At the 2026 Xuantie RISC-V Ecosystem Conference, Alibaba DAMO Academy launched its next-generation flagship processor, the Xuantie C950, alongside the high-efficiency C925 and two native RISC-V AI compute engines. The announcement marks a major push into high-performance RISC-V computing and AI integration.
According to DAMO’s chief scientist, the Xuantie C950 sets a new global performance record for RISC-V CPUs. Built on a 5nm process, it reaches a top frequency of 3.2GHz and delivers a 3x performance gain over its predecessor. In SPEC CPU2006 (CINT) testing, it became the first RISC-V CPU to surpass 70 points in single-core performance—reaching server-class territory.
The C950 supports RVA23.1 standards and native CoVE confidential computing. In cloud workloads like MySQL, Redis, and Nginx, it outperforms some mainstream products by over 30%. It also integrates a self-developed AI acceleration engine, enabling native support for hundred-billion-parameter LLMs, including Qwen3 and DeepSeek V3.
The companion Xuantie C925 focuses on power efficiency, delivering an 11% efficiency gain with 32% less die area, ideal for edge and embedded applications.
Two native AI engines—Vector and Matrix—share unified addressing with the CPU, enabling seamless integration of general-purpose and AI compute. This marks the first time a CPU has been architected natively for hundred-billion-parameter models, positioning it as a potential new standard for AI-era server CPUs.
DAMO also highlighted growing ecosystem momentum. Xuantie processors now power over 200 commercial chips across nearly 1,000 end products. With RISC-V device shipments projected to reach 36 billion units by 2031, the architecture is approaching an inflection point.
ICgoodFind: Alibaba’s Xuantie C950 just reset the bar for RISC-V performance. Native AI support and a rapidly growing ecosystem put this architecture firmly in the server-class conversation.
