Hong Kong’s investment arm to unveil tie-up with firm specialising in RISC-V tech

The Hong Kong government’s investment arm will unveil a partnership with a company specialising in open-source RISC-V chip technology on Friday and later host a joint summit.

Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po said on Sunday the partnership to be announced by the government-owned Hong Kong Investment Corporation would help accelerate the development of related industries and cultivate talent locally.

He reiterated the need for tech professionals to drive economic growth, expressing hope that more companies would develop young talent in the city.

Writing on his weekly blog, Chan underscored the potential of RISC-V chips, following a flurry of announcements related to artificial intelligence in his budget address last month.

RISC-V, or the fifth generation of the reduced instruction set computer, is an open-source chip architecture that can be used for central processing units (CPUs) in electronic products such as personal computers and smartphones.

It has gained traction in mainland China, where the government and businesses hope it can reduce reliance on foreign proprietary technology, such as Intel’s x86 and Arm’s eponymous architecture, amid an intense tech war with the US.