Can Open‑Source Hardware Rival Linux’s Legacy?

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the Linux kernel’s release, the cornerstone of the open‑source software movement. The kernel’s freely available code has spurred hundreds of robust, stable, and flexible Linux distributions, creating a legacy of innovation and reliability.

Given that success, can the same open‑source philosophy be applied to hardware? Can an instruction set architecture (ISA) such as RISC‑V serve as the foundation for a proliferation of open‑source silicon, mirroring Linux’s role for software?

The answer is both yes and no.

RISC‑V is indeed an open standard, offering the freedom, flexibility, and speed needed to build products around it. However, hardware is inherently more complex, involving multiple layers of the stack, which means it’s not as simple as shipping a software package.

To explore this question, we surveyed key stakeholders in the RISC‑V ecosystem—including the OpenHW Group, RISC‑V International, NXP Semiconductors, and Andes Technology. Their insights highlight similarities to open‑source software, identify barriers to hardware adoption, and underscore the importance of a vibrant community and ecosystem.

Quality and Support Ecosystem Are Critical

Rick O’Connor, president and CEO of the OpenHW Group, likens RISC‑V to the Linux kernel: “The RISC‑V ISA is what the kernel was for Linux at the beginning, and other open‑source software projects sprouted from it.” He added that the ISA is the seed from which a hardware ecosystem can grow.

Rick O’Connor

O’Connor cautions that quality remains a significant barrier. “If you work in a high‑volume SoC company, you can’t simply adopt a university‑derived core and declare it production‑ready.” To address this, the OpenHW Group advocates an open verification flow that demonstrates quality and reliability, giving high‑volume manufacturers confidence comparable to in‑house development.

He also clarifies misconceptions about RISC‑V International, the foundation that oversees the ISA specification. “The foundation is not about developing cores; it defines the instruction set architecture. Adoption can be commercial, open‑source, closed‑source, for profit, or non‑profit, and it supports a variety of logic capture languages.”

O’Connor emphasizes that the OpenHW Group’s focus extends beyond core design. “We are developing artifacts for heterogeneous cluster computing, enabling diverse SoC sizes, clustering different core types, accelerators, and custom blocks.” This aligns with RISC‑V’s promise of enabling anyone to stitch a core together without contractual constraints.

He notes that the ISA has already unleashed “a new frontier in innovation,” allowing developers to build from scratch. “Our challenge is to establish five or six sustainable core families around RISC‑V.”

Rob Oshana

Rob Oshana, vice president of software engineering for R&D at NXP Semiconductors, draws a parallel: “Linux is actual source code that thousands of developers contribute to collaboratively via the Linux Kernel Archives.” He stresses that RISC‑V International owns a specification, not an implementation, and that the OpenHW Group is filling the gap by providing free, open, royalty‑free implementations and collateral, much like the Linux Foundation.

Community Support, Not Just a Specification, Is Essential

Open source thrives on community engagement. “Simply putting something in a Git repository and calling it ‘open’ isn’t enough,” Oshana argues. “A community must nurture, care for, and grow the project.” He points out that OpenHW Group cores succeed because of collective efforts in building cores, boards, software, and reference platforms.

Oshana calls for sustained engineering investment and best practices. “Each distribution will be unique, but success hinges on a reliable set of hardware‑based tools and clear maintainer roles—akin to the upstreaming process in Linux.”

Mark Himelstein

Mark Himelstein, CTO at RISC‑V International, echoes this sentiment: “Linux’s adoption wasn’t due to its technical superiority alone; it was the community and support. With RISC‑V, I believe we are on track to become the Linux of hardware.”

Hardware Is More Complex Than Software

Hardware’s multi‑layer stack adds complexity. “More than 95% of silicon volume today is produced and verified using Verilog‑based tool flows and commercial verification infrastructure,” O’Connor notes. “To encourage adoption, cores must integrate seamlessly into existing commercial tool chains.”

SoC vendors typically employ SystemVerilog Universal Verification Methodology (UVM). “We’ll not try to force a new methodology,” O’Connor says. “If we want RTL adoption of open blocks, they need to drop into the familiar UVM environment.”

He highlights the physics of silicon manufacturing—process recipes, libraries, CAD tools, GDSII masks, and verification software—all heavily patented. “Replacing the entire stack with open‑source implementations isn’t realistic for any commercial company.”

The OpenHW Group’s founders decided against building a proprietary ecosystem for RISC‑V cores. Instead, their goal is to provide open hardware building blocks that facilitate heterogeneous clusters and custom accelerators, while leveraging commercial tools to ensure high confidence.

O’Connor predicts that open‑source FPGAs will soon emerge, followed by open‑source SoCs.

Commercial Perspective

Andes Technology exemplifies how a commercial firm can integrate open‑source infrastructure. The Taiwanese company has launched multiple RISC‑V processors and announced customer implementations.

In addition to designing cores for SK Telecom and Renesas, Andes recently revealed that EdgeQ, a startup developing 5G base‑station chips, will use an Andes‑licensed RISC‑V core with a custom extension to deliver an open, programmable 5G platform with integrated AI. The extension allows EdgeQ to tailor instruction sets for performance, features, and power that current wireless solutions lack.

Frankwell Lin

Lin explains: “RISC‑V is an open‑source ISA for hardware description, not an open core. Companies cooperate on the standard but compete in business.” He adds that Andes balances a decade of proprietary core expertise with a 90% shift toward RISC‑V development.

Lin notes that hardware has other open standards—Verilog, PCIe, USB, OpenCL, OpenCV, Bluetooth, and Wi‑Fi—often agreed upon by industry leaders. As more open hardware tools emerge, the question remains whether a foundation akin to the Linux kernel is needed to spur adoption. Community engagement and corporate contributions are crucial.

Nevertheless, heavy investments in design tools and production equipment make open‑source hardware a challenging proposition. Hardware blocks must integrate with existing toolchains to manage the greater complexity across each design layer.

>> This article was originally published on our sister site, EE Times.

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