The company said the tape-out took place in December 2025 and is the first hardware implementation of Ubitium’s universal processor architecture, designed to replace the many specialised processors used in today’s embedded systems.

Embedded computing has grown into a market valued at about $115 billion. But the systems that rely on it have become highly complex. Vehicles are good examples. 

Early models relied on a single processor, but modern cars can contain more than 200 processors, each tied to its own software stack, tools and supplier.

That level of complexity is spreading beyond cars. Robots, drones and industrial machines now run artificial intelligence workloads at the edge. As a result, managing multiple processors and development environments has become a growing challenge for system designers.

Ubitium says its architecture tackles this problem by combining several computing functions into one processor. The design builds on the open-source RISC‑V instruction set architecture, which already powers billions of chips worldwide.

However, the company has expanded the concept beyond a traditional central processing unit. Its universal processor can run Linux and real-time operating systems at the same time. It also handles signal processing tasks such as radar and audio in real time, while executing neural networks for AI inference at the edge. All of this happens on a single chip without separate accelerators or co-processors.

According to Ubitium, the universal processor is fully compatible with existing RISC-V software.

“This tape-out turns a long-held thesis into silicon,” said Martin Vorbach, chief technology officer at Ubitium. “Embedded workloads have outgrown the architectures the industry relies on today. Consolidation isn’t optional anymore. It’s inevitable.”

Ubitium compares its approach to the transition that occurred in wireless technology when software-defined radio replaced fixed-function hardware. In using one programmable processor instead of many specialised chips, the company believes manufacturers can simplify system design, shorten development time and extend product lifecycles.

Several technology partners worked with the startup on the project. These include Samsung Foundry, Siemens Digital Industries Software and ADTechnology.

“The shift toward software-defined, reconfigurable compute is accelerating. Ubitium’s approach, one universal processor replacing multiple specialised chips, aligns with where we see embedded systems heading. We’re proud to manufacture their first silicon.” Said Taejoong Song, vice president and head of Foundry Technology Planning Team at Samsung Electronics.

Jean‑Marie Brunet, senior vice president for hardware-assisted verification at Siemens Digital Industries Software, said early validation tools played a role in the project.

“Shift-left verification helps teams validate system behaviour earlier by running more realistic workloads ahead of first silicon,” he said. “Ubitium’s use of Siemens’ EDA tools, specifically the Veloce CS hardware-assisted verification and validation system, highlights how early validation can de-risk integration, support design closure, and accelerate time to first silicon.”

At the manufacturing stage, backend design support came from ADTechnology.

“Advanced-node silicon delivery depends on disciplined back-end execution across timing, power, and signoff,” said Jun-Kyu Park, chief executive officer of ADTechnology. “We are pleased to have supported Ubitium throughout the implementation process as it progressed to tape-out on Samsung Foundry’s 8nm process.”

The chip validates several core parts of Ubitium’s architecture, including its Universal Processing Array and an LPDDR5 memory interface. The array allows the processor to shift execution modes at runtime, switching between CPU, digital signal processing, graphics processing and parallel acceleration tasks without needing separate hardware blocks.

The company said the design supports general computing, real-time signal processing and parallel AI inference within a single, homogeneous architecture. It also runs standard RISC-V toolchains and modern software frameworks without requiring proprietary languages or compilers.

Ubitium plans a second tape-out later in 2026 as development continues. Volume production of the processor is currently targeted for 2027.

The company says potential applications include radar systems, multi-sensor processing, voice and audio workloads, computer vision, automotive cockpit platforms and industrial human-machine interfaces.

It’s a $500B industry built on specialised CPU, GPU and other chips for different computing tasks.

Hardware startup Ubitium has shattered this paradigm with a breakthrough universal processor that handles all computing workloads on a single, efficient chip – unlocking simpler, smarter, and more cost-effective devices across industries – while revolutionizing a 57-year-old industry standard.

Alongside this, Ubitium is announcing a $3.7 million in seed funding round, co-led by Runa Capital, Inflection, and KBC Focus Fund. 

The investment will be used to develop the first prototypes and prepare initial development kits for customers, with the first chips planned for 2026.

Ubitium was founded by semiconductor veterans dedicated to revolutionizing processor architecture.

CTO Martin Vorbach, who holds over 200 semiconductor patents licensed by major U.S. chip companies, spent 15 years developing this groundbreaking technology. 

Drawing from his pioneering work in reconfigurable computing, he created a workload-agnostic microarchitecture that allows the same transistors to be reused for different processing tasks—eliminating the need for multiple specialized cores and enabling AI at no additional cost. 

Working between Germany and Cupertino, California, Vorbach’s innovation forms the foundation of Ubitium’s mission.

Vorbach met CEO Hyun Shin Cho at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT). After two decades of gaining insights across various industrial sectors, Cho reunited with Vorbach to commercialize the technology. 

Completing the team is Chairman Peter Weber, a veteran of Intel, Texas Instruments, and Dialog Semiconductor, who brings extensive industry expertise.

“The $500 billion processor industry is built on restrictive boundaries between computing tasks,” says Hyun Shin Cho, CEO of Ubitium. 

“We’re erasing those boundaries. Our Universal Processor does it all – CPU, GPU, DSP, FPGA – in one chip, one architecture. This isn’t an incremental improvement. It is a paradigm shift. This is the processor architecture the AI era demands.”

“For too long, we’ve accepted that making devices intelligent means making them complex. Multiple processors or processor cores, multiple development teams, endless integration challenges—today, that changes.

“Our Universal Processor delivers workload-agnostic and AI-enabling compute capabilities to edge devices with a single chip, at a fraction of the cost to develop and manufacture compared to today’s offerings.”

With the semiconductor market projected to exceed $700 billion by 2025, Ubitium’s technology initially targets embedded systems and robotics. 

By simplifying system architectures and reducing costs, Ubitium’s processor makes advanced computing capabilities accessible across all industries without requiring specialized hardware for each application—enabling advanced AI at no additional cost.

Dmitry Galperin, a Berlin-based general partner at Runa Capital, commented: “We’re impressed by Ubitium’s unique approach to processor microarchitecture, which is now able to adapt to any type of workload—from simple control logic to massive parallel data flow processing.”

“What Ubitium brings will provide a real breakthrough to develop and launch any new product with embedded electronics. Their approach will reduce the cost as well as the complexity, allowing a much faster time-to-market. What previously required multiple teams to collaborate on hardware and software design now becomes purely a software project,” said Rudi Severijns, investment director at KBC Focus Fund.

“Ubitium was a perfect fit as a contrarian bet on a stellar team working on generalized compute capacity in a world of chip specialization,” said Jonatan Luther-Bergquist, partner at Inflection.

“We are excited to see Ubitium leveraging the flexibility and scalability of the RISC-V architecture,” said Calista Redmond, CEO of RISC-V International. 

“Their innovative approach to universal processor design exemplifies the freedom of innovation made possible by the RISC-V Instruction Set Architecture and highlights the potential for RISC-V to drive advancements in edge computing and AI applications.”

Looking ahead, Ubitium plans to develop a complete portfolio of chips that vary in array size but share the same microarchitecture and software stack—enabling solutions from small embedded devices to high-performance computing systems. 

This super-scalable approach allows customers to scale their applications without changing their development process, while the workload-agnostic design ensures the processor can adapt to handle any computing task without specialized hardware modifications. 

The company’s goal is to establish its universal processor as the new standard that finally breaks down the cost and complexity barriers that have limited the deployment of advanced computing and AI capabilities across industries.

“We envision a future where every device operates autonomously, making intelligent decisions in real time and transforming the way we interact with technology,” added Hyun Shin Cho.