Hong Kong backs StarFive to promote RISC-V chips

Hong Kong's investment arm is partnering with Chinese start-up StarFive to promote the use of RISC-V chips in the city. This partnership comes as China focuses on strengthening its chip industry amid rising tensions with the United States. StarFive, based in Shanghai, aims to increase adoption of its RISC-V chips with support from the Hong Kong government. Thomas Xu Tao, founder and CEO of StarFive, explained that RISC-V is transitioning from research to real-world applications. He noted that implementing practical uses for these chips is challenging and requires guidance from the government. RISC-V, pronounced "risk five," is an open-source technology that allows developers to create customized chip designs. It competes with established architectures like Intel's x86 and Arm Holdings' designs, which are popular in personal computers and smartphones. Although RISC-V is not yet as widely used and its products may not match the performance of competitors, its open-source nature and energy efficiency are helping it gain traction.