by Barna Ibrahim, RIVOS
At RISE, we’re always looking for ways to strengthen the RISC-V architecture and expand its adoption across the software ecosystem. To take this vision further, we’re excited to announce the launch of the RISC-V Developer Appreciation Pilot Program, designed to recognize and support developers who contribute to making RISC-V a standard for all projects.
Why the Developer Appreciation Pilot Program?
RISC-V’s success is largely driven by the developer community, whose work in porting, testing, and releasing software ensures the architecture’s competitiveness. Our Request For Proposal (RFP) program launched in 2023 has supported major, large-scale projects, but we recognize that many smaller projects also play a crucial role. These smaller contributions often require only minimal adjustments to be fully integrated with RISC-V, yet their impact is significant in bringing broader software support to the architecture.
To address this, the Developer Appreciation Pilot Program aims to recognize the essential work developers put into smaller projects and encourage them to continue their efforts to expand RISC-V’s reach. The goal is to make RISC-V support an integral part of every developer’s workflow, fostering collaboration and driving momentum for the RISC-V ecosystem.
Program Details
Running from October 2024 to March 2025, the program offers up to €50,000 in rewards. Developers who port, test, and release open-source projects on RISC-V are eligible to participate, with two reward tiers:
- Small Projects: Minimal porting, such as adding linux-riscv64 support in CI pipelines. Reward: €500.
- Large Projects: Significant porting, such as incorporating a RISC-V backend and updating testing pipelines. Reward: €3,000.
Focus on Open Source
This initiative is dedicated to open-source contributions. All contributions must be publicly available and licensed under an open-source license. By prioritizing the enablement of projects over pure performance optimization, we aim to ensure that RISC-V becomes a ubiquitous platform in the software world.
For larger, more complex projects that require weeks or months of work, we encourage developers to apply for support through the RFP program, which is better suited for large-scale efforts.
How to Participate
If you’re ready to contribute, simply port your project to RISC-V, ensure it’s tested and released, and submit your work via the RISE RISC-V Developer Appreciation Pilot Program Submission Form. Each month, submissions will be reviewed, and payments will be issued to developers via GitHub Sponsors.
Looking Ahead
As a pilot program, this initiative will help us gather feedback to refine our approach before scaling it further. The ultimate goal is to ensure that RISC-V support becomes widespread, with contributions driving its adoption across various projects and platforms.
We are excited to see the innovations and contributions from the developer community and look forward to recognizing the hard work that makes RISC-V a key player in the software world.
Let’s work together to ensure RISC-V becomes a standard platform for developers everywhere!
For more information or to submit your work, visit the RISC-V Developer Appreciation Pilot Program page.
