OpenHW
OpenHW Foundation is a non-profit Eclipse Foundation initiative that develops and verifies industrial-grade open source RISC-V processor cores and silicon platforms. It serves semiconductor companies, research institutions, and technology innovators through membership-funded collaborative development.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2019
- HeadquartersOttawa, Canada
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What OpenHW does
OpenHW Foundation is a non-profit global initiative that drives the development, verification, and adoption of industrial-grade open source RISC-V processor IP and related silicon platforms. It operates as a global initiative under Eclipse Foundation AISBL, chartered in Belgium, and brings together more than 30 member organizations including semiconductor companies (Thales, Ainekko), research institutions (CEA-List, Harvey Mudd College), and technology innovators (lowRISC, 10X Engineers, OpenChip, Chips-IT). The foundation's core products include the CORE-V Cores portfolio (CVE2, CVE4, CVA5, CVA6) — verified RISC-V processor cores designed for commercial silicon and FPGA deployment — along with the CORE-V MCU evaluation platform, the CORE-ET open silicon platform targeting edge AI inference, governance programs, and EU RISC-V collaborative initiatives.
The technical architecture emphasizes open source collaboration under rigorous industrial verification standards, distinguishing OpenHW from academic open hardware projects. CORE-ET, contributed by Ainekko and launched in June 2026, combines many-core RISC-V compute with MRAM-based intelligent memory and has been taped out on a 16nm process node. Distribution occurs primarily through GitHub repositories (core-v-cores, core-v-mcu, core-et, programs) enabling self-service adoption, with community engagement via OpenHW TV (YouTube) and RISC-V Summit Europe.
The business model is a membership-funded non-profit consortium. Revenue flows from membership contributions from semiconductor companies, research institutions, and technology organizations, with members receiving governance participation rights and technical access to development assets. Specific membership fee structures are not publicly disclosed, and no commercial revenue, ARR, or funding round data is available. The foundation serves semiconductor companies developing RISC-V-based chips, academic researchers studying processor architecture, and technology innovators building edge AI, IoT, and embedded computing products.
OpenHW firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- OpenHW
- Legal name
- Eclipse Foundation AISBL
- Website
- https://openhwgroup.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2019
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- OpenHW Foundation is a non-profit Eclipse Foundation initiative that develops and verifies industrial-grade open source RISC-V processor cores and silicon platforms. It serves semiconductor companies, research institutions, and technology innovators through membership-funded collaborative development.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
OpenHW industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Open Source RISC-V Processor IP
- NAICS
- Scientific Research and Development Services (5417)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Hardware/Chip Design IP Cores (Processor, Interface, Analog, Security) (HDAHAFAF)
Keywords
Where OpenHW is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Ottawa
- HQ country
- Canada
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
OpenHW business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Membership Fees: OpenHW Foundation operates through membership contributions from semiconductor companies, research institutions, and technology organizations. Members gain governance participation and technical access to open source RISC-V development assets.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels4 records
OpenHW product offering
Product offeringCore offering
OpenHW Foundation develops and maintains open source RISC-V processor intellectual property (IP) cores, including the CORE-V family (CVE2, CVE4, CVA5, CVA6), reference platforms such as CORE-V MCU and the CORE-ET Silicon Platform, and supporting verification, software, and tooling. The organization delivers these designs to its member organizations and the broader hardware community under permissive open source licenses.
Product overview
OpenHW Foundation is an Eclipse Foundation global initiative that drives the development, verification, and adoption of industrial-grade open source RISC-V cores and related IP. The offering is a portfolio of distinct but complementary open source products: verified RISC-V processor cores (CORE-V Cores: CVE2, CVE4, CVA5, CVA6) serving as the foundational IP; the CORE-V MCU platform providing software, documentation, and reference designs for embedded evaluation; and the CORE-ET open silicon platform for edge computing with AI inference capabilities. Cross-cutting programs (OpenHW Programs) provide governance, while EU RISC-V and OpenHW TV support community engagement and education. Together these products move organizations from RISC-V evaluation through to silicon, FPGA, and production deployment.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- CORE-V Cores: Portfolio of verified open source RISC-V cores including CVE2, CVE4, CVA5, and CVA6 designed for commercial and research applications.
- CORE-V MCU
- CORE-ET
Products and services
- CORE-V CVE2
Quantifiable outcome
- Production-ready cores verified for commercial deployment with complete verification assets available
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use OpenHW
Customer profileSegments3 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
OpenHW technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature4 records
OpenHW partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.
- Eclipse FoundationcoreOpenHW Group joined the Eclipse Foundation in October 2024 as a global initiative. The Eclipse Foundation acts as the steward of the OpenHW open source development community, providing governance infrastructure, legal frameworks, and organizational support for the initiative.
- CEA-ListcoreCEA-List is a member organisation supporting OpenHW Foundation's development of industrial-grade RISC-V technologies. CEA-List contributes technical expertise to collaborative development efforts.
- ThalescoreThales is a member organisation of OpenHW Foundation contributing to the development of verified, industrial-grade open source RISC-V intellectual property.
- lowRISCcorelowRISC is a member organisation collaborating on open source RISC-V development within the OpenHW Foundation ecosystem.
- AinekkoflagshipAinekko contributed its CORE-ET Silicon Platform to OpenHW Foundation in June 2026. The platform combines many-core RISC-V compute, MRAM-based intelligent memory, and open tooling for energy-efficient edge AI inference, taped out on 16nm node. This is a flagship open silicon platform project.
- 10X Engineerscore10X Engineers is a member organisation of OpenHW Foundation contributing to collaborative RISC-V development efforts.
- Harvey Mudd CollegecoreHarvey Mudd College participates as an academic member, contributing research and educational expertise to the OpenHW Foundation ecosystem.
- OpenChipcoreOpenChip is a member organisation of OpenHW Foundation collaborating on open source RISC-V silicon development.
- Chips-ITcoreChips-IT is a member organisation participating in OpenHW Foundation's collaborative development of industrial-grade RISC-V technologies.
Scale indicators1 record
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights4 records
OpenHW competitors and assessment
Company assessmentOthers
- RISC-V International: RISC-V International is the global non-profit standards body governing the RISC-V ISA specification. It is not a direct competitor but shapes the ecosystem in which OpenHW operates; many OpenHW members are also RISC-V International members, and the foundation's work depends on the standards RISC-V International maintains.
Direct peers
- Andes Technology: Andes Technology is a commercial RISC-V processor IP provider with a broad portfolio of cores targeting embedded, IoT, and AI applications. It is one of the most established RISC-V IP vendors and competes with OpenHW's CORE-V cores for commercial design wins.
- Ventana Micro Systems: Ventana Micro Systems develops high-performance RISC-V processor IP targeting data center and compute-intensive applications. It represents a commercial, well-funded counterpart to OpenHW in the RISC-V IP market with overlapping ambitions in production-grade silicon.
- lowRISC: lowRISC is an open source organization producing production-quality open source RISC-V implementations (notably Ibex and the OpenTitan secure silicon root of trust). It is a member of OpenHW Foundation but is also an independent peer producing overlapping RISC-V IP for similar research and commercial audiences.
- Codasip: Codasip offers commercial RISC-V processor IP and customization tools, competing with OpenHW in the embedded and application processor IP market. Its Studio tools and core portfolio target similar commercial silicon and FPGA use cases as OpenHW's CORE-V offering.
- SiFive: SiFive is the leading commercial RISC-V IP core vendor, offering a portfolio of processor IP that directly competes with OpenHW's CORE-V Cores. Both target commercial silicon and FPGA deployment with industrial-grade verification, but SiFive pursues a traditional commercial licensing model while OpenHW operates an open source consortium.
Broad incumbents
- Arm: Arm is the dominant proprietary processor IP licensor whose high licensing costs are a primary pain point OpenHW's open source model addresses. Arm competes broadly in every market segment OpenHW targets, including embedded, MCU, and increasingly edge AI.
- Imagination Technologies: Imagination Technologies is an established processor IP vendor offering CPU and GPU IP cores. While primarily known for non-RISC-V architectures, it has begun RISC-V efforts and represents the broader commercial IP ecosystem that OpenHW positions itself against in the embedded market.
- Synopsys: Synopsys is a leading EDA and semiconductor IP vendor offering processor IP alongside design tools. Its ARC processor family competes with RISC-V IP in the embedded market, and Synopsys' broader portfolio and customer relationships represent significant competitive gravity.
Emerging players
- CHIPS Alliance: CHIPS Alliance is an open source hardware community under the Linux Foundation developing IP, tools, and SoC reference designs. It shares OpenHW's open source hardware mission and overlaps in RISC-V-adjacent projects (e.g., Rocket Chip, OpenPiton), making it a community/ecosystem peer.
Market position
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
OpenHW social profiles
Digital presenceOpenHW financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
OpenHW leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
OpenHW funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
OpenHW M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about OpenHW
What does OpenHW do?
OpenHW Foundation develops and maintains open source RISC-V processor intellectual property (IP) cores, including the CORE-V family (CVE2, CVE4, CVA5, CVA6), reference platforms such as CORE-V MCU and the CORE-ET Silicon Platform, and supporting verification, software, and tooling. The organization delivers these designs to its member organizations and the broader hardware community under permissive open source licenses.
Is OpenHW a public or private company?
OpenHW is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was OpenHW founded?
OpenHW was founded in 2019. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is OpenHW based?
OpenHW is headquartered in Ottawa, Canada, in the North America region.
How does OpenHW make money?
One revenue line is on record: membership Fees.
Who are OpenHW's main competitors?
RISC-V International is listed as an others. Direct peers are Andes Technology, Ventana Micro Systems, lowRISC, Codasip and SiFive. Broad incumbents are Arm, Imagination Technologies and Synopsys. CHIPS Alliance is listed as an emerging player.
Does OpenHW have an API?
No public API is recorded for OpenHW.
What industry is OpenHW in?
OpenHW's product category is Open Source RISC-V Processor IP. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HDAHAFAF, Hardware/Chip Design IP Cores (Processor, Interface, Analog, Security). Its NAICS code is 5417.