Nuvacore reveals unconventional Core First CPU IP design strategy

What happened

NuvaCore says it is developing its new WarpCore CPU IP without first choosing the ISA it will implement. Traditionally, CPU developers start development of a new processor project with a particular ISA — such as Arm, RISC-V, or x86 — already selected.

This unusual development strategy is meant to offer the company maximum technology and business flexibility. When Nuvacore, a new CPU startup founded by legendary CPU and system architects Gerard Williams, John Bruno, and Ram Srinivasan, emerged from stealth earlier this year, it promised to "rewrite the rules of silicon," but did not say how it planned to do so. On Thursday, the company finally broke its silence and revealed that it is taking an unusual development approach that allows it to design a significant portion of its CPU core IP before committing to a particular instruction set architecture (ISA).