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Imagination Technology is primarily known for its GPU IP used by a wide range of companies across the industry, but in 2021 the company expanded its business with RISC-V Catapult CPU IP to address different market segments with a complete CPU + GPU solution. However, it seems that the company did not meet the company’s expectations, so it decided to ditch RISC-V to focus on GPU and AI IP, according to reports. ENews Europe.
“Imagination has exited its standalone line of CPUs to increase our investment in graphics, AI and computing at the edge which we believe is transformative for our business,” said a statement from Imagination published by eeNews Europe.
Despite this shift, Imagination maintains its commitment to the RISC-V ecosystem. It is ready to work with RISC-V and CPU IP developers to try to become the “GPU provider of choice” for the entire ecosystem, rather than only addressing designs that its CPU IP range can cover.
In fact, the company’s lineup of RISC-V CPU IP wasn’t exactly broad and included microcontroller IPs, real-time embedded processors, entry-level automotive CPUs, and most recently a 64-bit core that could compete with Arm’s Cortex-A510/A520. While the wallet could allow Imagination to license its kernel to dozens or hundreds of companies (particularly in China), it cannot address the top segment of the market, which is small today but could grow in the coming years.
Imagination’s decision to shift its focus to just GPUs is a bit ironic given its history with MIPS, a company that developed processors based on its own instruction set architecture. Imagination acquired it in 2013, sold it in 2017, went bankrupt, and then Re-emerged in 2020 as developer of RISC-V CPU IP.
One of the latest reports about Imagination Technologies indicated that its current owner is Canyon Bridge Capital Partners The asset management company was tasked with finding a buyer for the GPU developer.
This happened weeks after UK-China Transparency accused Imagination Technologies and its Chinese government-controlled owner of facilitating the transfer of Imagination’s main IP to China-based GPU designers such as Biren Technology, InnoSilicon and Moore Threads. These technologies are said to have enabled Chinese companies to develop advanced GPUs that can be used to develop artificial intelligence, military, and supercomputing applications.
