Google Drops Support for RISC-V from Android Kernel, But China Continues to Invest in the Standard

In a recent development, Google has removed support for RISC-V from the Android kernel. This move will have an impact on chip vendors targeting Android systems and devices. However, analysts believe that developers will have to put in extra effort to restore RISC-V support on their own.

Despite this change, the global impact is not expected to be significant as most companies designing chips around RISC-V are not focusing on Android devices. However, in China, there are over 300 companies using RISC-V, with major tech players like Alibaba Cloud, Huawei Technologies, and ZTE supporting the standard.

RISC-V International, a non-profit group promoting RISC-V technology, has over half of its premier members from China. Other premier members include Google, Intel, and Qualcomm. Alibaba, Huawei and Tencent are actively developing chips based on RISC-V with Alibaba’s Damo Academy expanding its XuanTie series of processors for various applications.

Baidu-backed chip maker StarFive Technology is also working on RISC-V based CPUs with plans to establish a semiconductor research and development lab in Hong Kong. Despite concerns in the US, China continues to contribute significantly to RISC-V development. Companies already invested in RISC-V support for Android are expected to continue their projects although there is still considerable work ahead.