Finally, 15 years after the launch of RISC-V, a startup founded by four former Intel employees aims to take it to the next level and displace its former employer.
AheadComputing could operate under an intellectual property licensing model, similar to that of Arm.
AheadComputing, a startup founded by former Intel engineers, has secured initial funding of $21.5 million with the aim of developing a 64-bit RISC-V microprocessor. The investment was led by Eclipse, with participation from Jim Keller, a renowned chip designer who has worked on AMD's Zen architecture and Tesla's first autonomous driving chip. He is currently the CEO of Tenstorrent, one of the most promising companies in AI hardware to watch in 2025.
AheadComputing’s vision is that "everyone deserves a better computer" and maintains that the transition from proprietary architectures to more open alternatives is inevitable. The company's focus is on developing microprocessors with RISC-V architecture, aiming to "push the boundaries of what's possible in computing."
Led by Debbie Marr, who was previously a Fellow at Intel and chief architect of the advanced architecture development group, the company also boasts the experience of engineers Jonathan Pearce, Srikanth Srinivasan, and Mark Dechene. Marr has stated that “the current computing ecosystem is in disarray; the industry is undergoing a significant transformation driven by emerging market leaders and disruptive technologies. As founders of AheadComputing, we see the chaos as an opportunity and believe our team has the unique experience to help create a new and improved ecosystem for the future.”
Despite x86 and Arm dominating computing for decades, AheadComputing believes that the advantages of open RISC-V architecture, combined with its flexibility and cost reduction, will eventually make it the preferred choice. Additionally, the company plans to operate under an intellectual property licensing model, similar to that of Arm.
As the industry makes significant investments in parallel data AI accelerators, Marr highlights that performance per core remains a crucial and often overlooked aspect of computing. “Today, there is an opportunity to enhance performance per core, which we consider the cornerstone of multi-processor system efficiency,” she noted.
Since its founding, the company has grown from a team of four to 40 people and is looking to expand rapidly. The funds raised will be allocated to hiring more engineers and developing core intellectual property. Additionally, the startup is seeking strategic partners to accelerate its entry into cloud computing, AI, and mobile markets.
