Wave Computing makes mips instruction set open source

Wave Computing is going to make the mips instruction set open source. In the first quarter of next year, the company will start its MIPS Open initiative. Companies that participate receive support and are protected by the company’s patent portfolio.

Wave Computing thinks that making the mips instruction set open source ensures that more new socs are developed based on the architecture. It should enable chip manufacturers, developers and universities to quickly design a SOC. There are no license fees or royalties to be paid.

The company will make the latest 32bit and 64bit versions of the mips instruction set architectures available for download and will protect participating companies through its patent portfolio. In the first quarter of 2019, Wave Computing will announce details on how companies can participate in the MIPS Open initiative.

Wave Computing got its hands on the mips instruction set in June this year through the acquisition of MIPS Tech. The company makes its own hardware for acceleration of artificial intelligence and uses mips processors for this.

The mips architecture has been around for 35 years and originated from university research. In the 1980s, the architecture was used for processors in PCs and servers, and in the 1990s many game consoles came out with mips processors, including the Nintendo 64 and the Sony PlayStation. Later, the company focused on chips for embedded systems. In total, more than 8.5 billion chips based on the mips instruction set would have been delivered.