XiangShan: an open-source project for high-performance RISC-V processors meeting industrial-grade standards

It is widely recognized that the open-source hardware ecosystem can reduce development costs and lower barrier to innovation. Within this ecosystem, developing an industrial-grade high-performance processor has thus far proven to be an elusive goal. In our view, an industrial-grade processor should involve standardized development process with robust functional and performance verification, requiring a significant upfront investment of manpower and resources. In response to the demands, we introduce XiangShan, an open-source project for high performance RISC-V processor. To the best of our knowledge, it is the world’s top tier of high-performance RISC-V processor series and the only open-source option in its class. Moreover, supported by Minjie, an open-source agile development toolchain, the processors can be quickly iterated and optimized, enabling architectural innovation and rapid commercialization. In this presentation, I will introduce the XiangShan project and the design of two generations of XiangShan, codenamed Nanhu (NH) and Kunminghu (KMH). I will also present the Minjie toolchain designed to assist developers in agile hardware design.