SiPearl Rhea Processor: Delayed but Upgraded with More Cores

The rollout of SiPearl’s much-anticipated Rhea processor for European supercomputers has been pushed back by a year to 2025, but the delay comes with a silver lining - a significant upgrade in core count and potential performance. Originally slated to arrive in 2024 with 72 cores, the homegrown high-performance chip will now pack 80 cores when it eventually launches. This decisive move by SiPearl and its partners is a strategic choice to ensure the utmost quality and capabilities for the flagship European processor.

Key Features of Rhea1:

• 80 Cores: The Rhea1 processor will boast 80 cores based on the latest Arm Neoverse V1 architecture.
• Memory and Connectivity: It will have 256-bit DDR5 memory connections, 104 PCIe 5.0 lanes, and four stacks of HBM2E memory.
• Manufacturing Process: SiPearl aims to utilize TSCM’s N6 manufacturing process.
• Software Optimization: The roadmap shift provides more time for the expansive European supercomputing ecosystem to prepare robust software stacks tailored for the upgraded Rhea silicon.

Supercomputer-scale simulations spanning climate science, drug discovery, energy research, and more all require astonishing amounts of raw compute grunt. By scaling up to 80 cores, Rhea1 aims to go toe-to-toe with the world’s most powerful processors optimized for supercomputing workloads. Europe’s ambitions to join the elite ranks of worldwide supercomputer power hinge on Rhea’s delivery in 2025, with funding from European governments.

Stay tuned for further updates on this exciting development!