Recently, netizens have taken up Huawei's self-developed instruction set trademarks "Lingxi Instruction Set" and "Linxiisa", which have attracted widespread attention and discussion. It is believed that the reason why Huawei wants to develop its own instruction set is to get rid of its dependence on the ARM architecture, so as to reduce the risk of the chip chain. After all, Huawei's authorization in the armv9 instruction set has been limited, and only the authorization of armv8 has adversely affected its development to a certain extent. Therefore, self-developed instruction integration is an inevitable choice for Huawei to get rid of the shackles.
However, while developing the instruction set is not difficult for Huawei, the real challenge lies in ecosystem support. Currently, instruction sets like x86 and arm are so powerful precisely because they are able to build a huge ecosystem. For example, the x86 architecture and the Windows operating system form the Wintel ecosystem, while the ARM architecture and the Android system form the A-A ecosystem. Both ecosystems have a large number of software and hardware vendors, which cooperate with each other to form an irreplaceable circle. In contrast, instruction sets such as RISC-V and Loongarch exist, but due to the imperfect ecosystem, they have never been able to compete with x86 and ARM, and their marginal status has not changed.
Therefore, for Huawei, although the instruction set of self-developed chips can solve technical problems, if it cannot be integrated into the existing ecosystem, no matter how advanced the instruction set itself is, it will become a dead letter. As Huawei itself is aware, R&D instruction sets are only the first step, and the key is to establish corresponding ecosystem support.
Specifically, ecosystem support requires cooperation with software and hardware vendors to adapt Huawei's instruction set so that it can be widely used in various fields. For software developers, they need to program and optimize Huawei's instruction set to ensure that the software works properly on Huawei's platform. For hardware manufacturers, they need to make their products compatible with Huawei's instruction set, so that users can get a better experience and performance when using these products. Only in this way can we build a complete ecosystem to promote the implementation and development of Huawei's self-developed instruction set.
However, Huawei also faced some challenges in the process of developing its own instruction set. First of all, Huawei needs to overcome the problem of competing with the existing Wintel and A-A ecosystems. These two ecosystems have amassed a large number of users and developers, and have a strong influence and market share. To compete with them, Huawei needs to spend a lot of time and resources to attract the support of software and hardware vendors, as well as build its own ecosystem.
Secondly, Huawei still needs to solve the problem of time. Compared with Wintel and the A-A ecosystem, Huawei's self-developed instruction set ecosystem is still in its infancy, and it will take a long time to build a complete ecosystem. In this process, Huawei needs continuous investment and efforts, including communication with partners, technical support, and marketing. Only patience and time can make Huawei's self-developed instruction set ecosystem strong and competitive.
However, Huawei also has its own unique advantages. First of all, as a full-stack self-developed enterprise, Huawei has strong technical and R&D capabilities. Huawei has its own solutions, from hardware to software, which makes it not a problem to develop instruction sets. Secondly, Huawei also has its own HarmonyOS operating system, which provides the possibility for Huawei to build its own ecosystem. Through the compatibility and ecosystem construction of the HarmonyOS system, Huawei can gradually attract more software and hardware vendors to join its ecosystem, thereby enhancing the competitiveness and influence of its self-developed instruction set.
In general, the development potential of Huawei's self-developed chip instruction set is huge, but there are also uncertainties. Building an entire ecosystem takes a long time and a lot of investment, and it faces the challenge of competing with existing ecosystems. However, as a leading technology company, Huawei has self-developed capabilities and a large market base, and is expected to achieve true independent innovation and development through its self-developed instruction set. In addition, Huawei has the demand and influence of the global market, and once the self-developed instruction set makes breakthroughs, it will have an important impact on the entire chip industry.
In my personal opinion, Huawei's self-developed chip instruction set is not an easy road, and there are many difficulties and challenges to overcome. However, Huawei, as a leading global technology giant, has a large R&D team and resources that are capable of meeting these challenges. Moreover, Huawei has made certain achievements and made important breakthroughs in self-developed chips and operating systems. Therefore, I remain optimistic about the future development of Huawei's self-developed chip instruction set, and look forward to seeing further breakthroughs and innovations in this area.