Imagination GPU was selected by Saifang Technology to help it build a high-performance, small-size, low-cost starlight RISC-V AI single-board computer

The new IMGB series GPUs provide strong support for the RISC-V ecosystem with world-class performance.

London, UK and Shanghai, China-February 22, 2021-ImaginaTIon Technologies announced that StarFive, the industry’s leading provider of RISC-V processors, platforms, and solutions, has authorized the use of ImaginaTIon's B-series graphics processing unit (GPU) intellectual property (IP) to support the development of its latest RISC-V single-board computer (SBC). ImaginaTIon’s GPU was designed to work with all processor architectures at the beginning. This cooperation between the two companies fully demonstrates ImaginaTIon’s good support for the open and fast-growing RISC-V ecosystem.

Saifang Technology will add ImaginationGPU to the subsequent mass production version of the Starlight Artificial Intelligence (AI) single-board computer released in January 2021 to add powerful and flexible graphics processing performance and make the single-board computer more complete. Xingguang single-board computer can provide an ideal solution for the highly cost-effective and multi-purpose RISC-V development hardware pursued by the industry.

"Starlight" is the world's first RISC-VAI single-board computer tailored for the Linux operating system for edge computing. It uses the artificial intelligence vision processing chip independently developed by Saifang Technology-Jinghong 7100, and its multi-core RISC-V processor's operating frequency is up to 1.5GHz. Starlight is not only equipped with self-developed NNE and ISP but also equipped with VDSP and video codec. It has all the scalability functions of today's desktop computers and has the characteristics of small size, low price, and low noise. With the integration of Linux and RISC-V, Starlight AI single-board computer can provide strong software and hardware support for product and project development in the fields of industrial machinery, data center, AI, edge computing, etc., shorten the project development cycle, and accelerate product launch.

The ImaginationBXE-4-32GPUIP selected by Saifang Technology this time is a core in Imagination's latest generation of IMGB series GPUs, which can provide sufficient advantages for Saifang Technology's single-board computers in terms of performance, size, and cost. The B series is another important evolution of ImaginationGPU products. With its advanced multi-core architecture, it can provide up to 6TFLOPS (trillion floating-point operations per second) of computing power, while reducing power consumption by up to 30 compared to previous generations of products. %, the area is reduced by 25%, bandwidth requirements are reduced by 35%, and the fill rate is 2.5 times higher than competing IP cores. B-series GPUs have a total of 33 different configurations, providing a wide range of choices for mobile devices, consumer devices, desktops, servers, the Internet of Things, digital television (DTV), automobiles, and other markets.

Sai Fang Technology CEO Xu Tao said: "We are very happy to cooperate with Imagination. The firm support of the RISC-V ecosystem between the two parties is an important guarantee for the success of the cooperation. Imagination's GPU has excellent PPA (performance, power consumption, area) characteristics. It can help us provide powerful functions while optimizing costs. We look forward to more strategic cooperation with Imagination in the future, using their respective technology and product advantages to form a synergy, and jointly create a more complete processor ecosystem, and boost RISC-V technology continues to move forward."

Liu Guojun, Vice President and General Manager of China Region of Imagination, said: “As a leader in RISC-V technology, products, and solutions, Saifang Technology is showing their confidence and determination to the industry. The development and launch of RISC-V single-board computers is A good example. I’m very happy that Imagination’s GPU can play an important role. Imagination has always attached great importance to supporting Chinese partners. We will continue to provide first-class products and comprehensive support services to help them develop more powerful products."