U.S.-China Tech War Intensifies as Lawmakers Urge Restrictions on RISC-V Chip Technology

In the ongoing tech war between the United States and China, a new battleground has emerged: RISC-V chip technology. Some lawmakers are pressuring President Joe Biden’s administration to restrict American companies from working on this freely available chip technology, citing national security concerns. RISC-V, an open-source technology, competes with proprietary technology from Arm Holdings and is used in various applications, from smartphones to advanced processors for artificial intelligence.

Lawmakers, including Republican Senator Marco Rubio and Democratic Senator Mark Warner, are urging the Biden administration to take action on RISC-V. They argue that China is leveraging the culture of open collaboration among American companies to advance its own semiconductor industry, potentially eroding the U.S. lead in chip technology and aiding China’s military modernization efforts.

Representative Mike Gallagher, chairman of the House select committee on China, called on the Commerce Department to require export licenses for any American company engaging with Chinese entities on RISC-V technology. The lawmakers’ concerns represent the first major effort to impose constraints on U.S. companies working on RISC-V.

The U.S.-China battle over chip technology has been escalating, with last year’s export restrictions being updated by the Biden administration this month. Lawmakers argue that China is using RISC-V to circumvent U.S. intellectual property dominance and grow its chip industry. They believe that export control laws need to be expanded to address the threat posed by open-source software.

RISC-V is overseen by a Swiss-based nonprofit foundation that coordinates efforts among for-profit companies to develop the technology. While China’s Huawei Technologies has embraced RISC-V, the United States and its allies, including chip giant Qualcomm and Google, have also shown interest in the technology. Qualcomm is working with European automotive firms on RISC-V chips, and Google plans to make Android compatible with RISC-V chips.

If the Biden administration were to regulate U.S. companies’ participation in the RISC-V foundation, it could complicate collaboration between American and Chinese companies on open technical standards. It could also hinder China’s pursuit of chip self-sufficiency and impede efforts by the U.S. and Europe to create more affordable and versatile chips.

The potential restrictions on American companies regarding RISC-V have raised concerns among industry experts. Jack Kang, vice president of business development at SiFive, a startup using RISC-V, described it as a “tremendous tragedy” and compared it to banning work on the internet. He emphasized the importance of technology, leadership, innovation, and job creation that RISC-V enables.

Regulating the open discussion of technologies is uncommon but not impossible. Existing rules on chip exports could provide a legal framework for such proposals. The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security, responsible for export-control regulations, continually assesses how best to protect national security and safeguard core technologies.

As the U.S.-China tech war intensifies, the outcome of the debate surrounding RISC-V will have significant implications for the global technology industry. Balancing national security concerns with the benefits of open collaboration and innovation will be crucial in shaping the future of chip technology.