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CMC is the industrial partner for the first OpenHW Accelerate Research project awarded by Mitacs

April 6, 2021: — CMC Microsystems is the industrial partner for the Open HW CORE-V VEC research project, which will optimize RISC-V vector processors for machine learning, sensor data processing, and acceleration of Edge applications. This initiative is made possible by a multi-year $22.5 million investment from the Mitacs Accelerate research internship program, which connects companies with over 50 research-based universities through graduate students and postdoctoral fellows, who apply their specialized expertise to business challenges. The project is also being driven by OpenHW Group, a global, not-for-profit organization where hardware and software designers develop open-source cores, related IP, tools, and software.

As industrial partner, CMC has joined forces with experts from École Polytechnique Montréal and ETH Zürich to develop CORE-V VEC processors optimized for these specialized applications. CMC will also be responsible for prototyping and fabrication in conjunction with its international network of semiconductor manufacturers. 

Gordon Harling, President and CEO of CMC describes how this project aligns perfectly with CMC’s core mission of lowering barriers to technology adoption for Canadian researchers and entrepreneurs. “Canada has been at the forefront of Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and other innovative technologies for several years. To remain competitive and keep innovating in this space, Canadian firms need access to the best technologies, which can be hugely expensive and beyond their reach. These open-source, customizable designs will offer top performance at accessible prices.”

For most smaller companies, custom hardware prototyping and manufacturing are not feasible due to high costs and low production capacity worldwide. CMC also offers fabrication of these cores for Canadian firms which is a huge advantage in getting products to market. “Thanks to our existing agreements with a global network of semiconductor manufacturers, we can offer prototyping and fabrication services to our Canadian partners” said Mr. Harling. “This is a huge advantage for Canadian researchers and companies to get their products to market. Global semiconductor manufacturing capacity is extremely tight, with many foundries at their production limit. With our network of partners, CMC offers semiconductor manufacturing for Canadian firms at affordable prices, giving them a competitive advantage in the global market.”

You can watch an episode of OpenHW TV about the CORE-V VEC project here. Mitacs and OpenHW news releases are available here. For more information about CORE-V VEC and other CMC services, contact sales@cmc.ca.

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