SiFive reportedly lays off over 100 staff and drops its predesigned RISC-V core line

A fabless chip design company, founded in 2016 by the inventors of the RISC-V instruction set, that sells RISC-V processor designs to chip customers such as Google and Qualcomm.

That a smaller SiFive, with OpenFive sold and its predesigned core line dropped, can keep selling RISC-V processor designs to chip customers.

Last publicly valued at $2.5 billion in March 2022; sold its OpenFive unit to Alphawave IP Group for $210 million in May 2023.

SiFive was founded in 2016 by the inventors of the RISC-V instruction set architecture. Its processor cores are optimised for tasks such as running AI applications and powering automotive subsystems. It also ran a business unit, OpenFive, that developed technology for linking chiplets and adding USB support to processors.

Last May SiFive sold OpenFive to Alphawave IP Group plc for $210 million, according to the SiliconANGLE report cited by IANS. In October 2023 the company was reported to have laid off more than 100 employees, over 20 percent of its workforce, and to have discontinued its line of predesigned RISC-V processor cores. Affected employees posted on Blind that they were offered six weeks of severance.

The report ties the cuts to a restructuring; SiFive had not publicly explained them in the cited article.

SiFive had already sold its OpenFive chiplet and USB unit for $210 million in May 2023, narrowing its business.

The company was last valued at $2.5 billion in March 2022, so costs were set for a larger business.

A $2.5B valuation and big-name clients did not protect SiFive's headcount or product line; reported cuts came even as RISC-V interest grew.

As of 2023-10-26 the layoffs and the end of the predesigned core line were reported but not confirmed in the cited article. SiFive's later 2026 financing and IPO plans are covered in a separate entry.