The battle between the US and China for technological leadership is about to enter its next round. US lawmakers are calling for a ban on further development of a type of computer chip widely used in the People’s Republic. In a bipartisan appeal, they call on President Joe Biden to ban US companies from working on so-called ‘RISC-V’ processors.
“If we don’t expand our export controls, China will one day overtake us as the world leader in chip design,” Republican Senator Marco Rubio warned. His Democratic colleague Mark Warner made similar statements and called for a paradigm shift.
Quelloffener ARM-Rivale
The basic technology of the “RISC-V” chips is open source. This means it can be used and developed by anyone without licensing costs. A nonprofit foundation in Switzerland is coordinating the global effort. Chips based on the “RISC-V” architecture are used in numerous devices, from smartphones to high-performance artificial intelligence (AI) computers. The technology, originally developed at the University of California at Berkeley, competes with that of chip designer ARM, but users have to pay licensing fees for it.
Mike Gallagher, a Republican member of the House of Representatives and chairman of the Commission on U.S.-China Strategic Competition, called for a licensing requirement for any U.S. person or company seeking to collaborate with Chinese organizations on “RISK-V” technology . The responsible Ministry of Commerce says it is “continually assessing the technology landscape and threat environment and continuously assessing how our export control policies can best be applied to protect national security and safeguard core technologies.”
For Huawei executives, “RISC-V” is the cornerstone for Chinese chip development. Just a few weeks ago, the controversial tech group made people sit up and take notice with a new generation of smartphones whose domestically produced processors are, according to experts, technologically on par with Western products.
Western companies also use RISC-V
But many Western companies also use the technology. Qualcomm is developing special chips based on ‘RISC-V’ together with European car manufacturers. Alphabet subsidiary Google wants to adapt its smartphone operating system ‘Android’ so that it also runs on chips with this technology. Until now, mobile phones have been built almost exclusively with ARM processors. The two US companies declined to comment on a possible “RISC-V” embargo.
Critics warn that a U.S. restriction could make it difficult to work with China on other open technology standards. It also hinders U.S. and European efforts to develop cheaper and more versatile chips. For Jack Kang, manager at a startup using ‘RISC-V’ technology, such a move would amount to a ‘huge tragedy’. “That would be like banning us from working on the internet. It would be a big mistake in terms of technology, leadership, innovation, businesses and jobs being created.”
Source: Krone
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
