RISC-V

Tizen 9.0 Features – RISC V

The Rise of RISC-V and Ecosystem Expansion
RISC-V is an open-source Instruction Set Architecture (ISA) based on RISC principles. Unlike proprietary architectures such as ARM or x86, it is free from complex IP issues and offers a simple and extensible structure, making it increasingly popular across various industries. Since the official establishment of RISC-V International in 2015, the ecosystem has grown rapidly with the participation of global companies. According to Semico Research, RISC-V processors are expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 114.9% by 2025.

Samsung’s Global Collaboration and Participation in RISE
To accelerate the RISC-V software ecosystem, the Linux-based open-source community launched RISE (RISC-V Software Ecosystem) in 2023. Samsung is a member of RISE’s governing board alongside major tech leaders such as Google, Intel, Qualcomm, and others. This reflects Samsung’s strategic role in the RISC-V ecosystem, particularly in driving software innovation and infrastructure development.

Tizen’s Initial RISC-V Support and Achievements
Tizen began its RISC-V support initiatives in 2023, securing a base package and build environment for the Tizen platform. That same year, a headless image of Tizen was successfully provided for the VisionFive2 board from StarFive, which features SiFive’s RISC-V IP. This laid the foundation for full compatibility between Tizen and RISC-V hardware platforms.

Expansion in 2024: UI Framework, SDK, and .NET Support
In 2024, Tizen expanded its RISC-V support to include the UI framework and SDK environment. It also initiated plans to support both Web and .NET runtime environments. Notably, Samsung is leading the development of a .NET runtime optimized for the RISC-V architecture, aiming for full support of CoreCLR and Tizen FX APIs. To date, the Tizen team has contributed over 230 code commits and more than 30,000 lines of code, achieving a unit test pass rate of over 99%.

Enhanced Developer Experience and Performance Optimization
Tizen now provides daily optimized images for RISC-V based VisionFive2 boards, with over 40,000 APIs and 1,100+ packages ported. Web and .NET applications can run on these reference boards. Tizen has also implemented performance optimizations that reduce application launch time by 60%, significantly improving the overall user experience. These efforts, led by Samsung’s development team, continue to evolve with a focus on stability and new feature development.