Tech Trendspotter, June 2025
New players can win in automotive microcontrollers with RISC-V by picking a narrow, fast-growing niche, building on licensable cores and safety-ready IP rather than designing everything from scratch, and closing the software and functional safety gaps that make car makers cautious. RISC-V removes the architecture licence fee and the dependence on a single CPU vendor, but it does not remove the cost of ISO 26262 certification, the long automotive design cycle or the need for a mature toolchain. The opportunity is real because the incumbents themselves, including Infineon, NXP, Bosch and Qualcomm, are now investing in RISC-V for cars.
Picture an electric vehicle on the highway, its electronics coordinated by a large number of microcontrollers (MCUs), reported at over 300 in some modern vehicles, handling everything from battery management to lane-keeping. Now imagine many of those MCUs running not on Arm or a proprietary architecture but on RISC-V, the open instruction set that is starting to reshape the automotive MCU market, reported in the post's sources at around $15 billion by 2028. For new players eyeing this high-stakes market, RISC-V is more than a technology trend: it is a credible way in. Here is a roadmap.
Key takeaways
- The automotive MCU market is growing on the back of software-defined vehicles, EVs and ADAS, and the 32-bit segment is where RISC-V competes.
- RISC-V's advantages are freedom from architecture licence lock-in, the ability to customise, and more options for multi-sourcing.
- The big MCU suppliers are moving: Infineon has announced a RISC-V automotive MCU family under its AURIX brand, and the Quintauris joint venture now has six chip and Tier 1 shareholders.
- For a newcomer the barriers are functional safety certification, software ecosystem maturity and brand trust, not the ISA itself.
- The best entry points are niches where customisation matters, such as battery management, zonal controllers and V2X, plus regions with strong local demand or incentives.
The big picture: why RISC-V matters
The automotive industry is changing fast. Software-defined vehicles (SDVs), electric vehicles (EVs) and advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) are increasing demand for MCUs, with one market projection cited in the original sources putting the automotive MCU market at $8.6 billion in 2022 rising to $15.2 billion by 2028 (a 9.9% CAGR). The same sources put the 32-bit MCU segment, where RISC-V fits best, at nearly double to $5.9 billion by 2029. These projections were published before mid-2025 and have not been re-verified here; other analysts use different market definitions and give different totals.
| Driver | Why it helps RISC-V |
|---|---|
| Freedom from lock-in | Unlike a licensed proprietary architecture, the RISC-V ISA is open, so companies can customise processors without architecture licence fees or dependence on one CPU vendor. Commercial cores still carry IP licence costs. |
| Supply chain resilience | With geopolitical tension (US-China trade restrictions) and the memory of the 2021-2022 chip shortage, multiple sources of compatible cores are attractive. |
| China's big bet | China, the largest EV market, is investing heavily in RISC-V as part of its push for semiconductor self-reliance. The original post reported that 70% of RISC-V International's premier members are based there; that share has not been re-verified and changes as membership changes. |
Big names including Infineon, NXP, Qualcomm and Bosch have committed to RISC-V for automotive, a significant shift. Infineon is the leading automotive MCU supplier, with a share of about 28.5% to 29% of the automotive MCU market in 2023 according to TechInsights data quoted by Infineon in April 2024. In March 2024 it announced a RISC-V based automotive MCU family under its AURIX brand. That is a strong signal, although Infineon has presented RISC-V as an addition alongside its proprietary TriCore architecture rather than an immediate replacement.
The RISC-V edge: opportunities for newcomers
For start-ups and new entrants, RISC-V is a chance to enter a market long dominated by a handful of suppliers. Here is how to use it.
1. Carve your niche with customisation
RISC-V's modular design, with a small base ISA plus optional standard and custom extensions, lets you tailor MCUs to specific jobs: zonal control units for next-generation E/E architectures, or AI-assisted ADAS functions. SiFive's Automotive cores, such as the E6-A family announced in 2022, are aimed at infotainment, connectivity and control applications.
Playbook: partner with IP vendors such as SiFive, Codasip or Andes to build bespoke RISC-V cores for high-growth niches such as EV battery management systems (BMS) or vehicle-to-everything (V2X) connectivity. Compete on cost efficiency and performance per watt, and use custom instructions only where they give a measurable gain, because every custom extension also needs compiler and tool support.
2. Crack the China market
China's automotive electronics market is a large opportunity for RISC-V. The original analysis put domestic suppliers' share of China's automotive MCU market at under 5%; that figure has not been re-verified and is likely to have risen as local suppliers grow. Local car makers want affordable, scalable solutions for smart EVs, and RISC-V fits that need.
Playbook: work with established players in the Chinese RISC-V ecosystem, such as SpacemiT, or Andes Technology (a Taiwanese RISC-V IP supplier with many customers in China), to handle regulation and reach local demand. Joint ventures can speed entry and align with China's self-reliance policy, but check export-control rules carefully before sharing technology.
3. Build the ecosystem, win the game
RISC-V's software ecosystem (toolchains, compilers, debuggers, real-time operating systems and AUTOSAR support) is still less mature for automotive than Arm's. That gap is your opening. Companies such as Synopsys and Green Hills Software have been extending their RISC-V tools, and a newcomer can add value here too.
Playbook: invest in open-source software, or join RISC-V International to help shape standards such as the RVA23 profile (ratified in October 2024), which improves software portability across compliant processors. Also invest early in functional safety (ISO 26262) and cybersecurity (ISO/SAE 21434) work products to win car-maker trust.
4. Plan for geopolitical risk
The US-China technology contest, and political debate over RISC-V's open nature, could fragment the ecosystem. Plan for global compatibility from the start.
Playbook: RISC-V International moved its legal home to Switzerland in 2020 to stay neutral, and some companies set up in neutral hubs such as Switzerland or Singapore for the same reason. In Europe, look at public funding: the original post cited a €270 million RISC-V fund for SDVs, but that figure matches a EuroHPC Joint Undertaking call announced in December 2022 for RISC-V high-performance computing hardware and software, not vehicles. For automotive, the Chips Joint Undertaking funds RISC-V automotive platform projects such as Rigoletto (started 2025), which are a better match for grants and partners.
The competitive arena: who's who
| Group | Examples | What it means for a newcomer |
|---|---|---|
| The incumbents | Infineon, NXP, STMicroelectronics, Texas Instruments, Renesas | Their gradual RISC-V adoption (for example Renesas' general-purpose R9A02G021 RISC-V MCU) validates the architecture and leaves room for nimble specialists. |
| The challengers | Mindgrove (India), Ventana Micro Systems (USA) | Fabless start-ups using RISC-V's lower entry cost. Mindgrove targets MCUs and SoCs; Ventana focuses on high-performance data centre cores, so it shows the breadth of RISC-V rather than direct MCU competition. Follow their lead with rapid prototyping and lean operations. |
| The collaborators | Quintauris: Bosch, Infineon, Nordic, NXP, Qualcomm, and STMicroelectronics since August 2024 | Founded in December 2023 to provide RISC-V reference architectures, starting with automotive. Partnering with such groups gives credibility and shared R&D. |
Challenges to conquer
RISC-V is not a free lunch. Safety-certified MCUs carry high R&D costs, and the ecosystem is still fragmented, but the open model removes architecture licence fees and levels the field. To overcome a lack of brand recognition, target emerging programmes such as India's DIR-V (Digital India RISC-V) initiative, or work closely with Tier 1 suppliers who can vouch for you.
Worked example: where the money goes (illustrative)
The numbers below are illustrative only, to show why the ISA licence is rarely the deciding cost for an automotive MCU start-up.
| Cost item | Illustrative share of first-product cost | Does RISC-V reduce it? |
|---|---|---|
| CPU and peripheral IP | 10-20% | Partly: open cores or competitive licences |
| Design and verification engineering | 35-45% | Little |
| Masks, wafers and prototypes | 15-25% | No |
| Functional safety, AEC-Q100 qualification | 10-20% | No, and can rise if safety-ready IP is lacking |
| Software, tools and customer support | 10-15% | Can rise while the ecosystem matures |
The lesson: choose RISC-V for flexibility and supply independence, and budget seriously for safety and software, which are where automotive programmes win or slip.
Your strategic toolkit
- Go niche: design RISC-V MCUs for EV powertrains, BMS or V2X, where customisation beats commodity parts.
- Team up for tools: work with EDA and tool vendors such as Siemens or Synopsys to strengthen RISC-V's software stack and ease car-maker adoption.
- Use incentives: look for funding from European RISC-V and chips programmes or India's DIR-V to support growth.
- Scale smart: build an MCU family that spans low power to high performance, giving car makers one platform for code reuse.
- Stay global: diversify supply chains and stick to standard RISC-V profiles to avoid fragmentation.
Common mistakes new entrants make
- Assuming "open ISA" means free cores. Production-quality, safety-ready cores are usually licensed.
- Adding many custom instructions that the standard compilers and safety-qualified tools do not support.
- Starting functional safety work after the architecture is fixed, instead of at concept stage.
- Underestimating the design-in cycle: an automotive MCU chosen today may not reach production vehicles for several years.
The road ahead
RISC-V is more than a buzzword for automotive MCUs. It gives new players a real chance to compete in a market long dominated by a few large suppliers. By focusing on customisation, targeting high-growth regions and helping to build the ecosystem, a newcomer can turn RISC-V's promise into revenue. The road is open.
FAQ
Is RISC-V ready for safety-critical automotive use?
Increasingly, yes. Several IP vendors offer cores developed for ISO 26262, and large MCU suppliers have announced RISC-V automotive families. The ecosystem of safety-qualified tools and software is still thinner than Arm's, so check what is certified for your target ASIL.
Does RISC-V make an automotive MCU cheaper?
It can reduce IP licence costs and increase supplier choice, but most of the cost of an automotive MCU is in design, verification, qualification and software, which RISC-V does not remove.
What is Quintauris?
A joint venture founded in December 2023 by Bosch, Infineon, Nordic Semiconductor, NXP and Qualcomm, joined by STMicroelectronics in August 2024, to provide RISC-V reference architectures, starting with automotive.
Sources: Yole Group, RISC-V International, industry projections (2024-2030), as cited in the original June 2025 post; Infineon press release on automotive MCU share (April 2024); STMicroelectronics press release on joining Quintauris (August 2024).
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