Synopsys has announced plans to expand its processor intellectual property portfolio with the new RISC-V ARC-V family. The company is introducing designs for its next-generation ARC-V processor, using the RISC-V architecture, for chip applications in the embedded automotive, storage, and internet of things markets. The company revealed the new IP during the RISC-V North America 2023 event in Santa Clara, California, in the heart of Silicon Valley.
Leveraging its extensive experience in processor IP development and software toolkits, Synopsys has crafted this next-gen ARC-V Processor IP, which builds upon the established microarchitecture of its existing ARC Processors, enriched by the expansive RISC-V software ecosystem.
The Synopsys ARC-V Processor IP comes in high-performance, mid-range, ultra-low power, and functional safety versions, accommodating a wide spectrum of application workloads. To facilitate software development, Synopsys has equipped the ARC-V Processor IP with the robust and proven Synopsys MetaWare Development Toolkit, ensuring the generation of highly efficient code. Synopsys.ai, a full-stack AI-driven electronic design automation (EDA) suite, is co-optimized with the ARC-V Processor IP, creating a comprehensive development and verification environment that enhances productivity and quality-of-results for systems-on-chip (SoCs) based on ARC-V.
As the automotive industry and others seek resilience within the semiconductor ecosystem, there’s a growing push towards open standards such as RISC-V. This move aligns with the adoption of safety-certified RISC-V-based processor IP by Synopsys, supporting high-performance automotive systems with functional safety. Leading industry players, like Infineon, are excited about this advancement, emphasizing the need for open standards to build robust automotive solutions.
Synopsys has a history of delivering power-efficient and scalable ARC Processors used in billions of SoCs across automotive, storage, consumer, and IoT applications. This expertise has allowed the company to support the RISC-V ISA with ultra-configurable, extensible processors that enable developers to differentiate their SoCs, optimizing the power, performance, and area balance.
The Synopsys ARC-V Processor IP portfolio is expected to be generally available in 2024. The 32-bit Synopsys ARC-V RMX embedded processor IP is scheduled for availability in Q2 of 2024, while the 32-bit Synopsys ARC-V RHX real-time processor IP and 64-bit Synopsys ARC-V RPX host processor IP will follow in the second half of 2024.
