Cortus CEO advocates for RISC-V to secure Europe’s AI infrastructure autonomy

The push for RISC-V standardization represents a critical move toward European 'technological sovereignty' at a time when chip supply chains are increasingly weaponized. While US-based Arm and Nvidia dominate training, Cortus is positioning RISC-V as the open-source alternative for the high-performance inference market. For streaming and video tech, this signal suggests a shift toward more specialized, localized, and energy-efficient processing at the network edge, which could reduce the high operational costs associated with GPU-based AI workflows. Watch for the official call for AI Gigafactory expressions of interest in July 2026 to see if interoperability mandates are included.

The strategic push by Cortus aligns with broader legislative efforts in Brussels to reset the continent's silicon strategy. On June 3, 2026, the European Commission introduced the Chips Act 2.0, a revised framework specifically designed to accelerate development in the AI processor segment and streamline permitting for 'first-of-a-kind' manufacturing facilities. According to Digi.watch (June 2026), this package also includes the Cloud and AI Development Act (CADA), which aims to triple domestic data center capacity over the next seven years to reduce reliance on non-EU cloud providers.

This regulatory momentum coincides with significant technical milestones for the European RISC-V ecosystem. In late 2025, the eProcessor Project, where Cortus serves as the primary architecture partner, successfully deployed Europe’s first 22nm out-of-order RISC-V silicon capable of running Linux. This breakthrough is viewed as a necessary precursor to more complex deployments in the €20 billion 'AI Factories' network being managed by the EuroHPC Joint Undertaking. Per Europa.eu (April 2026), these facilities are expected to bring over 100,000 advanced AI processors online to support sovereign model training.

Despite these gains, the competitive landscape remains dominated by established global players. While the RISC-V market is projected by Mordor Intelligence to grow at a 41.23% CAGR through 2031, US-based SiFive continues to lead the segment, recently raising a $400 million Series G round to bolster its own AI data center roadmap (May 2026). The success of European entrants like Cortus will likely depend on the EU’s willingness to use public procurement as a lever to favor interoperable, domestically designed architectures over existing proprietary toolchains.