RISC-V Chip: New Battleground In U.S.-China Tech War

In a new front in the US-China tech war, President Joe Biden's administration is facing pressure from some lawmakers to restrict US companies from working on freely available chip technology widely used in China - a move that could upend how the global technology industry collaborates across borders, Stephen Nellis and Max A. Cherney reported for Reuters.

RISC-V can be used as a key ingredient for anything from a smartphone chip to advanced processors for artificial intelligence. I Photo: Siemens Digital Industries Software

At issue is RISC-V, pronounced "risk five," an open-source technology that competes with costly proprietary technology from the British semiconductor and software design company Arm Holdings.

RISC-V can be used as a key ingredient for anything from a smartphone chip to advanced processors for artificial intelligence.

Some lawmakers - including two Republican House of Representatives committee chairmen, Republican Senator Marco Rubio, and Democratic Senator Mark Warner - are urging Biden's administration to take action regarding RISC-V, citing national security grounds.

The lawmakers expressed concerns that Beijing is exploiting a culture of open collaboration among US companies to advance its own semiconductor industry, which could erode the current US lead in the chip field and help China modernize its military.

Rep. Mike Gallagher, chairman of the House select committee on China, told Reuters that the Commerce Department needs to "require any American person or company to receive an export license prior to engaging with PRC (People's Republic of China) entities on RISC-V technology."

Such calls to regulate RISC-V are the latest in the US-China battle over chip technology that escalated last year with sweeping export restrictions that the Biden administration has informed China it will update this month.

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