Intel has shut down its RISC-V Pathfinder – an initiative it launched less than six months ago to encourage use of the open source RISC-V CPU designs.

Pathfinder was launched in August 2022. A [1]joint press release from the 30th of that month includes a canned quote from Vijay Krishnan, general manager for RISC-V Ventures at Intel Corporation, who at the time stated: "With Intel Pathfinder, users will be able to test drive pre-silicon concepts on Intel FPGAs or virtual simulators."

"There should be tremendous value for pre-silicon architects, software developers and product managers looking to prove out use cases upfront in the product development lifecycle," he added.

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Intel billed the service as "scalable from individual users in academia and research, all the way to large-scale commercial projects."

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On December 1, 2022, Intel emitted an [5]announcement of impending enhancements to the Pathfinder.

That document again featured Krishnan, this time quoted as saying "Maintaining a torrid pace of execution and fostering ecosystem collaboration are key imperatives for Intel Pathfinder for RISC-V." Next came a quote from Sundari Mitra, chief incubation officer, corporate vice president, and general manager at Intel's Incubation & Disruptive Innovation (IDI) Group: "We are excited to see Intel Pathfinder for RISC-V grow rapidly while continuing to adapt to market needs."

[6]

But in recent days a visit to [7]pathfinder.intel.com produces only the following announcement:

We regret to inform you that Intel is discontinuing the Intel® Pathfinder for RISC-V program effective immediately.

Since Intel will not be providing any additional releases or bug fixes, we encourage you to promptly transition to third-party RISC-V* software tools that best meet your development needs.

And for what it's worth, Krishnan's [8]LinkedIn profile lists his role as RISC-V boss ending in January 2023: he's now "GM, new initiatives."

We've asked Intel to explain the demise of the Pathfinder and will update this story if we receive a substantive response.

For now we must therefore speculate about the reason for the decision, which looks odd given that Intel has [9]pumped cash into RISC-V CPU designer SiFive , pledged a [10]billion-dollar development fund for RISC-V development, joined RISC-V International, and promised to make [11]“substantial contributions to the architecture's evolution.

Those moves were widely seen doing two things: bolstering RISC-V at the expense of the Arm ecosystem that trounced Intel as the colossal and lucrative smartphone market formed; and creating a potential pool of customers for Intel's foundry business.

[12]Qualcomm talks up RISC-V, roasts 'legacy architecture' amid war with Arm

[13]Brit chip company picks RISC-V for next-gen microcontrollers

[14]Alibaba, Tencent enlisted to help sanction-weary China build RISC-V chips

[15]Ubuntu continues expanding RISC-V support – now, the $17 Sipeed LicheeRV

Which sounds like just the sort of market-making stuff Intel has done for decades … back when it wasn't bleeding revenue and posting losses [16]as it did last week .

But with Intel mired in financial strife, perhaps it just can't afford ongoing RISC-V boosterism.

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Yet Chipzilla's Form 10-K – an annual filing detailing its disposition and risks the business faces – lists "new entrants developing Arm- and RISC-V-based products customized for specific datacenter workloads" alongside established competitors AMD and Nvidia. Pulling Pathfinder means Intel now has one less tool with which to bring RISC-V developers closer.

And at least some of those developers appreciated Pathfinder.

"The program had gathered very good momentum in the RISC-V world, bringing a lot of the players together to ensure interoperability between RV cores, open source toolchains, operating systems and hardware platforms. Essentially reducing the barriers to entry in use of RISC-V and making it easier for people to get up and running quickly," [18]wrote Hugh O'Keeffe, CEO of embedded systems development company Ashling.

"Let's hope it's just a bump on the road and the many other Intel RISC-V initiatives will continue," he added. ®

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[1] https://riscv.org/blog/2022/08/risc-v-international-and-intel-team-up-to-accelerate-risc-v-adoption-introducing-intel-pathfinder-for-risc-v-intel-corporation/

[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2Y9ejUJcAYyHOe0v0i5epLgAAAAc&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0

[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Y9ejUJcAYyHOe0v0i5epLgAAAAc&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0

[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33Y9ejUJcAYyHOe0v0i5epLgAAAAc&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0

[5] https://web.archive.org/web/20221201225418/https://pathfinder.intel.com/news/intel-pathfinder-for-risc-v-new-capabilities-and-a-growing-ecosystem/

[6] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Y9ejUJcAYyHOe0v0i5epLgAAAAc&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0

[7] https://pathfinder.intel.com/

[8] https://www.linkedin.com/in/vijay-krishnan-761567/

[9] https://www.theregister.com/2022/03/16/sifive_175m_series_f/

[10] https://www.theregister.com/2022/02/07/intel_riscv_investment/

[11] https://www.theregister.com/2022/05/17/intel_riscv_contributions/

[12] https://www.theregister.com/2022/12/15/qualcomm_talks_up_riscv_roasts/

[13] https://www.theregister.com/2022/12/12/uk_chip_firm_picks_riscv/

[14] https://www.theregister.com/2022/12/01/alibaba_tencent_china_riscv/

[15] https://www.theregister.com/2022/10/28/ubuntu_riscv_sbc/

[16] https://www.theregister.com/2023/01/27/intel_q4_2022/

[17] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33Y9ejUJcAYyHOe0v0i5epLgAAAAc&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0

[18] https://reg.cx/47dz

[19] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/