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From: jgd@cix.co.uk (John Dallman)
Newsgroups: comp.arch
Subject: Re: Computer architects leaving Intel...
Date: Wed, 28 Aug 2024 19:17 +0100 (BST)
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In article <VbrzO.74199$NSs5.15950@fx17.iad>, scott@slp53.sl.home (Scott
Lurndal) wrote:

> jgd@cix.co.uk (John Dallman) writes:
> > They're presumably intending to develop high-performance cores, 
> > since they have substantial experience in doing that for x86-64. 
> > The question is if demand for those will develop. 
> Ask Si-Five about demand for high-performance risc-v cores.

SiFive were pretty sure there wasn't near-term demand for them in 4Q2023.
Ahead Computing are presumably not expecting to deliver IP cores for a
year or two, so /maybe/ they have reasons to expect demand then. 

But it's also possible they just want to carry on being chip architects
while being in charge of their own company. If so, adopting RISC-V is
more credible in the short term than starting to design a new ISA as a
commercial project. Intel won't sell them an x86 license at any
reasonable price. 

Thinking a bit more, they may be trying to go the Nuvia route: design
original cores for an existing ISA and get bought out. Nuvia were bought
by Qualcomm for their ARMv9-A core IP well before they released anything.
If Ahead were to successfully design a fast RISC-V core with
power:performance that was competitive with ARM, /Intel/ might well buy
them. 

Intel were all over RISC-V in 4Q2022 and 1Q2023, looking for something to
compete with ARM after having accepted you can't get power:performance to
match ARM out of x86-64. Then it all went quiet, and Intel didn't
manufacture the SiFive SoC ("Horse Creek") that was supposed to blaze the
trail for RISC-V as a consumer and/or enterprise architecture. 

If you were a discontented Intel senior engineer, demonstrating that you
could produce what Intel needed, getting your company bought and you
brought back to Intel in a more senior position might seem worth trying. 

John