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Libre-SOC releases new chip

by on12 July 2021


Appears to have hired Trump to write its web content

Libre-SOC's entirely Libre 180nm ASIC is out and while it is interesting, the outfit appears to have had Donald Trump’s speech writer pushing it on its website.

The web page at Libre-SOC.org says: “We're building a chip. A fast chip. A safe chip. A trusted chip. A chip with lots of peripherals. And it's VPU. And it's a 3D GPU... Oh and here, have the source code and we will get Mexico to pay for it."

It is a pity because it is big news. Libre-SOC's Libre 180nm ASIC, which can be replicated down to symbolic level GDS-II with no NDAs of any kind, and it has been submitted to IMEC for fabrication.

It is the first wholly independent Power ISA ASIC outside of IBM to go Silicon in 12 years. Microwatt went to Skywater 130nm in March; however, it is also developed by IBM, as an exceptionally well-made Reference Design, which Libre-SOC used for verification.

Whilst it would seem that Libre-SOC is jumping on the chip-shortage era's innovation bandwagon, Libre-SOC has actually been in development for over three and a half years so far. It even pre-dates the OpenLane initiative and has the same objectives: fully automated HDL to GDS-II, full transparency and auditability with Libre VLSI tools Coriolis2 and Libre Cell Libraries from Chips4Makers.

With €400,000 in funding from the NLNet Foundation [a long-standing non-profit supporting privacy, security, and the "open internet"], plus an application to NGI Pointer under consideration, the next steps are to continue the development of Draft Cray-style Vectors (SVP64) to the already supercomputer-level Power ISA, under the watchful eye of the upcoming OpenPOWER ISA Workgroup.

Last modified on 12 July 2021
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