Alibaba chip subsidiary launches first processor

HANGZHOU - Alibaba's chip-making subsidiary Pingtouge Semiconductor Thursday launched its first processor XuanTie 910 built on an open-source architecture.

The processor can be used in applications in fields including 5G, artificial intelligence (AI) and autonomous driving, according to Alibaba.

The processor is built on the RISC-V hardware instruction set architecture (ISA) that is open and energy saving, it said, adding that RISC-V is widely seen as one of the core architectures for chip development under the artificial intelligence of things (AIoT) technology in the mobile internet era.

The processor is over 40 percent more powerful than the current best RISC-V processors and can greatly reduce the design and manufacturing costs of high performance chips.

In the sectors of 5G, AI, network communication and autonomous driving, the processor can more than double the performance of chips and reduce the cost of chips by more than half, it said.

Alibaba announced the establishment of Pingtouge Semiconductor in September 2018, just months after it acquired Chinese chipmaker C-SKY Microsystems.