Linus Torvalds worries RISC-V repeats mistakes of earlier architectures

Linus Torvalds has expressed concerns that the RISC-V architecture may repeat the mistakes made by earlier processor architectures like Arm and x86. He believes that as RISC-V evolves to meet market demands, it will likely encounter similar pitfalls due to the significant gap between hardware and software developers. Torvalds noted that this trend has been observed with new technologies, where developers often overlook past issues. He cited the frustrations experienced when Arm transitioned to server platforms, which mirrored mistakes from x86's history.

RISC-V, an open-source instruction set architecture developed in 2010, has gained traction, particularly in China, where it is being used to circumvent US sanctions. Despite shipping over 10 billion chips by the end of 2022, RISC-V still struggles to compete with established x86 and Arm processors in high-performance computing and mobile devices. Torvalds highlighted that the current generation of developers may not be aware of previous challenges, leading to potential oversights in design.

While RISC-V has made significant progress, particularly in embedded systems, it faces limitations such as an immature ecosystem and compatibility issues. Torvalds suggests that it may take several generations of RISC-V processors to address unforeseen problems, but the architecture is positioned to make inroads in the market, albeit with challenges ahead.