Sonics, Inc., supplier of on-chip network (NoC) and power management technologies and services, is partnering with SiFive to enable an agile RISC-V design platform for systems-on-chip (SoC) by making the Sonics' NoCs interoperable with SiFive's family of RISC-V Core IP. Sonics' NoCs are said to be the IP industry's most widely adopted commercial interconnect fabric and have been shipped in billions of SoCs over the past 20 years. SiFive's Core IPs are the most widely deployed RISC-V CPUs in the world and are the lowest risk, easiest path to RISC-V.
The partnership aims to accelerate SoC integration and time-to-market with highest performance and lowest power consumption for many target markets and applications including IoT, mobile, storage, and machine learning/AI. With over 100-member organizations, RISC-V is positioned to become the standard architecture for modern computing devices, from 32-bit embedded microcontrollers to 64-bit application processors and datacenter accelerators.
Working together, SiFive and Sonics are demonstrating optimized integration between the SiFive E Series CPUs and Sonics' flagship SonicsGN on-chip network. Interfacing directly to the native TileLink interfaces on the CPU saves area, latency, and power versus bridging to legacy interfaces. Additionally, since both companies deliver their IP through highly flexible generation technology, the joint solution will immediately adapt to new interface choices, ensuring continued interoperability.