Imagination quits RISC-V CPU business to focus on GPUs and AI

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RISC-V Catapult CPU IP dropped.

Imagination Technologies
(Image credit: Imagination Technologies)

Imagination Technology is primarily known for its GPU IP used by a wide range of companies across the industry, but in 2021 the company expanded its business with RISC-V Catapult CPU IP to address various market segments with a complete CPU+GPU solution. However, it looks like the business did not meet the company's expectations, so it has decided to divest in RISC-V to focus on GPU and AI IP, reports eeNews Europe.

"Imagination exited its standalone line of CPUs to increase our investment in graphics, AI, and compute at the edge which we believe is transformational for our business," a statement by Imagination published by eeNews Europe reads.

Despite this shift, Imagination maintains a commitment to the RISC-V ecosystem. It is ready to work with developers of RISC-V CPUs and CPU IP to try to become 'a GPU provider of choice' for the entire ecosystem, rather than addressing designs that its range of CPU IP could cover.

Indeed, the company's lineup of RISC-V CPU IP was not exactly wide and included IPs for microcontrollers, real-time embedded processors, entry-level automotive CPUs, and more recently a 64-bit core that could compete against Arm's Cortex-A510/A520. While the portfolio could potentially allow Imagination to license its cores to dozens or hundreds of companies (especially in China), it could not address the high end of the market, which is small today, but could grow in years to come.

Imagination's decision to shift its focus solely to GPUs is a bit ironic considering its history with MIPS, a company that developed processors based on its own instruction set architecture, got acquired by Imagination in 2013, then sold in 2017, went bankrupt, and then re-emerged in 2020 as a developer of RISC-V CPU IP.

One of the most recent reports about Imagination Technologies indicated that its current owner Canyon Bridge Capital Partners tasked an asset management firm to find a buyer for the GPU developer.

This happened weeks after the UK-China Transparency organization accused Imagination Technologies and its owner which is controlled by the Chinese government of facilitating the transfer of Imagination's key IP to China-based GPU designers Biren Technology, InnoSilicon, and Moore Threads. These technologies reportedly enabled Chinese companies to develop advanced GPUs that could be used to advance AI, military, and supercomputing applications.

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Anton Shilov
Anton Shilov
Contributing Writer

Anton Shilov is a contributing writer at Tom’s Hardware. Over the past couple of decades, he has covered everything from CPUs and GPUs to supercomputers and from modern process technologies and latest fab tools to high-tech industry trends.

2 Comments Comment from the forums
  • artk2219
    They didn't even give it 4 years, that initiative needed to have 5 or 6 years minimum to see tangible results. I guess they just want to reap the benefits of everyone else's labour without having to contribute a bunch themselves.
    Reply
  • bit_user
    Oops. They had a compelling business case behind this, which was to be a one-stop-shop for all the IP needed to make a SoC, similar to what ARM has long done. Even if their RISC-V cores weren't the most competitive, they merely needed to be decent, for a lot of embedded applications.

    The only possible upside I can see to this is perhaps making themselves cheaper, in hopes of getting picked up as a GPU-provider by someone who already has custom RISC-V cores, like SiFive. However, I think SiFive is probably in no position to make such an acquisition.

    Gosh, Imagination really does seem to be circling the drain, these days.
    Reply