Apple is looking to build chips using the open-source RISC-V architecture

A post on the Careers at Apple website might be giving us a clue about Apple’s future plans regarding the chips it uses to drive its devices. Currently, the company relies on ARM Holding’s chip architecture for its chipsets, but the tech giant is seeking a RISC-V High-Performance Programmer. RISC stands for reduced instruction set computer and is an open-source chip architecture.

Apple job posting hints at the use of RISC-V architecture in future chips

But it would not be practical for Apple to completely replace its ARM-based chipsets like the A-series and M-series SoCs with RISC-V components. That’s because such a move would take years of planning and Apple most likely would have made such a move before embarking on its switch to Apple Silicon for the Macs and the iPad Pro. It should be pointed out though that ARM chips are RISC and in fact, ARM stands for Advanced RISC Machine.

On ARM’s website, it defines RISC as being “a microprocessor architecture that utilizes a small, highly-optimized set of instructions rather than the highly-specialized set of instructions typically found in other architectures. RISC is an alternative to the Complex Instruction Set Computing (CISC) architecture and is often considered the most efficient CPU architecture technology available today.”

ARM adds that “With RISC, a central processing unit (CPU) implements the processor design principle of simplified instructions that can do less but can execute more rapidly. The result is improved performance. A key RISC feature is that it allows developers to increase the register set and increase internal parallelism by increasing the number of parallel threads executed by the CPU and increasing the speed of the CPU’s executing instructions. ARM, or “Advanced RISC Machine” is a specific family of instruction set architecture that’s based on reduced instruction set architecture developed by Arm Ltd.”

If you are considering this position, Apple lists the qualifications:

• 5+ years low-level algorithmic development in signal processing or machine learning primitives.
• Detailed knowledge of RISC-V Instruction Set Architectures (ISA) and vector ISA of ARM.
• Strong understanding of computational efficiency.
• Excellent coding skills in ASM and C.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills.
• Ability to manage multiple tasks and self-prioritize.

Obviously, a job like this requires a strong educational background in math, computer science, and computer engineering. While an advanced degree is preferred, you might be able to snag the job without it.

RISC-V is more energy-efficient, uses fewer transistors, and allows users to build cheaper chips

While Apple doesn’t seem prepared to make a wholesale change to RISC-V, it could decide to replace some of its ARM-built chips with new chips based on RISC-V. Regardless of what it has in mind, Apple is indeed looking for someone that can help it work with the open-source architecture. The description of the job states that “The programmer will work in a team that’s “implementing innovative RISC-V solutions and state of the art routines. This is to support the necessary computation for such things as machine learning, vision algorithms, signal, and video processing.”