Xiaomi Backs RISC-V Core IP Startup Nuclei

Technology Author: Beier Kan, Ivan Platonov Editor: Luke Sheehan Aug 07, 2020 12:27 PM (GMT+8)

The tech corporation is increasing its presence in the upstream of IoT products, as global uncertainties arise.

Image credit: EqualOcean

Xiaomi's (01810:HK) Yangtze Industrial Fund led a strategic investment on August 8 in a RISC-V core IP company Nuclei System Technology. Previous investors of Nuclei, BlueRun Ventures and SIMIC capital followed up in this round.

Founded in 2018, the company focuses on developing RISC-V core IP, growing RISC-V market and ecosystem in China. It has released the N200 series ultra-low-power RISC-V core IP for IoT applications.

Xiaomi, along with its ecosystem companies such as Viomi, Zhimi and Huami (HMI:NYSE), is seeking for cooperation with Nuclei to further apply its RISC-V products on Xiaomi’s IoT equipment and products.

In 2020, Xiaomi’s industrial fund has invested in 8 semiconductor firms, covering chip products like Wi-Fi chips, RF, MCU and FPGA – these could be applied to its smart home and smart speaker products. The company’s plan of investing (link in Chinese) CNY 10 billion in the IoT industry is steadily being carried out.