Renesas introduces the first generation of 32-bit RISC-V CPU cores

     Renesas Electronics announced the successful design, testing, and launch of a 32-bit CPU core based on the open standard RISC-V Instruction set Architecture (ISA). Renesas is the first manufacturer to independently develop CPU cores for the 32-bit general-purpose RISC-V market, creating an open, flexible platform for iot, consumer electronics, healthcare and industrial systems. The new RISC-V CPU core will expand Renesas' existing 32-bit microcontroller (MCU) IP product lineup, including the proprietary RX family and the RA family based on the Arm® Cortex®-M architecture.

     RISC-V is an open ISA that is rapidly gaining popularity in the semiconductor industry due to its flexibility, scalability, energy efficiency, and open ecosystem. At present, many MCU vendors have formed joint investment alliances to accelerate the development of RISC-V products, and Renesas has successfully developed a new RISC-V core on its own. This versatile CPU can be used as a primary application controller or as a secondary core in SOCs, on-chip subsystems, and even deeply embedded ASSPs. This follows the previous launch of 32-bit voice control and motor control ASSP products and the RZ/Five 64-bit general Purpose Microprocessor (MPU) based on Andes Technology Corp. Since then, Renesas has become a leader in the emerging RISC-V market.

     Daryl Khoo, Vice President of the IoT Platform Division at Renesas, said: "Renesas is proud to build embedded processing solutions for the broadest range of customers and applications. "With this new core, we extend our pre-eminence in the RISC-V market and enable Renesas to offer even more solutions to meet the needs of a wide variety of applications."

     Calista Redmond, CEO at RISC-V International, said: "Congratulations to Renesas on this recent milestone in the development of 32-bit RISC-V MCU architecture, which demonstrates how rapidly RISC-V ecosystem partners, represented by Renesas, are advancing RISC-V innovation. Our community is now spread across 50 countries and has 750 members. We eagerly look forward to more innovation in this dynamic and expanding market."