JFE Shoji Electronics Signs Sales Agent Agreement with Andes Technology

Andes Technology Corp., a supplier of high-efficiency, low-power 32/64-bit RISC-V processor cores and Founding Premier member of RISC-V International and JFE Shoji Electronics Co., Ltd. announced a partnership where JFE Shoji Electronics will act as Andes’ distributor in Japan. This agreement enables JFE Shoji Electronics to provide Andes’ high-efficiency, low-power 32/64-bit RISC-V IP cores to Japanese customers for SoC product development.

RISC-V is attracting global interest as a new-generation processor architecture that serves as an alternative to any proprietary architecture. The RISC-V market size reached $920 million in 2024 and is expected to hit $3.59 billion by 2029, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 31.2%, indicating rapid expansion.

There are a few reasons why JFE Shoji Electronics decides to invest in RISC-V:

• Open standard attracts many more industry experts (compared to proprietary solutions) and leads to innovative and optimized specifications such as the RISC-V Vector Extension.
• Open standard facilitates fast ecosystem build-up with multiple vendors and potential in-house development of technical assets
• RISC-V provides better product differentiation by enabling application optimization through custom instructions and configuration extensions
• RISC-V vendors provide flexibility in licensing models and cost structures to customers

Andes is a leading company in RISC-V processor IP, providing CPU IP and support for SoC for over 20 years. According to SHD Group, the market research firm focusing on RISC-V, Andes has been the leader in RISC-V IP market share for the past 2 years. The partnership of JFE Shoji Electronics and Andes will bring the following benefits to Japan customers:

1. Extensive RISC-V solutions, including power efficient 3-stage pipeline MCU, 13-stage high performance out-of-order processors, vector processors for AI, and automotive grades cores. Andes also provides NPU IP for edge AI applications.
2. High-Performance, High-Efficiency Vector Processor family IP for AI

• • 64-bit dual-issue, 8-stage pipeline high-performance core
  • Vector Processing Unit (VPU) supporting up to 2048-bit output per instruction
  • Multi-processor configuration with up to 16 cores

3. Rich Configuration and Customization Capabilities

• • Dynamic branch prediction, cache configuration optimization, instruction set extensions
  • Andes Automated Custom Extension™ (ACE) enables flexible implementation of application-specific instructions

4. Comprehensive Development Support System

• • Andes feature-rich development environment (IDE, debugger, profiling, simulator, etc.)
  • Rich technical documentation, sample code and application notes

5. Proven Commercial Track Record and Extensive Ecosystem

• • Over 16 billion customer SoC shipments worldwide, with over 400 adopting companies (as of 2024)
  • Partnerships with many companies in SoC design, EDA, RTOS, AI, and security fields

6. Cost Optimization and Flexible Licensing Models

• • More flexible royalty structure compared to Arm
  • Maximizes performance while controlling total BOM costs

For Japanese customers planning to adopt RISC-V technology, JFE Shoji Electronics will provide comprehensive support through both technical assistance and development efficiency enhancement. With Andes Technology leading technical support and JFE Shoji Electronics providing local partnership and customer service, customers can be confident that both companies will fully support them in achieving successful SoC development.

“We are thrilled to establish a partnership with JFE Shoji Electronics, marking a significant step forward in our commitment to innovation and technological excellence,” said Frankwell Lin, chairman and CEO, Andes Technology. “This collaboration will enable us to better serve our customers in Japan and accelerate the development of cutting-edge silicon solutions.”

“Through this collaboration, we can provide better services to our Japanese customers and accelerate the development of cutting-edge silicon solutions. RISC-V represents a significant technological option for Japanese semiconductor design companies. We are confident that the combination of Andes Technology’s expertise and JFE Shoji Electronics’ experience and proven track record will contribute to enhancing our customers’ competitiveness,” said Masakatsu Sawada, managing director, JFE Shoji Electronics.