S2C and Andes Technology Unite to Revolutionize RISC-V SoC Development Through FPGA Prototyping
On April 22, 2025, in San Jose, California, S2C, a recognized leader in FPGA-based prototyping solutions, announced a pivotal partnership with Andes Technology, a top provider of efficient low-power RISC-V processor IP solutions. This collaboration aims to radically improve FPGA prototyping capabilities for the development of advanced System-on-Chip (SoC) devices. Leveraging S2C's latest Prodigy™ S8-100 FPGA prototyping platform, which is designed on the AMD Versal™ Premium VP1902 adaptive SoC, this partnership promises unprecedented flexibility and capacity for modeling, prototyping, and software development using Andes’ state-of-the-art RISC-V cores.
Historically, developers have faced challenges with FPGA prototyping due to inherent capacity limits, which hampered the integration of multiple RISC-V cores alongside essential subsystems like Network-on-Chip (NoC), DDR, and PCIe® controllers. However, the Prodigy S8-100 platform addresses these issues by incorporating up to 100 million logic gates in a single FPGA version, providing substantial capacity to support Andes’ most sophisticated RISC-V processors, along with customers’ specific extensions through the Andes Automated Custom Extension (ACE) framework. Moreover, the Prodigy S8-100 family includes configurations that allow scaling capacity up to 400 million logic gates through frameworks with two or four VP1902 adaptive SoCs, facilitating comprehensive SoC validation in hardware.
This advancement is crucial for reducing development cycles, optimizing performance modeling, and expediting software development prior to the production phase of silicon components. Notably, the platform is compatible with S2C’s extensive library of approximately 100 daughter cards, serving applications ranging from networking and storage to multimedia, all while maintaining efficiency in interfacing without depleting FPGA logic resources.
Ying J Chen, Vice President of S2C, remarked on the collaboration, stating, "This partnership marks a significant milestone for the RISC-V community, offering advanced SoC developers a powerful, cost-effective FPGA-based prototyping solution. Our Prodigy S8-100 platform is designed to meet the rising complexities of RISC-V-based designs, enabling early validation of innovations and boosting market entry speed."
Further echoing this sentiment, Emerson Hsiao, President of Andes Technology USA, noted, "Andes stays committed to enhancing innovation with high-performance RISC-V cores suited for AI, automotive applications, and high-performance computing. Our clients can differentiate their offerings by customizing extensions with our ACE framework. Partnering with S2C brings our customers vital large-capacity FPGA prototyping advantages, allowing early validation of their customizations, ultimately enhancing their time-to-market with Andes-enabled RISC-V SoCs."
The AMD Versal Premium VP1902 adaptive SoC is poised to tackle contemporary development obstacles, as noted by its senior product line manager, Mike Rather. He emphasized that, being the industry's largest FPGA-based adaptive SoC, it offers exceptional performance, scalability, and connectivity in a unified device. Its advanced emulation and prototyping capabilities serve as a catalyst for the upcoming waves of semiconductor innovations.
Excitingly, a live demonstration of the S2C Prodigy S8-100 system is scheduled for the Andes RISC-V Con, themed "RePioneering the Future," on April 29, 2025. This event will take place at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel in San Jose, giving attendees a chance to witness firsthand the advanced FPGA-based prototyping capabilities which are expected to underline the next phase of RISC-V innovation.
For more detailed information about the Andes RISC-V Con event and registration, interested parties can visit the official site.
About S2C: S2C stands at the forefront of FPGA prototyping solutions, delivering scalable, trustworthy, and dynamic hardware platforms that fast-track system validation and software development for semiconductor entities worldwide. Further details can be found at www.s2cinc.com.
About Andes Technology: As a foundational Premier member of RISC-V International and a key player in commercial CPU IP, Andes Technology (TWSE 6533; SIN US03420C2089; ISIN US03420C1099) is committed to promoting RISC-V globally. Their RISC-V Processor IP portfolio ranges from ultra-efficient 32-bit CPUs to potent high-performance 64-bit Out-of-Order multiprocessor coherent clusters. With advanced vector processing, DSP capabilities, and the comprehensive Andes Automated Custom Extension (ACE) framework, they empower clients to accelerate innovative strides within sectors such as AI, automotive applications, communications, consumer electronics, data centers, and mobile devices, with over 16 billion Andes-driven SoCs powering innovations around the globe. Discover more at www.andestech.com and engage with Andes across various platforms including LinkedIn, X, Bilibili, and YouTube.