SiFive announced the appointment of former Qualcomm executive Patrick Little, as their new CEO. Patrick Little is hired to set up the company’s RISC-V processors as an alternative to Arm after Nvidia‘s $40 billion acquisition of the world’s leading semiconductor and software design company.
RISC-V a huge deal for SiFive as Nvidia acquires Arm
SiFive is known for designing processors that can be customized to customer’s needs. It ranges for products from low end to the high end of the computing spectrum. These processors are based on RISC-V, an open architecture created by university researchers a decade ago. Also, Little said that RISC-V is a huge deal since Nvidia has agreed to acquire Arm.
On his appointment, Little said that it is a fantastic opportunity and the timing is perfect as the industry transforms from general-purpose computing to domain-focused. The world is turning away from generic processors to optimized solutions. Also, companies now are looking at open versus closed solutions.
Patrick Little to succeed Naveed Sherwani, SiFive’s former president, and CEO
Little joins SiFive from Qualcomm, where he worked as the senior vice president and general manager and led Qualcomm’s expansion into the automotive industry. He has around 30 years of operating experience in executive roles in the semiconductor and technology industry. He was also the CEO of eASIC, senior vice president of CSR Technology, and senior vice president at Xilinx.
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Little will succeed Naveed Sherwani who is the former president and CEO of SiFive. Sherwani will continue to chair SiFive’s board. If played right, SiFive could become a key alternative to leaders of the chip industry. Last month, SiFive also raised $16 million from investors that include Intel and Qualcomm.
Collaboration with Barcelona Supercomputing Center for the creation of new API
In a recent update, SiFive also announced a collaboration with the Barcelona Supercomputing Center. It will help them create a new application programming interface (API) for popular compilers. It further allows applications to use the RISC-V Vector Extension which is currently under development for artificial intelligence, and computer vision systems. SiFive has around 500 employees, as well as 15 locations where it assists customers in designing chips.