In 2014, lowRISC was founded at the University of Cambridge Department of Computer Science and Technology with a mission to make open-source silicon a reality. The founders recognized that while open-source software had transformed the technology industry, hardware development remained closed and proprietary. They envisioned a different approach - one that would bring transparency, collaboration, and reuse to the semiconductor world. As a not-for-profit Community Interest Company, lowRISC set out to create commercial-grade, thoroughly verified silicon designs that could be freely adopted and adapted by anyone.
What began as an academic spin-out has evolved into a global organization with engineering teams in Cambridge and Zurich, working on groundbreaking projects like OpenTitan - the world's first open-source silicon root of trust - and Ibex, a production-quality RISC-V CPU core. lowRISC's collaborative engineering model brings together industry leaders including Google, ETH Zurich, Western Digital, and Seagate to develop open hardware that meets the highest commercial standards. The company's commitment to durable technology, technical excellence, and genuine openness has earned recognition including OpenUK awards and the Cambridge Ring Award. By stewarding multi-partner projects and providing engineering consultancy, lowRISC continues to prove that open-source silicon can be commercially viable, widely adopted, and transformative for the entire semiconductor industry.