European RISC-V manufacturer Codasip is looking for a buyer
A Codasip buyer could still bag hundreds of millions of euros in EU funding. The headquarters are in Munich.
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One of the largest RISC-V chip designers wants to sell itself. Codasip has its headquarters in Munich and other branches in the Czech Republic, France, and the UK. The EU supports the company in the development of independent high-performance processors, for example.
According to its announcement, at least one company is said to have expressed interest in a takeover, whereupon Codasip has now officially opened the sales process. The Management Board is open to a partial or complete takeover. Codasip intends to complete the sales process within the next three months.
According to The Register, Codasip is expected to have a turnover of almost 89 million US dollars in 2024 – around 75 million euros at the current exchange rate. The revenue will mainly come from licenses to customers who want to use Codasip's computing units. In comparison: According to Bloomberg, RISC-V leader SiFive is expected to have earned around USD 60 million from licenses and USD 180 million from royalties in 2024. Royalties are fees that licensees pay per chip sold with SiFive technology.
In the case of SiFive, rumors of a potential takeover also surfaced in the spring. Huawei from China was discussed as a possible candidate. On the other hand, SiFive only founded a subsidiary in China called Shanghai Xinwu Technology in fall 2024. The Chinese company StarFive is also cooperating with SiFive, for example on the JH7110 SoC.
Codasip says it employs around 250 people, 57% of whom are hardware engineers and 30% software engineers. The developer is also open to buyers who only want to use RISC-V technology internally and no longer want to license it externally.
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Hundreds of millions of euros in EU funding in the package
The company would like to make itself attractive for a takeover, in particular through possible EU subsidies. Of the 119 million euros pledged so far, only a small portion is said to have been received. In subsequent phases, the company expects a further 210 million euros in funding. This amounts to 319 million euros. By participating in consortia and projects, 51 million euros and more are possible in future financing rounds. All funding should be transferable to a buyer “under appropriate conditions”.
In addition to high-performance RISC-V processors, Codasip also develops automotive technology for vehicles, CPUs protected against memory attacks with Capability Hardware Enhanced RISC Instructions (CHERI) and its tools for electronic design automation (EDA).
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