RISC-V International

What RISC-V International does

RISC-V International Association is a non-profit standards organization founded in 2015 and headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland, following a 2020 relocation from the United States to escape licensing restrictions imposed by Intel and ARM. The organization maintains and ratifies the RISC-V instruction set architecture (ISA), an open, royalty-free standard providing a common platform for processor design across data center, edge AI, automotive, aerospace, IoT/embedded, and HPC workloads. Recent ratified milestones include the RVA23 profile and the RISC-V Server Platform Specification 1.0 (both 2024), which establish standardized baselines for application processors and server-class boot systems respectively.

The organization generates revenue primarily through membership fees (Premier, Strategic, and Community Organization tiers) across a membership base exceeding 4,500 organizations worldwide, supplemented by training and certification programs including the RISC-V Fundamentals + Foundational Associate (RVFA) exam bundle. Its go-to-market is community-led: technical working groups ratify specifications, regional events (RISC-V Summits, World RISC-V Days) drive adoption, and software ecosystem commitments from Canonical (Ubuntu 26.04 LTS RVA23 support), Red Hat, and PyTorch upstreaming anchor developer mindshare. Notable strategic members include Nvidia, Microsoft, Google, Huawei, Tencent, and Alibaba, and the organization operates under the Linux Foundation umbrella with a small staff of 11-50 employees. The core product is the ratified RISC-V specification library; monetization derives from the standardization, certification, and governance work required to maintain an open standard used in over 1 billion cores shipped annually (NVIDIA alone, 2024).

Name

RISC-V International

Legal name

RISC-V International Association

Website

https://riscv.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

RISC-V International is a non-profit standards body that develops and ratifies the open, royalty-free RISC-V instruction set architecture, serving over 4,500 member organizations across semiconductor, data center, AI, automotive, and aerospace markets.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Membership Fees: RISC-V International generates revenue through membership fees from companies and individuals. Membership options include Premier, Strategic, and Community Organization tiers. Companies join to actively influence the development of the open, royalty-free instruction set architecture.
2. Training and Certification: RISC-V International offers training programs and certification exams, including the RISC-V Fundamentals + Foundational Associate (RVFA) exam bundle designed for computer engineers and programmers.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

RISC-V International is a non-profit standards body that develops, ratifies, and maintains the open, royalty-free RISC-V instruction set architecture (ISA) through member-led Technical Working Groups. The organization monetizes membership (Premier, Strategic, Community Organization tiers), delivers professional training and certification programs (such as the RISC-V Fundamentals + Foundational Associate exam), and operates industry events such as the RISC-V Summits to grow the global RISC-V ecosystem spanning semiconductors, data centers, AI, automotive, and aerospace.

Product overview

RISC-V International is a non-profit standards body that develops and maintains the RISC-V instruction set architecture (ISA), an open, royalty-free standard for processor design. The organization's core product is the RISC-V ISA specifications, which are developed and ratified through contributing members within Technical Working Groups. Supporting offerings include training and certification programs (RISC-V Fundamentals + RVFA Exam Bundle), developer resources (boards, labs, technical committees), compliance frameworks, and industry events such as the RISC-V Summit Europe. The ecosystem includes diverse implementations from member companies including high-performance chips for servers, edge AI applications, and specialized processors for space and automotive industries.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• RISC-V Fundamentals + Foundational Associate (RVFA) Exam Bundle A bundled training program and certification exam for computer engineers and programmers to gain validated skills in RISC-V processors, designed to enhance career competitiveness in the open-source hardware market.
• RISC-V Ratified Specifications Library A centralized repository of all ratified RISC-V instruction set architecture specifications, providing developers and implementers with a single authoritative source for the open ISA standards.
• RISC-V ISA Specifications (RVA23 Profile) The RVA23 profile is a ratified RISC-V specification providing a standardized baseline for application processor implementations, enabling consistent software ecosystem development and compliance testing across different RISC-V implementations.
• RISC-V Server Platform Specification 1.0 A ratified specification enabling industry-standard boot systems for server and data center platforms built on RISC-V architecture, supporting POSIX-compliant operating systems and providing the foundation for enterprise server adoption.
• RISC-V Summit Europe 2026 A multi-day industry conference bringing together RISC-V members, manufacturers, researchers, academics, and students for keynotes, technical sessions, tutorials, and networking to advance the RISC-V open instruction set architecture ecosystem.

Quantifiable outcome

• NVIDIA shipped over 1 billion RISC-V cores in 2024
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability3 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

15 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• NASAcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025NASA joined the RISC-V Space Special Interest Group to develop standards for radiation-resistant spaceflight processors, along with ESA, Microchip, SiFive, and Frontgrade Gaisler.
• European Space Agency (ESA)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025ESA participates in the RISC-V Space SIG to develop space-grade processor standards for radiation-resistant applications.
• SiFivecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025SiFive is a founding member of RISC-V International and participates in the Space SIG. The company is launching high-performance RISC-V chips for servers and edge applications, and received $400M Series G financing with NVIDIA as an investor.
• MicrochipcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Microchip participates in the RISC-V Space SIG for radiation-resistant spaceflight processor standards development.
• Frontgrade GaislercoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Frontgrade Gaisler collaborates in the RISC-V Space SIG to develop standards for radiation-resistant spaceflight processors.
• CanonicalcoreTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2024Canonical added full RVA23 support to Ubuntu 26.04 LTS, providing comprehensive operating system support for RISC-V application processors with POSIX-compliant OS environments.
• RED SemiconductorminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRED Semiconductor launched Ordo1 AI accelerator based on VISC architecture and is a member of RISC-V International. Partnered with Aion Silicon for test silicon and hardened IP solutions.
• Aion SiliconminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAion Silicon partnered with RED Semiconductor to deliver test silicon and hardened IP solutions for RED's Ordo1 AI accelerator.
• Red HatcoreTechnology or IntegrationRed Hat natively supports RISC-V architecture with major software ecosystem contributions, including PyTorch upstreaming already underway.
• Linux FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRISC-V International operates under the Linux Foundation umbrella, with joint events including Open Source Summit Europe and Open Source Summit India.
• University of BolognaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-organizer of RISC-V Summit Europe 2026 in Bologna, Italy, representing academic partnership in advancing RISC-V ecosystem.
• AkeanaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAkeana is launching high-performance RISC-V chips for servers and edge applications as part of the RISC-V ecosystem.
• NextSiliconminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNextSilicon is productizing its Arbel RISC-V core into 64-core and 128-core enterprise processors for AI and HPC workloads.
• Epic SemiminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEpic Semi is launching high-performance RISC-V chips for servers and edge applications.
• SpacemiTminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSpacemiT is launching high-performance RISC-V chips targeting space and edge applications.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Intel Corporation: Intel's x86 architecture is the third major ISA alongside ARM and RISC-V, dominating data center and PC markets. Intel and RISC-V International are comparable as ISA stewards, though Intel is an integrated commercial chipmaker while RISC-V International is a non-profit standards body. The RISC-V relocation to Switzerland was explicitly motivated by escaping Intel and ARM licensing restrictions.
• ARM Holdings: ARM is the dominant proprietary instruction set architecture and the primary alternative to RISC-V in mobile, embedded, and increasingly server markets. Both ARM and RISC-V International define processor instruction set standards, making them direct comparables in the ISA ecosystem, though ARM operates commercially with licensing fees while RISC-V International is a non-profit standards body.
• MIPS Technology: MIPS is a competing processor ISA historically used in embedded systems and networking, now owned by GlobalFoundries-affiliated entities. MIPS and RISC-V are comparable as alternative ISAs challenging x86 and ARM, with MIPS being the longer-established but more narrowly adopted competitor that RISC-V is now displacing in many segments.

Others

• Eclipse Foundation: Eclipse Foundation is a major non-profit open-source foundation managing standards and projects across software and increasingly hardware. Like RISC-V International, Eclipse is a membership-based standards organization, and both operate within the broader open-source foundation ecosystem, though Eclipse's focus is broader software tooling rather than processor ISAs.
• Linux Foundation: Linux Foundation is the parent organization under which RISC-V International operates, jointly hosting events like Open Source Summit. As the largest open-source foundation globally, Linux Foundation is comparable as an organizational model for sustaining open-source standards bodies, though its scope is far broader than RISC-V International's ISA focus.

Direct peers

• SiFive: SiFive is the leading commercial implementer of RISC-V cores, founded by RISC-V creators and serving as a primary vehicle for RISC-V commercialization. While RISC-V International is the standards body and SiFive is a chip IP vendor, both are foundational to the RISC-V ecosystem, and SiFive's $400M Series G and $3.65B valuation signal the commercial value being built on top of the RISC-V standard.
• CHIPS Alliance: CHIPS Alliance is a Linux Foundation project focused on open-source hardware and chip design, sharing RISC-V International's mission of open hardware collaboration. Both are non-profit consortia fostering open hardware ecosystems, and both operate under the Linux Foundation umbrella, making CHIPS Alliance the closest organizational peer in structure and purpose.
• OpenPOWER Foundation: OpenPOWER Foundation stewards the open-source Power ISA, paralleling RISC-V International's role for the RISC-V ISA. Both are non-profit standards bodies developing open instruction set architectures, and both target server and high-performance computing markets, making OpenPOWER the most structurally analogous peer organization to RISC-V International.

Emerging players

• Ventana Micro Systems: Ventana develops high-performance RISC-V application processors for data center and cloud markets. As a member of RISC-V International and a key commercial implementer targeting server workloads, Ventana represents a critical commercial use case for the RISC-V standard and a comparable peer in the RISC-V ecosystem.
• Tenstorrent: Tenstorrent is a RISC-V-based AI chip company developing high-performance processors for AI workloads. While RISC-V International is the standards body, Tenstorrent represents one of the most important commercial implementations riding on top of the RISC-V standard, with overlapping AI-native positioning and member relationship.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/risc_v
• GitHubgithub.com/riscv
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UC5gLmcFuvdGbajs4VL-WU3g
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/risc-v-international-association

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about RISC-V International