, targeting faster commercialization of RISC-V technologies in China.
Chen Jie, Deputy Mayor of Shanghai, noted that since 2018, the city has actively supported RISC-V development, launching the China RISC-V Industry Consortium (CRVIC) and building a preliminary supply chain across high-performance computing, smart devices, and automotive electronics.
Chen added that Shanghai will expand collaboration with the global RISC-V Foundation (aka RISC-V International) to develop a unified hardware-software open platform. The effort will focus on enhancing IP frameworks, software infrastructure, and standards to draw developers and companies into the RISC-V ecosystem.
With more regions investing in RISC-V chip design, China is accelerating efforts to cut dependence on foreign architectures and build a self-reliant, open chip ecosystem, paving the way for future advances in AI and high-performance computing.
Article edited by Jack Wu
