Will a consumer electronics company launch a smart device (not a phone/PC) utilizing an integrated chip based on a fully open-source hardware (OSH) design before 2027?

Open-Source Chip Device: OSH-Based Smart Device by 2027

Open-Source Hardware (OSH), particularly the RISC-V instruction set architecture, promises greater transparency and customization. This prediction states that a major consumer electronics company will launch a smart device (e.g., smart speaker, appliance, or wearable, but not a phone or PC) utilizing an integrated System-on-a-Chip (SoC) based on a fully open-source hardware design before the end of 2027.

The Transition from IP to Commodity

The 'No' lead acknowledges the complexity and financial risk of abandoning established proprietary architectures like ARM for mass-market chips, and the current infancy of the OSH software ecosystem. A 'Yes' outcome depends on:

• **RISC-V Maturity:** The RISC-V ecosystem achieving sufficient maturity and low-cost foundry access.
• **Cost Savings:** The chip is cheap enough to overcome the development risk, particularly in specialized IoT devices.
• **Strategic Autonomy:** A company prioritizing independence from single-source proprietary IP vendors.

The launch of a fully OSH-based chip in a non-traditional device would signal a pivotal moment in hardware decentralization.