RISC-V Day secretariat will offer gift book “Google Semiconductors, RISC-V, and World Electronic Geopolitics,” which outlines the U.S. Department of Defense soft semiconductor strategy in Asia, to attendees of “RISC-V Days Tokyo 2023 Summer” on June 20th.

This article announces the presentation of the book “Google Semiconductors, RISC-V, and World Electronic Geopolitics” to registered attendees on June 12, 2023, following the press release on April 13, 2023, the opening of the poster session application guidelines on April 24, 2023, and the release of the program content on May 12, 2023.

June 12, 2023 (Thursday) General Incorporated Association RISC-V Association

【To the press】

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◆ The U.S. Department of Defense and Google have outlined a soft electronic strategy to be implemented in the Asia region in the book “Google Semiconductors, RISC-V, and World Electronic Geopolitics,” priced at 1818 yen (excluding tax). The book will be presented to participants of “RISC-V Days Tokyo 2023 Summer,” which will be held at the Ito Thank-You Hall of the Hongo Campus of the University of Tokyo on Tuesday, June 20 ◆

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The General Incorporated Association for Embedded Systems Technology and the General Incorporated Association RISC-V Association will present the book “Google Semiconductors, RISC-V, and World Electronic Geopolitics – RISC-V Day Tokyo 2022 Summer Edition,” priced at 1818 yen (excluding tax), to registered attendees at the “RISC-V Days Tokyo 2023 Summer” (English name: RISC-V Days Tokyo 2023 Summer), which will be held at the Ito Thank-You Hall of the Hongo Campus of the University of Tokyo in Bunkyo Ward, Tokyo, on Tuesday, June 20. This applies to those who have registered to attend using Peatix and have completed their reception at the venue on June 20.

Registration URL: https://peatix.com/event/3553721/view

The content, presentation location, and presentation method of “Google Semiconductors, RISC-V, and World Electronic Geopolitics – RISC-V Day Tokyo 2022 Summer Edition” are as follows.

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【How to Obtain “Google Semiconductors, RISC-V, and World Electronic Geopolitics”】
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■ June 20 (Tuesday)

◎Location: “RISC-V Days Tokyo 2023 Summer” venue
(Ito International Research Center, Ito Thank-You Hall, University of Tokyo)
◎Event Time: 8:30-20:30
◎Application URL: https://peatix.com/event/3553721/view
◎Program URL: https://riscv.or.jp/risc-v-day-tokyo-2023-summer/

※ Please obtain a ticket (paid) from the “RISC-V Days Tokyo 2023 Summer” registration site (Application URL). The condition is that the person comes to the Ito International Research Center, Ito Thank-You Hall, University of Tokyo, and is received at the reception.

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【Book Overview】 “Google Semiconductors, RISC-V, and World Electronic Geopolitics”
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“Google Semiconductors, RISC-V, and World Electronic Geopolitics – RISC-V Day Tokyo 2023 Summer Edition”
Single Volume: 304 pages (147x209mm)
Price: 1818 yen (excluding tax)
Editor: Haruyuki Tagosu
Release date: First edition, first printing on June 20, 2023
Sales: Available at major bookstores and online shopping sites
Publisher: Sohako Corporation
Publisher: Toshihiro Kawasaki
Publisher: Sohako Corporation
Book Code: ISBN 978-4-911019-00-9
Field Code: C0034
Price: 1818 yen (excluding tax)
Field: Technology
CPU Classification: B2-53 Hardware Development Computer Architecture
B8-02 Deep Learning
JAN Code 192-0034-01818-7

【About the editor: Mr. Haruyuki Tagosu】
Completed the Master’s program at the Faculty of Engineering, Keio University. In 1977, he joined the semiconductor business department of Tokyo Shibaura Electric Co., Ltd. He was involved in the design and development of the Emotion Engine, the CPU for the Sony PlayStation2, and the Cell processor, the CPU for the PlayStation3. From 2012, he conducted research on SoC design technology for wearables at the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) in Taiwan. He returned to Japan in 2019 and is currently engaged in edge AI development at the AI startup HACARUS. Currently, he is conducting research on RISC-V security semiconductors at SH Consulting Co., Ltd.

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【Publisher】 “Google Semiconductors, RISC-V, and World Electronic Geopolitics”
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■ Sohako Corporation
◎Representative: Toshihiro Kawasaki
◎Location: 7-18-13-502 Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo
◎TEL: 03-5565-0556

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【Background】 “Google Semiconductors, RISC-V, and World Electronic Geopolitics”
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Applied technologies of AI, such as ChatGPT, are supported by NVIDIA’s CUDA, among others. However, AI training such as natural language processing (NLP) and generative AI requires a large amount of power. Therefore, there is a demand for the development of new AI accelerators that operate at low power. Simultaneously, semiconductor manufacturing facilities, also known as “fabs,” require equipment that can reduce power consumption.

High-tech industries such as AI data centers and semiconductor manufacturing facilities (fabs) require a large and stable power supply. In Japan, reports suggest that data centers, including those of foreign IT companies, account for about 4% of the country’s total power consumption. This is a high level compared to the United States (1-2%) and Europe (less than 1%).

In particular, “fabs” require a large amount of power for manufacturing processes such as lithography, deposition, etching, cleaning, and doping. These data centers and semiconductor manufacturing processes are very sensitive to fluctuations in power supply, and a stable power supply is essential. Therefore, it is common to maintain a balance between demand and supply using main power sources such as nuclear and thermal power generation.

AI data centers and semiconductor manufacturing facilities (fabs) have become critical infrastructure supporting modern information societies. Therefore, securing power supply to these facilities is extremely important from the perspectives of economic security and energy security.

First, let’s consider the perspective of economic security. AI and semiconductors are key technologies supporting today’s global economy. AI is an important tool for supporting business decision-making and creating new services and products. On the other hand, semiconductors are central components in a wide range of products, from smartphones to automobiles and medical devices. Therefore, the power supply that supports the operation of AI data centers and fabs plays a vital role in supporting the entire economic activity of a nation.

Next, let’s consider the perspective of energy security. AI data centers and fabs consume a large amount of power. Therefore, a stable power supply to these facilities is required. However, energy resources are unevenly distributed among certain countries and regions, and international cooperation is required for supply. Moreover, power supplies dependent on fossil fuels cause problems of climate change, so securing sustainable power supplies is required.

From these perspectives, the power supply to AI data centers and fabs is positioned as part of economic security and energy security. Therefore, governments need to strategize to secure power supply to these facilities, such as developing power infrastructure, formulating energy policies, and investing in sustainable energy sources.

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[Objective] “Google Semiconductors, RISC-V, and World Electronic Geopolitics”
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The first objective of this book is to explain the US RISC-V movement and the “OpenROAD” (Open Realization of Advanced Designs) project developed by Google on behalf of DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency), which aims to apply the success of open source technology in the software industry widely to semiconductor design and reinvigorate the semiconductor industry after the slowdown of Moore’s law. DARPA is an agency under the US Department of Defense, responsible for the development of new technologies for military use.

The second objective of this book is to share information about the semiconductor industry in various regions of Asia. Inspired by the open-source trend started by RISC-V in the United States, regions in Asia are contemplating regional economic development through semiconductors. India has designated RISC-V technology as the “national architecture”, and has appointed two former Intel executives as ministers to promote the semiconductor industry. China is trying to transition to RISC-V in mobile handsets and data centers. Countries like India, Vietnam, Thailand, and Indonesia are starting regional semiconductor projects on a small budget, backed by the technology from the University of California and DARPA + Google. This open semiconductor movement is adding fantastic colors to the world. The book will trace past footprints and explain current plans to grow the semiconductor industry in various regions and governments across Asia.

The third objective of this book is to provide information about logic semiconductors. A chapter is dedicated to the realities of logic semiconductor manufacturing. We put a lot of effort into original research. In the current horizontally integrated semiconductor business, we conducted a quantitative trend survey of the product portfolio in each product field. The editors used data from Taiwan’s TSMC, the UK’s Arm and other annual reports, external presentations, materials publicly available from research companies, and numbers from RISC-V International’s affiliated analysts to visualize the data.

The fourth objective of this book is to talk about AI accelerators for data centers. ChatGPT, a natural language learning inference engine that was made publicly available on November 30, 2022, is supported by Nvidia’s GPU. Because deep learning and natural language processing of AI require a huge amount of electricity, there are startups trying to surpass Nvidia and reduce the power consumption of data center AI chips, as power demand is increasing. I will introduce products that have been meticulously designed for power saving, such as Esperanto Technologies’ data center AI accelerator ET-Soc-1, and the data center AI accelerator from Tenstorrent, which is scheduled to be announced at RISC-V Day Tokyo 2023 Summer.

For geopolitical reasons, if the stable supply of oil and natural gas is threatened, nuclear power generation is a potent means to secure the stability of energy supply. In Japan, which has experienced a nuclear power accident, there is strong opposition, but it is necessary to consider revisiting nuclear power as a stable power supply source for high-power-consuming infrastructures such as data centers and semiconductor fabs, from the perspective of economic security and energy security.

Reducing the power consumption required for AI training in data centers using AI accelerators, and reducing the power consumption of semiconductor fabs, are also matters to be considered from the perspective of economic security and energy security.

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[Table of Contents] “Google Semiconductors, RISC-V, and World Electronic Geopolitics”
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● Acknowledgments ii
● Introduction of the authors iv
● Description of the RISC-V system-on-a-chip (SoC) on the back cover xvii
● Preface xxiv

Chapter 1 Overview of the US CHIPS Act 1
1.1 US Government-Civil-Academic Semiconductor Project 2
1.1.1 Balanced semiconductor supply chain 3
1.1.2 US Department of Defense DARPA’s Semiconductor Revival Strategy (ERI) 5
1.1.3 Encouraging software engineers to transition to hardware engineers 5
1.1.4 University of California, Berkeley RISC-V 7
1.1.5 DARPA’s expectations for open-source semiconductors 9
1.1.6 The open semiconductor movement that also existed 45 years ago 10
1.1.7 Mask law made semiconductor layout a secret (1985)
1.2 Moves by the Department of Defense DARPA and Google, etc. 13
1.3 Reviving exponential growth 16
1.4 DARPA’s Electronic Revival Strategy ERI 17
1.5 Automation of semiconductor design by AI 18
1.6 References 19
Chapter 2 RISC-V: Publication of a free instruction set 20
2.1 What is RISC-V? 20
2.2 History of RISC-V 22
2.3 About SiFive 23
2.3.1 IPO of Arm and SiFive 25
2.4 Recent moves 26
2.4.1 Google’s Titan Project and OpenSilicon Consortium 26
2.4.2 Basic boot flow 27
2.4.3 Secure boot by Titan 29
2.4.4 Google Pixel 6’s security chip ‘Titan M2’ is a RISC-V architecture 30
2.5 RISC-V modular architecture 31
2.6 RISC-V development example 1 Embedded RISC-V 33
2.7 RISC-V development example 2 Cloud-based RISC-V 35
2.8 Growth and estimated share of RISC-V IP business 43
Revenue from RISC-V IP, software and tools – Estimated share of RISC-V IP vs Arm 44
2.9 Summary of Chapter 2 44
2.10 References 45
Chapter 3: Arm Semiconductor IP (Intellectual Property) Key Players 47
3.1 Where is Arm used? 48
3.2 Arm’s business model 49
3.3 Arm’s performance 51
3.3.1 Transition of Arm’s sales 51
3.3.2 Transition of Arm shipments by market/processor 51
3.3.3 Arm Flexible Access 53
3.4 Arm’s breakthrough in the server field 56
3.5 Arm’s birth myth 59
3.6 Summary of this chapter 61
3.7 References 62
2.8.1 Comparisonー 2.8.2 26
Chapter 4 The Reality of Logic Semiconductor Manufacturing 65
4.1 From the IDM era to Fabless +IP+ Foundry 65
4.2 The logic semiconductor manufacturing period is over twenty years 68
4.3 Examples of logic semiconductor products with mature technology nodes 79
4.4 Overview of 3D game machine graphics processing 79
4.5 Sega Dreamcast 81
4.6 SCE PlayStation 2 82
4.7 References 83
Chapter 5 Semiconductor Policies in Various Asian Regions, and the Usage of RISC-V and OpenRoad 86
5.1 Taiwan’s semiconductor industry 86
5.1.1 Inception period 86
5.1.2 Growth period 87
5.1.3 IP company Andes Technology 87
5.2 South Korea’s semiconductor industry 102
5.3 Progress of RISC-V in China 105
5.3.1 History of China’s semiconductor industry development 105
5.3.2 China’s integrated circuit market size and import surplus 107
5.3.3 Current situation of China’s IC industry 108
5.3.4 Rapid development of RISC-V in China 111
5.3.5 References 115
5.4 India’s semiconductor promotion measures 116
5.4.1 India’s Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology “Plan to supply chips to startups” 117
5.4.2 Efforts for RISC-V in India 118
5.4.3 The rough road to semiconductor manufacturing that the Indian government has followed 122
5.4.4 References 128
5.5 Vietnam’s semiconductor industry 129
5.5.1 Dawn period 129
5.5.2 The socialist era 130
5.5.3 Democratic birth pains 131
5.5.4 Birth of the Integrated Circuit Design Research and Education Center (ICDREC) 132
5.5.5 Meeting with MiniFab 137
5.5.6 Vietnam’s semiconductor design business 140
5.5.7 Profile of the information provider 144
5.5.8 References 144
Chapter 6 The Future of Semiconductors in Japan 146
6.1 The causes of the decline of Japan’s semiconductors 146
6.1.1 Japanese semiconductors are a unique world 147
6.1.2 Slow business decisions in the digital age also stand out 149
6.1.3 Foreign companies that have grown as fully independent companies 150
6.2 Semiconductor management is also wandering 151
6.3 Successful business reconstruction example; Renesas 153
6.4 Kasumigaseki has awakened 154
6.4.1 Semiconductor shortage continued for 2 years 155
6.4.2 The CHIPs Act was enacted in the United States 156
6.5 Abandoning All-Japan 157
6.5.1 TSMC also has merits in Japan 157
6.6 Birth of a national policy foundry 158
6.6.1 Aiming for a 2nm process foundry 159
6.7 US-China confrontation and supply chain in the West 160
6.8 The way forward for Japan is globalization 163
6.9 References 165
● Prototyping RISC-V ASIC with Shuttle 168
● Appendix 1 Using DARPA OpenRoad’s automatic design flow, Google free
● Appendix 2 Google’s efforts towards open semiconductor design – The technological factors needed for the democratization of semiconductor development prototyping 183
● Appendix 3 Google and Developing Open Chips 232
● Appendix 4 Rocket Chip Generator 235
● Appendix 5 RISC-V Day Tokyo 2023 Summer Program 252
● Appendix 6 Technical explanation of Tenstorrent 259