Infineon Technologies AG, which holds the No. 1 global market share in automotive semiconductors, has chosen RISC-V as a key driver of next-generation automotive architecture and announced a strategy to directly target the eras of software-defined vehicles (SDV) and physical artificial intelligence.
Infineon Technologies AG, at a press briefing held in Seoul on the 20th, revealed plans to launch new automotive microcontrollers (MCUs) that add a RISC-V lineup to its existing flagship TriCore and Arm-based products.
A microcontroller (MCU) is a system semiconductor that serves as the "brain" controlling a car's brakes, steering wheel, engine, and more, or processing various sensor data. In the past, it merely adjusted mechanical operations, but as cars evolve into massive computing systems, its importance is growing even more.
The new product family will be integrated into the Aurix portfolio, Infineon Technologies AG's flagship brand, and will feature a broad lineup ranging from low-spec models to high-performance models that surpass current market levels, with full-scale market introduction expected starting in 2027.
At the core of the new products, RISC-V is an open-source semiconductor design standard that anyone can use for free. It is characterized by architectural freedom and scalability that allow automakers to implement desired functions without relying on a specific vendor.
Infineon Technologies AG, together with Bosch and Qualcomm, has founded the joint venture Quintauris to lead the global standardization of RISC-V, and Nvidia has decided to support its CUDA artificial intelligence technology on RISC-V.
In particular, Infineon Technologies AG implemented a shift-left strategy by leveraging virtual prototyping technology that allows software to be developed and verified on computers even before physical chips are released. This dramatically shortens the vehicle platform development cycle, which typically took three to four years, helping customers respond more quickly to market changes. It is now possible to implement software components and measure performance before the actual silicon chips come out.
In addition, addressing concerns from some quarters that the existing TriCore architecture might be phased out, Thomas Böhm, senior vice president of the automotive MCU institutional sector at Infineon Technologies AG, drew a line, saying, "Sequential generational replacement is the way of the past."
TriCore is Infineon Technologies AG's proprietary technology that has achieved success in automotive control for more than 20 years. Vice President Thomas Böhm said, "Many customers, including Hyundai Motor, already hold a vast asset base built on TriCore," and emphasized, "We will continue to evolve TriCore in traditional areas such as brake and engine control, while applying RISC-V to high-performance networking and AI computation, maintaining a strategy of parallel coexistence."
Infineon Technologies AG, headquartered in Germany, is a global leader in power systems and the Internet of Things (IoT), and as of 2025 is solidifying its No. 1 position by expanding its market share in automotive control chips to 36%. Infineon Technologies AG said it will further strengthen cooperation with major customers in the Korean market to maintain leadership in the future car market.