NVIDIA Replaced Proprietary Cores with RISC-V

NVIDIA shifted its internal management hardware from the proprietary Falcon architecture to RISC-V cores.

Updated on Sept. 21, 2026 in Semiconductors

Isometric editorial illustration featuring a central silicon processor die block and nested geometric circuit paths. — NVIDIA has migrated internal control firmware management from its legacy Falcon architecture to the open-standard RISC-V core system to improve addressing efficiency. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

Live Poll

Do you prefer companies provide full transparency about the internal components used in your devices?

NVIDIA has integrated RISC-V cores into its graphics processors to handle various internal management and control tasks. This transition moved the company away from its custom Falcon microcontroller architecture, which had limitations regarding addressing capabilities.

Why it matters

Adopting RISC-V enables NVIDIA to manage complex firmware and control operations more efficiently than the previous Falcon architecture permitted. This shift allows for more robust handling of tasks that occur outside the main shader computation pipeline.

Modern NVIDIA GPUs utilize between 10 and 40 embedded RISC-V cores to oversee background management operations. These cores handle system tasks separate from the primary GPU pipeline and replaced the proprietary Falcon architecture.

The players

NVIDIA

NVIDIA is a prominent technology company known for designing graphics processing units and hardware for artificial intelligence applications.

The details

NVIDIA transitioned to these open-standard cores because the previous Falcon architecture lacked 64-bit addressing and was unable to support a full operating system. These cores now manage critical control tasks, including graphics-driver execution, without requiring direct input from the user or the main GPU shader hardware.

In 2018, a specialized core was first tasked with managing graphics-driver execution.

The Tech Race

This transition marks a departure from the legacy Falcon microcontroller architecture by adopting more versatile RISC-V standards. The shift mirrors a broader industry trend where hardware manufacturers move away from proprietary, limited-function microcontrollers toward open-standard, scalable architectures.

This internal hardware change does not affect the end user's ability to program the embedded cores, as access remains restricted. Instead, the move improves overall system stability and driver compatibility for those using NVIDIA graphics hardware.

The takeaway

NVIDIA's move toward standardized RISC-V architecture reflects the growing necessity for more complex, scalable management hardware within specialized chips. Future chip designs are likely to rely increasingly on open standards to facilitate broader operating system support and advanced internal control.