Back in 2015, a group of engineers from UC Berkeley launched SiFive now they’ve pulled in $400 million fresh cash. That pushes the chip design firm’s worth up to $3.65 billion altogether.
SiFive builds chips using RISC-V, an open design. Unlike most processors, it doesn’t follow Intel’s x86 path. Or even Arm’s blueprint. That sets it apart. Most machines powering Nvidia’s AI tools run on those older formats. Not this one.
Funding saw a boost when Nvidia stepped in. Leading the charge was Atreides Management, a firm set up by Gavin Baker. Apollo Global Management joined alongside D1 Capital Partners. Point72 took part at the same time as T. Rowe Price. Sutter Hill Ventures came in too.
Out of nowhere, SiFive follows a path close to what Arm once did. Instead of building physical chips, it creates chip blueprints and lets others use them through licensing deals. Lately though, Arm shifted gears now crafting dedicated AI processors alongside heavyweights such as Meta, OpenAI, Cerebras Systems, and Cloudflare.
Their chip blueprints stay open, free for anyone to use, not locked down by corporate control. Backing came most recently in 2022 $175 million found its way in, lifting the total worth to $2.33 billion. Names like Intel Capital stepped forward, joined by Qualcomm Ventures and even Aramco Ventures. Ownership stays loose, decisions unswayed by single buyers.
Back then, tiny gadgets mostly ran on RISC-V processors. Today, thanks to fresh investment and a push from Nvidia, SiFive aims at crafting chips for heavy-duty AI servers. These blueprints play well with Nvidia’s CUDA tools, along with their NVLink Fusion setup – linking processors directly into Nvidia’s artificial intelligence networks.
Instead of just chasing Nvidia in graphics chips, Intel and AMD watch as Nvidia backs SiFive to build a fresh kind of processor. This chip leans on open design, stepping off the usual path. Different rules apply here. The move shifts attention from pure competition to quiet collaboration behind the scenes. Not what most would expect.
